Jacob’s Ladder In Home Childcare
A licensed child care family home in Fort Smith, Arkansas 72908
6900 S 9th St, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72908. (479) 650-7787.
What Arkansas’s list coversSome counties so far
Arkansas is being read county by county, in alphabetical order: until every county has been read, some facilities aren’t here yet. Arkansas’s own eLicensing search lists every facility now.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. Arkansas’s own record is on ardhslicensing.my.site.com.
The short answer
- 5 deficiencies in the last three years
- 0 at the state’s most serious level
- May 82026 the latest visit on record
- 0 children, its licensed capacity
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean6
- Inspection (survey)
- A visit by state inspectors, often unannounced, who check a place against the rules it must meet. For nursing homes and other places Medicare pays, CMS calls these visits surveys: a standard survey of a nursing home comes at least every 15 months, and a complaint survey whenever a complaint calls for one. Source: CMS; 42 CFR 488.308.
- Deficiency, citation, violation
- What inspectors write up when a place didn’t meet a rule: the rule, what they saw, and when. CMS calls it a deficiency; states may say citation or violation. It is the inspectors’ finding, not a court’s, and the place is usually asked for a plan to correct it. Source: CMS, statement of deficiencies (Form CMS-2567); each state’s licensing agency.
- The state’s most serious level
- Each state grades findings on its own scale and in its own words, so the record counts a state’s findings at that state’s top level. Two states’ top levels aren’t the same thing, so the counts aren’t compared across states. Source: How this site reads each state’s scale.
- Quality rating
- Many states rate child care in a quality rating system that goes past the licensing rules, such as Texas Rising Star or Kentucky All STARS. Taking part is often voluntary, so a program with no rating hasn’t been rated low. Source: Each state’s quality rating system.
- Licence status
- Whether the state’s licence lets the place operate now, in the state’s own words: licensed, on probation (allowed to keep operating on conditions, after problems), provisional, pending or expired. Source: Each state’s licensing agency.
- Capacity
- The most people the licence or certification lets the place care for at once: residents, children, beds or apartments, as the state counts them. It isn’t how many are there now. Source: Each state’s licensing agency.
What did inspectors find?
9 visits in the last three years, the latest on May 8, 2026.
5 deficiencies cited in the last three years, none of them serious.
No complaints listed by Arkansas.
Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Facility visits: regulations inspected and deficiencies cited, Arkansas eLicensing and Facility complaints, Arkansas eLicensing. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
When those deficiencies happened
5 deficiencies in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited May 2026. Most serious: Non-Compliant. The last 3 years, to Nov 5, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dec | |||||||||||
| 2024 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2025 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2026 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
Hover or focus a month to read it.
Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.
Each deficiency, in its source’s words
Grouped by visit, newest first, with the level its source gave it.
Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Facility visits: regulations inspected and deficiencies cited, Arkansas eLicensing. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
May 8, 2026: child Record Review Visit; Monitor Visit; Staff Record Review Visit3 deficiencies
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The following persons shall be required to have their background reviewed through an Arkansas Child Maltreatment Central Registry Check. Prospective owners, household members who are ten (10) years of age or older, and employees who have not lived in the State of Arkansas during the preceding five (5) years will be subject to current federal guidelines regarding conducting a child maltreatment background check in any states where they resided during the past five (5) years.
“Corrective action completed: The provider ensured that everyone in the home 10 years and older has an approved Arkansas maltreatment background check.”
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All caregivers who work directly with children shall obtain at least fifteen (15) hours of training, including child development training, registered with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education Professional Development (DCCECE) Registry, or Department of Education or Department of Higher Education approved training each year in continuing early childhood education.
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All caregivers, including volunteers who are counted in the ratios, shall receive the following orientation within three (3) months of employment (and every three (3) years thereafter) and shall not be left alone with children until this is completed. 1. Introduction (eight (8) clock hours):
“Corrective action completed: The provider ensured that staff members completed the Arkansas new staff orientation training.”
Oct 15, 2024: monitor Visit1 deficiency
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The caregiver shall provide a safe and clean learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, with age-appropriate materials and equipment arranged to support learning.
Jan 10, 2024: child Record Review Visit; Monitor Visit; Staff Record Review Visit1 deficiency
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All caregivers who work directly with children shall obtain at least fifteen (15) hours of training, including child development training, registered with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education Professional Development (DCCECE) Registry, or Department of Education or Department of Higher Education approved training each year in continuing early childhood education.
