Vista Ridge Academy
A child care center in Erie, Colorado 80516
3100 Ridgeview DR, Erie, Colorado 80516.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. Colorado’s own record is on coloradoshines.com.
The short answer
Record last released by Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) on Nov 2, 2026.
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean5
- 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.
- 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?
CDEC’s file lists 4 inspections, investigations and complaints from Jan 1, 2023 to Oct 27, 2026, the latest on Sep 1, 2026 (Supervisory).
30 citations in all.
Where Colorado posts its reports: Colorado Shines.
Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Data request 2026-967, delivered Oct 28, 2026 and each month since: licensing inspections, complaints and Stage II investigations from Jan 1, 2023. Released Oct 28, 2026. CDEC sends the previous month’s records in the first week of each month; a person saves each file and loads it.
When those citations happened
30 citations in 4 months of the last 46. Last cited Sep 2026. The last 4 years, to Nov 5, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | 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 |
Hover or focus a month to read it.
Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.
Each citation, in its source’s words
Grouped by visit, newest first, with the level its source gave it.
Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Data request 2026-967, delivered Oct 28, 2026 and each month since: licensing inspections, complaints and Stage II investigations from Jan 1, 2023. Released Oct 28, 2026. CDEC sends the previous month’s records in the first week of each month; a person saves each file and loads it.
Sep 1, 2026: supervisory (case 264564)5 citations
-
Each owner and employee sixteen (16) years of age or older of a facility or agency shall complete the fingerprint process at an approved vendor. Payment of the fee for the criminal record check is the responsibility of the individual being checked or the facility or agency. The results of the criminal record check, the CBI and/or Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) response letters, must be maintained at the home, center, facility, or agency and must be available for review upon request by a Licensing Specialist.
-
Requests for a criminal record check, other than those required per this rule section 2.121(D)(4) must be completed at an approved vendor within five (5) working days of the day that the individual begins to work at the facility or agency.
-
Prior to the original license being issued, following the renovation of the facility that would affect the licensing of the facility and at least every two (2) years thereafter, all child care facilities except family child care homes and Neighborhood Youth Organizations must be inspected and obtain an approving inspection report from the local department of health or the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and from the local fire department. These reports must be maintained at the facility and be available for review upon request by a Licensing Specialist.
-
All staff must complete a Department-approved Standard Precautions training prior to working with children. This training must be renewed annually and will be counted towards ongoing professional development.
-
All employees and regular volunteers must be trained using a Department-approved training about Child Abuse Prevention prior to working with children, which includes common symptoms and signs of child abuse, how to report, where to report, and when to report suspected or known child abuse or neglect. This training must be renewed annually.
Oct 14, 2025: supervisory (case 247840)9 citations
-
The Trails child abuse or neglect records request must be made on the state-prescribed form, accompanied by the required fee within the following required time frames: Child care centers (less than 24-hour care), school-age child care facilities, family child care homes, and qualified exempt providers must meet the following: For all individuals whose activities involve the care or supervision of children or who have unsupervised access to children, requests must be submitted and successfully completed prior to caring for children or allowing unsupervised access to children.
-
Criminal background check requests must be successfully completed prior to an individual caring for children or allowing the individual unsupervised access to children in child care centers (less than 24-hour care), school-age child care facilities, family child care homes, and qualified exempt provider homes.
-
The following background check requests must be submitted and successfully completed for each state an individual has resided in, in the past five years, prior to an individual caring for children or allowing the individual unsupervised access to children in child care centers (less than 24-hour care), school-age child care facilities, family child care homes, and qualified exempt provider homes:
-
Within ninety (90) calendar days of employment, all staff required to register with the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System (listed in rule section 2.208(D)) must complete the Department-approved training course: Introduction to the Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education Programs. This course is required once and will be counted towards ongoing professional development.
-
Within ninety (90) calendar days of employment, all directors and assistant directors must complete the Department-approved training: Introduction to Child Care Health Consultation. This course is required once and will be counted towards ongoing professional development.
