HOUSTON – The recent story of a Houston day care facility owner who allegedly left five children in a hot car has some parents on high alert.
Per court documents, the owner, Dominique Wilson, ran the day care out of her apartment.
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Here’s how you can ensure that you’re leaving your child in good hands, whether you select a home day care or a popular facility.
In Texas, there is a website you can visit to search for the records of day care operations -- including licensed child care centers or licensed or registered child care homes -- listed family homes -- which are not licensed or registered by the Department of Family and Protective Services -- and involuntarily suspended or revoked child care operations.
To search the record of a licensed child care center or licensed or registered child care home, go here.
- When you arrive at that page, search your day care’s name. You can also search by address. This page can also help when you’re in the market for a day care and have specific needs. However, if you’re looking for a specific day care, we’ve found the page most useful if you enter the name or address first and press the yellow “search” button on the right side of the screen.
- The results will load and you can click on the “more details/compliance history” link at the bottom your day care operation. This link will take you to the “Operation Details” page, which provides information about licensing. Perhaps the most helpful section is an area near the bottom of the page that offers “weights of the standard deficiencies cited in the past three years.” You can click on these individually and see additional details about each incident. On the far right of a table showing each incident is a box that reads, “Click for narrative.” A popup box will discuss what happened and what corrective measures were taken, if any.
The listed family homes, are just that -- listed -- on this website, because they are not routinely inspected unless a report is received alleging: child abuse or neglect, an immediate risk of danger to the health or safety of a child, or the caregiver is caring for too many children. There is no information about inspections or other reports on those pages, aside from name of the operation or caregiver, address, county and phone number.
To see a full list of involuntarily suspended or revoked child care operations in the past five years, go here.
There’s also this handy guide that can answer your questions about the types of child care operations in Texas.
Did you try this out? Let us know what your experience was like in the comments.