Inspection records · Utah
What Utah daycare inspectors cite
Utah inspectors cited at least one rule at 38% of the 1,504 daycares they visited since October 2023. Safety rules are the largest group, 37.8% of everything cited, and the rule cited at the most daycares is about quarterly fire drills: 47 of them.
- Daycares visited
- 1,504
- Visits in the records
- 11,222
- Had at least one rule cited
- 38%
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Utah
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Licensing, licenses daycare centers and home daycares and inspects them. Routine visits come without notice, and licensing staff also return for follow-up visits and investigate complaints.
Each finding names the rule, describes what the inspector saw and carries a level of noncompliance, from low through moderate and high to extreme. Utah also records when each finding was corrected, so a listing shows whether a problem was fixed.
- Who inspects: Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Licensing.
- Routine visits: Utah reported inspecting licensed centers twice a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 7,273 inspections, 2,928 follow-up visits, 110 complaint investigations, 911 other visits, at 1,504 daycares (662 centers and 842 home daycares).
- Records on each listing go back to: 2023.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- of the 1,504 daycares visited had at least one rule cited
- 38%
- cited rules for the middle daycare over three years
- 0
- of cited rules have a correction on record
- 97%
These figures describe Utah's own inspection records since October 2023. States write and cite their rules in different ways, so a figure here cannot be compared with another state's. A cited rule is one finding at one visit, not a rating of a daycare.
What gets cited
What Utah's cited rules are about
Share of the 1,718 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Safety and hazards make up 37.8% of the rules Utah cited, and 20% of the daycares visited had at least one. These are mostly fire drills, cleaning chemicals within reach and small objects that toddlers could choke on.
Health, medication and illness rules come next (16.9% of citations, at 13% of daycares), many of them about children's admission and health forms. Supervision and ratio rules were 11.5% of citations and reached 9% of daycares, and background check rules 8.8%.
Most cited
The rule areas Utah cites most
Ordered by how many daycares had the rule cited since October 2023. The wording is the state's rule; no daycare is named here.
- Safety and hazards47 daycares (3.1% of those visited)
Fire drills every quarter in home daycares
The state's rule: R430-90-14(4) conduct fire drills quarterly
A licensed home daycare must hold a fire drill with the children at least once every three months and keep a record of it. A citation means a quarter went by without a drill, or no record showed one.
Ask on a tour: When was your last fire drill, and how do you get babies out?
- Supervision and ratios42 daycares (2.8% of those visited)
Active supervision of every child
The state's rule: R381-100-11(1)(a)-(f) Provide and maintain active supervision
Caregivers must be present with the children and actively watching each one, indoors and out. A citation means an inspector found a child out of a caregiver's sight, such as alone on a playground or in a bathroom.
Ask on a tour: How do staff keep track of every child during bathroom trips and outdoor play?
- Health, medication and illness42 daycares (2.8% of those visited)
Children's admission and health forms reviewed every year (centers)
The state's rule: R381-100-6(12)(a)-(b) Children's admission and health assessment reviewed, updated, signed, and on-site
A center must keep each child's admission and health assessment form on site, reviewed, updated and signed by a parent every year. A citation means a form was missing, out of date or unsigned.
Ask on a tour: When will you ask me to review and sign my child's health form?
- Health, medication and illness37 daycares (2.5% of those visited)
Children's admission and health forms kept current (home daycares)
The state's rule: R430-90-6(11)(a)-(b) update admission and health assessment form
A home daycare must also keep each child's admission and health assessment form current, with a parent's yearly review and signature. A citation means one or more children's forms had lapsed.
Ask on a tour: What forms do you keep on file for my child, and how often are they updated?
- Safety and hazards35 daycares (2.3% of those visited)
Chemicals out of reach in home daycares
The state's rule: R430-90-13(9)(a)-(d) toxic and hazardous chemicals
Cleaning products, garage chemicals and other hazardous items must be kept where children cannot get to them, anywhere children go in the home. A citation means an inspector found something like a cleaner under a sink or chemicals in an open garage.
Ask on a tour: Which rooms of the home do the children use, and where are cleaning products kept?
- Staff training and qualifications33 daycares (2.2% of those visited)
Training before caregivers work with children
The state's rule: R381-100-7(9)(a)-(g) Caregiver requirements
Every caregiver at a center must meet Utah's caregiver requirements, including the state's preservice training before working with children. A citation usually means a caregiver had not finished that training.
Ask on a tour: What training does a new caregiver finish before working with children?
- Safety and hazards32 daycares (2.1% of those visited)
Choking hazards away from children under 3
The state's rule: R381-100-13(4) Choking hazards inaccessible to children under 3
Small objects that a young child could choke on must be kept out of reach of children younger than 3. A citation means an inspector found items like small puzzle pieces or toy parts where toddlers could reach them.
Ask on a tour: How do you check toddler rooms for small objects?
- Safety and hazards31 daycares (2.1% of those visited)
Chemicals out of reach in centers
The state's rule: R381-100-13(9)(a)-(d) Toxic/hazardous chemical requirements
A center must keep cleaning products and other hazardous chemicals locked or out of children's reach. A citation means an inspector found one in a place children could get to, such as an open cupboard or shelf.
Ask on a tour: Where are cleaning products kept in my child's room and bathroom?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Safety rules are what Utah cites most, so look around as you tour: are cleaning products out of reach, are small objects kept away from toddlers, and when was the last fire drill?
Then ask how staff watch every child during bathroom trips and outdoor play, and ask the director about anything on the daycare's state record that you want explained.
The full tour checklist for Utah puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Utah listing on DaycarePal shows the state's inspection visits for that daycare, with each finding, its level of noncompliance and whether it was corrected. A low-level finding that was fixed quickly is a small thing; a high or extreme finding, or the same rule cited again, deserves a question.
Most Utah daycares in these records had no rule cited at all, and 97% of cited rules have a correction on record, so read the dates and levels together. If something on a record worries you, ask about it on the tour; a good director will tell you what happened and what changed.
More detail: how to read a daycare inspection report. Find a daycare's record on its listing from daycares in Utah, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Utah daycare inspections
How often are Utah daycares inspected?
Utah reported inspecting licensed centers and home daycares twice a year, without notice, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Since October 2023, Utah made 11,222 visits to the 1,504 daycares listed here.
How do I look up a Utah daycare's inspection report?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal and go to its inspection section, or search Utah's child care licensing records by name or city.
What do the noncompliance levels mean on a Utah finding?
Utah gives each finding one of 4 levels: low, moderate, high or extreme, with the higher levels marking more serious problems. A high or extreme finding is worth asking about on your tour.
How many Utah daycares had no rule cited?
Most of them. 38% of the Utah daycares visited since October 2023 had at least one rule cited, so most had none, and the middle daycare had 0 cited rules.
Can I compare Utah's numbers with another state's?
No. Each state writes and cites its own rules in its own way, so the same daycare could collect a different number of findings elsewhere. Compare daycares within Utah instead.
Source: Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Licensing, inspection records October 2023 to September 2026, for the daycares listed on DaycarePal. Inspection schedule: National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations (ACF), from a 2017 survey of state licensing agencies.