All 9 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2026 | Child Record Review Visit; Monitor Visit; Staff Record Review Visit | 3 deficiencies cited |
| Dec 15, 2025 | Child Record Review Visit; Monitor Visit; Staff Record Review Visit | No deficiencies cited |
| Aug 27, 2025 | Monitor Visit | No deficiencies cited |
| Jan 31, 2025 | Child Record Review Visit; Monitor Visit; Staff Record Review Visit | No deficiencies cited |
| Oct 15, 2024 | Monitor Visit | 1 deficiency cited |
| Jun 13, 2024 | Monitor Visit | No deficiencies cited |
| Jan 10, 2024 | Child Record Review Visit; Monitor Visit; Staff Record Review Visit | No deficiencies cited |
| Jan 10, 2024 | Child Record Review Visit; Monitor Visit; Staff Record Review Visit | 1 deficiency cited |
| Nov 14, 2023 | Child Record Review Visit; Monitor Visit; Staff Record Review Visit | No deficiencies cited |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Child Care Family Home.
- Provider type: Home Based.
- CACFP Facility (Child and Adult Care Food Program).
- Approved capacity by age group: LCCFH 0.
Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Find Child Care search and facility pages, Arkansas eLicensing. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Arkansas acted against it?
- No corrective action agreements listed by Arkansas.
Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Facility corrective action agreements, Arkansas eLicensing. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
Who does the caring?
- Arkansas doesn’t publish staffing levels for individual providers. State rules set staff-to-child ratios by age.
Who owns it?
- Owner, as Arkansas lists it: Renea Spoon.
Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Find Child Care search and facility pages, Arkansas eLicensing. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
How is it rated?
- Better Beginnings: Level 1.
Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Find Child Care search and facility pages, Arkansas eLicensing. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 55 child care providers in Sebastian County, the middle value for deficiencies cited in the last three years was 1; this one had 5.
Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Facility visits: regulations inspected and deficiencies cited, Arkansas eLicensing. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Deficiencies, 3 years |
|---|---|
| Jack and Jill Childcare | 12 |
| Princeton Prep Academy, LLP | 2 |
| Cook Elementary Preschool | 0 |
| Cavanaugh Elementary Preschool | 0 |
| Jacob’s Ladder In Home Childcare This child care provider | 5 |
| Harvest Time Academy | 8 |
| Grace Place Preschool of Fort Smith | 4 |
| Cavanaugh Childrens Center | 3 |
| The Goddard School Fort Smith | 1 |
| Hollyhock Montessori School | 0 |
| Rooted Learning Center LLC | 0 |
| Amaze Academy | 0 |
What the record doesn’t say
- Arkansas’s visit records cover the last three years only.
- Arkansas lists the regulation each deficiency cited, not what the licensing staff saw.
- Arkansas lists complaints and the regulations their investigations cited, not what was alleged.
Sources
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Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Find Child Care search and facility pages, Arkansas eLicensing.
Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily. Arkansas.gov’s acceptable-use terms: linking is allowed; no framing, no presenting the content as one’s own, no implied endorsement.
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Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Facility visits: regulations inspected and deficiencies cited, Arkansas eLicensing.
Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily. Arkansas.gov’s acceptable-use terms: linking is allowed; no framing, no presenting the content as one’s own, no implied endorsement.
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Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Facility complaints, Arkansas eLicensing.
Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily. Arkansas.gov’s acceptable-use terms: linking is allowed; no framing, no presenting the content as one’s own, no implied endorsement.
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Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Facility corrective action agreements, Arkansas eLicensing.
Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily. Arkansas.gov’s acceptable-use terms: linking is allowed; no framing, no presenting the content as one’s own, no implied endorsement.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood. Arkansas’s own record is on ardhslicensing.my.site.com. If Hearth Record copied something wrongly, it will fix it and log the correction publicly, with its date: how corrections work.
This copy of the record was made on Nov 5, 2026.
From the provider
The public record above comes first. Anything the provider adds will appear here, below it, and say who wrote it.
Replies
None. Replies aren’t open yet. When they open, the provider will be able to answer any finding for free, and the reply will show beside that finding, unedited and dated.
Paid listing
None. Paid listings aren’t open yet. When they open, anything paid for will say “Paid by the provider”, and paying will never change a finding, a rating or the order of results.