When a Texas daycare is cited for a serious safety violation, many parents assume the facility will be required to close. That is not always the case.
A daycare may be cited for unsafe supervision, dangerous conditions, or other failures to meet state minimum standards and still remain open. This is because a violation does not automatically result in a daycare losing its license.
What Happens After a Daycare Is Cited?
Texas Health and Human Services regulates licensed daycares and investigates reports of potential safety violations. When an investigation finds that a daycare failed to meet state minimum standards, the facility may receive a citation.
Depending on the circumstances, the state may require corrective action rather than immediately closing the facility. This can include increased monitoring, fines, mandatory retraining, probation, or a safety plan.
As a result, a daycare can have serious violations in its history while continuing to care for children.
What a Daycare's Violation History Can Reveal
Texas makes daycare inspection and compliance information available to the public through its childcare database. These records can show what a daycare was cited for and provide information about the safety concerns identified during inspections or investigations.
Looking at the full history can be more helpful than focusing on a single citation. Repeated violations involving lack of supervision, unsafe conditions, or similar concerns may show that a daycare has struggled with the same safety issue more than once.
This information can be valuable when choosing a daycare, but it can become especially important after a child is injured. A facility's history may reveal that the problem involved in the injury had been identified before and that the daycare had previous opportunities to address it.
Why These Records Matter for Families
A daycare remaining open does not mean its past safety violations no longer matter. Those records can provide important insight into how the facility has operated, what safety concerns have been identified, and whether similar problems have happened more than once.
That information can be valuable for families deciding whether they feel comfortable with a daycare. Public records may reveal concerns that do not come up during a tour or enrollment meeting and give parents a better understanding of a facility’s safety history.
At The Button Law Firm, we have investigated daycare injury cases where prior violations provided important context about how and why a child was hurt. Reviewing that history is one of the ways our team works to determine whether an injury was preventable and whether the daycare had faced similar safety concerns before.
If your child was seriously injured at a daycare and you have questions about the facility’s safety history, call (214) 699-4409, email intake@buttonlawfirm.com, or fill out the contact form on our website to share your story or experience with our team.
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