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Parental Access to Online Child Care Licensing Inspections and Online Licensing Complaints

In the United States, the approach to child care is based on the assumption that parents are free to choose the child care situation that best suits their family’s needs and values.

For parents to make informed choices about the best care for their children, they need access to information. They look for information from a variety of informal and formal sources, including the state licensing agencies One of the key responsibilities of states is to inspect child care programs and ensure they meet required licensing standards, including those related to protecting children’s health and safety. The map has links to state online licensing information or the contact information on child care licensing.

In the past, parents have faced obstacles in obtaining the reports from these inspections. As a result, they had no way of knowing whether a program was in compliance with licensing regulations. In some states, agencies chose not to make the information available. In other states, parents had to visit licensing offices or wait for written responses to inquiries about specific programs. The result was that some parents have unknowingly put their children in unsafe and unhealthy situations.

Research from Florida showed the following benefits of posting inspection and complaint reports online in a user-friendly and easily accessible format:

• Programs were inspected more frequently.
• Inspectors were more likely to provide varied reviews of programs.
• The quality of child care, especially care received by low-income children, increased after inspections were made available on the web.¹

Publicity about tragic accidents in child care and recent changes in technology have resulted in states making more information available to parents on the Internet. Currently, 17 states post reports on the Internet on both regular monitoring and inspections due to complaints. In addition three states have posted information about routine inspections, and another three states have posted information about inspections from complaints.

For additional information, please click on your state. Each state has a link to the State Child Care Fact Sheet, the State Child Care Center Standards and Oversight rating, and the State Family Child Care rating.

Blue states have a link to the state’s online inspection reports. Red states have a link to contact information on child care licensing because they do not have inspection reports available.

Key:
Blue States = Online Inspection Reports
Red States = Contact Information

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