-
Window blind cords must be secured out of children’s reach to prevent strangulation.
-
Items labeled “keep out of reach of children” must be inaccessible to children.
-
Sharp tools and instruments must be stored in areas inaccessible to children.
-
In rooms used by children, all electrical outlets that are accessible to children must have protective covers, or safety outlets must be installed.
Nov 4, 2024: supervisory (case 213080)13 citations
-
The Trails child abuse or neglect records request must be made on the state-prescribed form, accompanied by the required fee within the following required time frames: Child care centers (less than 24-hour care), school-age child care facilities, family child care homes, and qualified exempt providers must meet the following: Individuals who have obtained a successfully completed CBI or FBI record check may care for children, for no longer than ninety (90) calendar days, while waiting for all other required background checks to be completed. The individual must be supervised at all times by an individual who has successfully completed all required background checks.
-
Criminal background check requests must be successfully completed prior to an individual caring for children or allowing the individual unsupervised access to children in child care centers (less than 24-hour care), school-age child care facilities, family child care homes, and qualified exempt provider homes.
-
The following background check requests must be submitted and successfully completed for each state an individual has resided in, in the past five years, prior to an individual caring for children or allowing the individual unsupervised access to children in child care centers (less than 24-hour care), school-age child care facilities, family child care homes, and qualified exempt provider homes:
-
Prior to the original license being issued, following the renovation of the facility that would affect the licensing of the facility and at least every two (2) years thereafter, all child care facilities except family child care homes and Neighborhood Youth Organizations must be inspected and obtain an approving inspection report from the local department of health or the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and from the local fire department. These reports must be maintained at the facility and be available for review upon request by a Licensing Specialist.
-
Prior to caring for children, all staff must complete a Department-approved training in emergency and disaster preparedness: Evacuation, Shelter in Place, Lockdown, and Active Shooter on Premises Plans for Children in Care. For seasonal children’s resident camp programs, operating no more than 90 days per calendar year, at least one on site director must be trained in the Department approved training.
-
All staff members must submit to the center a medical statement, signed and dated by a physician or other health care provider, verifying that they are in good mental, physical, and emotional health appropriate for the position for which they have been hired. This statement must be dated no more than six (6) months prior to employment or within thirty (30) calendar days after the first date of employment. Subsequent self-reported health histories must be submitted annually.
-
All staff must complete a pre-service building and physical premises safety training prior to working with children. The training must include identification of and protection from hazards that can cause bodily injury such as electrical hazards, bodies of water, vehicular traffic handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of biological contaminants.
-
Within ninety (90) calendar days of employment, all staff required to register with the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System (listed in rule section 2.208(D)) must complete the Department-approved training course: Introduction to the Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education Programs. This course is required once and will be counted towards ongoing professional development.
-
Within ninety (90) calendar days of employment, all staff required to register with the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System (listed in rule section 2.208(D)) must complete the Department-approved Recognizing the Impact of Bias on Early Childhood Professionals training or other Department-approved training on implicit bias. This course is required once and will be counted towards ongoing professional development.
-
Within ninety (90) calendar days of employment, all directors and assistant directors must complete the Department-approved training: Working with an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant. This course is required once and will be counted towards ongoing professional development.
-
Within ninety (90) calendar days of employment, all directors and assistant directors must complete the Department-approved training: Introduction to Child Care Health Consultation. This course is required once and will be counted towards ongoing professional development.
-
At the time of admission, the parent(s)/guardian(s) must provide for each child entering the center: Documentation of school-required immunization status or certificate of medical or nonmedical exemption, is required by the Colorado Board of Health. Up-to-date school-required immunizations must be documented as specified on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment certificate of immunization or on an “approved alternate” Certificate of Immunization, defined in Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment rules located in 6 CCR 1009-2 rule section VI(A), (May 15, 2023), no later editions or amendments are incorporated. These regulations are available from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment at no cost at www.sos.state.co.us/CCR. These regulations are also available for public inspection and copying at the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, 710 S. Ash St., Bldg. C, Denver, CO 80246, during regular business hours. Colorado law requires proof of immunization status or exemption be provided prior to or on the first day of admission.
