Inspections, Violations & Correction Plans

DESE conducts several types of inspections for licensed child care programs: • Initial inspection — before your license is issued for the first time • Renewal inspection — when your license is up for renewal • Complaint inspection — if someone files a complaint about your program • Follow-up inspection — to verify you've corrected previous violations Most inspections are unannounced — the inspector shows up without advance notice. This is by design so they can see how you operate on a normal day.

Inspectors look at everything required by Missouri's child care regulations, including: • Staff ratios and qualifications • Background check documentation • Facility safety (indoors and outdoors) • Health and sanitation practices • Record-keeping and posted documents • Safe sleep practices (for infant care) • Emergency preparedness • Medication storage and authorization See our Inspection Checklist page for a detailed prep list.

If the inspector finds something out of compliance, it gets documented as a violation on the inspection report. Violations are classified by severity: • Class I violations — the most serious. These involve immediate risk to children's health or safety. Examples: leaving children unsupervised, exceeding capacity limits significantly, or dangerous facility conditions. • Class II and Class III violations — less severe but still require correction. All violations require a correction plan.

When you receive a violation, you'll need to submit a correction plan explaining: • What you'll do to fix the problem • When it will be fixed • How you'll prevent it from happening again The timeline for correction depends on the severity of the violation. Serious violations may require immediate correction. DESE will follow up to verify corrections were made. Repeated violations or failure to correct can lead to license probation, suspension, or revocation.