Inspection records · Virginia
What Virginia daycare inspectors cite
Virginia inspectors cited at least one rule at 92% of the 4,778 daycares they visited since October 2023. Health, paperwork and safety rules are cited most often, and the rule cited at the most daycares, 1,153 of them, is about keeping each child's record complete.
- Daycares visited
- 4,778
- Visits in the records
- 38,993
- Had at least one rule cited
- 92%
- Median cited rules per daycare
- 8
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Virginia
The Virginia Department of Education's Office of Child Care Health and Safety licenses child day centers and family day homes and inspects them. Routine inspections come without notice, and inspectors also investigate complaints.
Almost every finding in Virginia's records comes with the inspector's written note on what was seen, such as which file was missing a form or where a cleaning product was left out. Virginia lists inspections that found nothing as well, so a daycare's record shows all of its visits.
- Who inspects: Virginia Department of Education, Office of Child Care Health and Safety.
- Routine visits: Virginia reported inspecting licensed centers twice a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 35,651 inspections, 1,435 complaint investigations, 1,907 other visits, at 4,778 daycares (3,348 centers and 1,430 home daycares).
- Records on each listing go back to: 2012.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- of the 4,778 daycares visited had at least one rule cited
- 92%
- cited rules for the middle daycare over three years
- 8
These figures describe Virginia'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 Virginia's cited rules are about
Share of the 59,439 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Health, medication and illness rules are the largest group in Virginia: 25.9% of all cited rules, and they reached 72% of the daycares visited. They include staff health papers, such as tuberculosis screenings, as well as rules on medication and sick children.
Paperwork comes next, at 17.9% of citations and 64% of daycares, then safety and hazards at 14.1%. Background check rules make up 11.2% of citations but reached 53% of daycares, and three of the eight rules Virginia cites at the most daycares are about background checks.
Most cited
The rule areas Virginia 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.
- Records and paperwork1,153 daycares (24.1% of those visited)
A complete record for every child
The state's rule: 8VAC20-780-60-A
A center must keep a file for each enrolled child with all the required information, such as emergency contacts, health records and permissions. A citation means one or more children's files were missing something.
Ask on a tour: What do you keep in my child's file, and how do you keep my emergency contacts current?
- Building, equipment and play areas1,038 daycares (21.7% of those visited)
A building and equipment kept safe and working
The state's rule: 8VAC20-780-270-A
Every area of the center, inside and out, and all its equipment must be kept in a safe, working condition. A citation can mean broken play equipment, peeling paint, damaged furniture or another hazard in a room or yard.
Ask on a tour: Can I see the playground and the rooms my child would use, and how do you report repairs?
- Background checks1,029 daycares (21.5% of those visited)
Background checks from every state a worker lived in
The state's rule: 22.1-289.035-B-4
For each staff member, a center must request background and child abuse registry checks from every state the person has lived in during the past five years. A citation means one of those out-of-state checks was not requested or not on file.
Ask on a tour: For staff who moved here from another state, how do you check their history there?
- Records and paperwork1,027 daycares (21.5% of those visited)
A complete file for every staff member
The state's rule: 8VAC20-780-70
A center must keep a record for each staff person with required items such as references, training and health papers. A citation means a staff file was missing one of these, often the references checked before hiring.
Ask on a tour: How do you check references before you hire a teacher?
- Safety and hazards976 daycares (20.4% of those visited)
Hazardous products locked away
The state's rule: 8VAC20-780-280-B
Cleaning products, chemicals and other hazardous substances must be kept in a locked place children cannot open. A citation means an inspector found such a product unlocked or within children's reach.
Ask on a tour: Where do you keep cleaning products, and how are those cabinets locked?
- Health, medication and illness927 daycares (19.4% of those visited)
Tuberculosis screening for staff
The state's rule: 8VAC20-780-160-A
Each staff member must show a negative tuberculosis screening before working with children and repeat it on schedule. A citation means a screening was missing, late or overdue for renewal.
Ask on a tour: Are all staff health screenings, including TB, up to date?
- Background checks793 daycares (16.6% of those visited)
Fingerprint checks before anyone starts
The state's rule: 22.1-289.035-B-2
Employees and volunteers must be fingerprinted for a national criminal history check before they start working with children. A citation means someone was working before that check was done.
Ask on a tour: Do new staff and volunteers wait for their fingerprint check before they work with children?
- Background checks730 daycares (15.3% of those visited)
Background checks that stay current
The state's rule: 22.1-289.035-A
A center may not employ someone with a disqualifying background, and every worker's checks must be repeated every five years. A citation can mean a renewal was overdue or a check result was not handled as the law requires.
Ask on a tour: How do you track when each staff member's background check is due for renewal?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Background checks come up again and again in Virginia's records, so ask directly: are all staff and volunteers fingerprinted before they start, are checks done for every state they lived in, and how does the center track renewals? Ask about health screenings for staff too.
Then look around the rooms for cleaning products and worn or broken equipment, and ask what the center keeps in your child's file. If the daycare's record shows a cited rule you want to understand, ask the director to walk you through it.
The full tour checklist for Virginia puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Virginia listing on DaycarePal shows the state's inspections of that daycare and the rules cited at each one. With 8 cited rules for the middle daycare over three years, a few file or paperwork citations are common; the inspector's note in the state's report tells you whether a finding was a missing form or a real hazard.
Watch for repeats. Some Virginia findings are marked as repeats of an earlier citation, and the same rule cited visit after visit says more than one finding fixed long ago. If something on the record concerns you, ask about it on the tour.
More detail: how to read a daycare inspection report. Find a daycare's record on its listing from daycares in Virginia, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Virginia daycare inspections
How often are Virginia daycares inspected?
Virginia reported inspecting licensed centers twice a year, without notice, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Since October 2023, the state made 38,993 visits to the 4,778 daycares listed here, including 1,435 complaint investigations.
How do I look up a Virginia daycare's inspection report?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal and go to its inspection section, or search Virginia's child care records by name or location.
Why are background checks cited so often in Virginia?
Background check rules reached 53% of the Virginia daycares inspectors visited. Virginia requires fingerprints before work starts, checks from every state lived in for five years and renewals every five years, so a single missing step is a citation.
Does a cited rule mean a daycare is unsafe?
No. A cited rule is one finding at one visit, and 92% of the Virginia daycares inspectors visited had at least one. Read the inspector's note to see what was found and whether it keeps coming back.
Can I compare Virginia's numbers with another state's?
No. Each state writes and records its rules in its own way, so Virginia's counts do not match up with counts elsewhere. Compare Virginia daycares with one another instead.
Source: Virginia Department of Education, Office of Child Care Health and Safety, inspection records October 2023 to October 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.