Our terrific center has had paperwork violations, cracks in the changing pad, and expired diaper cream.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Children left anywhere - red flag
repeat major safety violoations - red flag
Staff violations were staff is terminated - red flag
Missing child abuse registrey check or criminal check for mulitple staff for long periods of time - red flag

happens everywhere:
Paperwork missing from employee files
Paperwork missing from child files
Not enough mulch on playround (unless its really bad)
cleaners of spray bottles left out
hot liquid in reach of child
incident reports not filled out correctly
daily sheets missing some info
minor injuries - child has finger pinched in door, child has scratch from sharp corner

I disagree with the cleaners left out and hot liquid in reach of child; these are clear dangers to children, and do NOT happen everywhere. It shows carelessness and should raise some questions.

Paperwork missing from employee files also shows a lack of organization, IMO. Paperwork missing from parents is a result of parents failing to get everything turned in, and is not as indicative of problems at the center as the employee paperwork would be.

Yes, you are correct about these but I would rather go to a center where the teacher left her morning coffee in a covered coffee cup on the counter for a few minutes then I would a center who let a child wonder off from the center. The OP was asking what are "red flags" and hot liquid is often cited -even if covered or in a thermal cup - same with spray bottles even if say there were no kids in the classroom when this was observed.

No center exists that hasn't had a paperwork violation - it happens. Can be anything from a missing signature, a missing phone number on a form, or missing TB test results. Again, I would rather have that then a missing criminal background check.

Anonymous wrote:Ask about the violations. Not in an accusatory way, just ask what triggered the report and how it was handled. The response you get (reasonable versus hyperdefensive) will probably tell you a lot about whether to trust them.

Violation notices are required to be posted in a conspicuous place in the center. The director should be able to point out the posted notice to a parent.

Ask about the violations. Not in an accusatory way, just ask what triggered the report and how it was handled. The response you get (reasonable versus hyperdefensive) will probably tell you a lot about whether to trust them.

Look for a parent complaint. I witnessed a "teacher" hitting a child. I called it in immediately. There was "insufficient evidence" that anything happened even though I saw it. The complaint was not detailed in the report, but it does still raise a red flag for that center that something migth have happened. Look for things like that. I am still amazed to this day that there were no repercussions for this incident. Makes me wonder what other things go on...

Another indicator to look at is the frequency of complaint-generated inspections. A center is visited for general inspection every 12-18 months or so, and 1 or 2 complaints a year isn't unusual. If a center has had more than 3 or 4 complaint-generated visits in a year, that's worth noting, even if the inspector didn't always find anything. It indicates a sense of discomfort amongst parents and/or concerns on the part of the staff.

Anonymous wrote:Children left anywhere - red flag
repeat major safety violoations - red flag
Staff violations were staff is terminated - red flag
Missing child abuse registrey check or criminal check for mulitple staff for long periods of time - red flag

happens everywhere:
Paperwork missing from employee files
Paperwork missing from child files
Not enough mulch on playround (unless its really bad)
cleaners of spray bottles left out
hot liquid in reach of child
incident reports not filled out correctly
daily sheets missing some info
minor injuries - child has finger pinched in door, child has scratch from sharp corner

I disagree with the cleaners left out and hot liquid in reach of child; these are clear dangers to children, and do NOT happen everywhere. It shows carelessness and should raise some questions.

Paperwork missing from employee files also shows a lack of organization, IMO. Paperwork missing from parents is a result of parents failing to get everything turned in, and is not as indicative of problems at the center as the employee paperwork would be.

Also look on the website and see how many inspections were triggered by parent complaints. Parents desperately want to believe their child's daycare center is safe and loving and if they get concerned enough to repeatedly complain to licensing, something is probably pretty wrong at that canter.

Agree with pp - the administrative violations aren't that big of a deal and happen everywhere.

I'd be more concerned with ones about failing to supervise children, chronic violations for understaffing, anything that has to do with physically harming a child (they are out there), anything that has to do with swearing or taunting a child (yep, I've seen it on there), sexual abuse, etc.

Repeat violations are a big red flag. If they get a repeat violation for not having a form on file for sunscreen, I wouldn't be concerned. But losing children or forgetting them on the playground every 2-3 weeks indicates there is something more systemic going on at that place that "director will discuss with staff" is not fixing.

Children left anywhere - red flag
repeat major safety violoations - red flag
Staff violations were staff is terminated - red flag
Missing child abuse registrey check or criminal check for mulitple staff for long periods of time - red flag

happens everywhere:
Paperwork missing from employee files
Paperwork missing from child files
Not enough mulch on playround (unless its really bad)
cleaners of spray bottles left out
hot liquid in reach of child
incident reports not filled out correctly
daily sheets missing some info
minor injuries - child has finger pinched in door, child has scratch from sharp corner

I am looking in Northern Virginia at the DSS violations reports for the places we are interested in.

My questions:
1. What are usual indicators of a bad center?
2. What is considered to be violations that may happen anywhere? Children being left on playgrounds or inside - is this normal?
3. How far back do I need to be concerned about? One place had major violations in 2007 but replaced staff and had administrative errors only since 2008 - is this a red flag?