An official State of Texas website.
What is a monitoring inspection?
A monitoring inspection is a routine, on-site visit to a child care operation by a Child Care Regulation (CCR) inspector. The inspector can cite a deficiency if the operation is in violation of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards.
What is a report?
A report is information CCR receives from the public, including from a parent, regarding a possible violation of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards. CCR investigates the possible violations and, if applicable, cites a deficiency.
What is a self-report?
A self-report is an account of a serious incident that happened at an operation. All operations, except listed family homes, are required to report certain types of serious incidents to CCR, which chooses to investigate an operation’s self-report and, if applicable, cite a deficiency of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards. A serious incident includes but is not limited to a serious illness or injury to a child, a missing child or a disaster that requires the operation to close.
What is an assessment?
An assessment is when CCR cites an operation for a deficiency of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards after reviewing information, paperwork or other materials instead of conducting an on-site inspection.
How frequently does CCR conduct inspections?
CCR conducts unannounced inspections at licensed operations at least once per year and conducts unannounced inspections at registered child care homes at least once every two years. Inspections might be more frequent based on an operation's ability to comply with statutes, administrative rules and minimum standards.
CCR only conducts inspections at listed family homes as part of an investigation.
What is a standard weight?
Each minimum standard is assigned a weight of high, medium high, medium, medium low and low based on the risk a violation of the minimum standard presents to children. A requirement weighted as high presents a greater risk to children if violated than a requirement weighted as low.
What is a deficiency?
A deficiency, also referred to as a violation, is any failure to comply with a CCR statute, administrative rule or minimum standard. A deficiency is posted to the operation’s online record only after it has had the opportunity to dispute it.
How can I find out if an operation has deficiencies?
Information regarding the minimum standard requirements and deficiencies cited for each operation can be found at Search Texas Child Care. Deficiencies can be cited for a variety of reasons, and are detailed in a short narrative.
You should carefully evaluate an operation’s deficiencies and share any concerns or questions with the director, administrator or child care provider.
Information on how the operation corrected each deficiency is also included on Search Texas Child Care. After reviewing the deficiency, you can ask how the operation plans to prevent repeating the deficiency.
Here are a few things to consider when evaluating an operation’s deficiencies and plans to correct those deficiencies:
- Which deficiency was cited and what weight was assigned to the standard? A violation of a standard with a high weight presents a greater risk to children than a standard with a low weight.
- Have deficiencies been repeated in the last two years?
- How long did it take the operation to come into compliance?
- How often is the operation inspected? Monitoring frequencies will change depending on the type of permit and an operation’s ability to comply with statutes, administrative rules and minimum standards.
What is an administrative penalty?
An administrative penalty is a fine for a deficiency of a statute, administrative rule or minimum standard with a high weight, such as a background check requirement.
What is a corrective action?
HHSC imposes a corrective action when an operation has a pattern of deficiencies or one single, serious deficiency that endangers the health and safety of children. A corrective action includes steps to help an operation meet compliance with statutes, administrative rules and minimum standards. CCR inspects an operation more frequently during a corrective action.
What is an adverse action?
HHSC takes an adverse action to address deficiencies that endanger the health or safety of children. This can include closing an operation or adding permanent restrictions or conditions to a permit. HHSC takes adverse action when a corrective action doesn’t reduce the risk at the operation.
An operation has the right to dispute the adverse action through a due process hearing. If an administrative law judge upholds HHSC’s decision to take the adverse action, the operation must notify each parent, guardian or managing conservator of the children in care of the operation.