-
Within thirty (30) calendar days of admission, and within thirty (30) calendar days following the expiration date of a previous health statement, the parent(s)/guardian(s) of each child must submit a statement of the child’s current health status or written verification of a scheduled appointment with a health care provider. The statement of the child’s current health status must be signed and dated by a health care provider who has seen the child within the last twelve (12) months, or within the last six (6) months for children less than two and one-half (2½) years of age. The statement must include when the next visit is required by the health care provider. All health statements must be kept at the center.
Nov 16, 2023: supervisory (case 192007)3 citations
-
Items labeled ?keep out of reach of children? must be inaccessible to children.
-
Indoor and outdoor equipment, materials, and furnishings must be sturdy, safe, and free of hazards.
-
All climbing equipment eighteen (18) inches or higher must have resilient surfacing of at least six (6) inches in the use zone surrounding the equipment.
All 4 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Supervisory (case 264564) | 5 citations; no clearance date in CDEC’s file. |
| Oct 14, 2025 | Supervisory (case 247840) | 9 citations; cleared Feb 10, 2026. |
| Nov 4, 2024 | Supervisory (case 213080) | 13 citations; cleared Jan 13, 2025. |
| Nov 16, 2023 | Supervisory (case 192007) | 3 citations; cleared Nov 28, 2023. |
Is it licensed?
- Colorado’s service type: Child Care Center; licensed by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.
- Licensed for 40 children: 40 preschoolers.
- Colorado’s licence number: 1657012.
Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Colorado Licensed Child Care Facilities Report. Released Nov 2, 2026. Updated monthly.
What did complaints and investigations find?
- CDEC’s file lists no complaints or Stage II investigations for this program from Jan 1, 2023 to Oct 27, 2026.
- Neither CDEC’s roster nor its file of inspections lists enforcement actions, such as fines or the revocation of a licence.
Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Data request 2026-967, delivered Oct 28, 2026 and each month since: licensing inspections, complaints and Stage II investigations from Jan 1, 2023. Released Oct 28, 2026. CDEC sends the previous month’s records in the first week of each month; a person saves each file and loads it.
Who does the caring?
- Colorado doesn’t publish staffing levels for individual programs in this dataset.
Who owns it?
- Colorado’s dataset lists its governing body as NA.
Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Colorado Licensed Child Care Facilities Report. Released Nov 2, 2026. Updated monthly.
How is it rated?
- Colorado Shines: Level 1 of five, as Colorado rates it.
Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Colorado Licensed Child Care Facilities Report. Released Nov 2, 2026. Updated monthly.
How does it compare nearby?
- Programs aren’t compared with each other here: CDEC’s file doesn’t grade its citations by how serious they are.
| Place | |
|---|---|
| Vista Ridge Academy This child care provider | Not given |
What the record doesn’t say
- Inspections, investigations and complaints are from the file CDEC sent for a data request, from Jan 1, 2023, and the file it sends each month since. CDEC says its file may miss a program licensed during that time that is no longer licensed, and that its records may change as they are updated or finalized.
- CDEC’s file gives each rule cited, its category, and the days set to correct it and to clear the case, but not what the inspector wrote: Colorado Shines has each monitoring report. CDEC doesn’t grade citations by how serious they are.
- This page is built from the dataset of licensed child care facilities CDEC publishes monthly on data.colorado.gov, so a program licensed or closed since may be missing or still shown. It leaves out 24-hour licence types and care that is exempt from licensing.
- Colorado’s roster carries no enforcement actions, hours or staffing levels.
Sources
-
Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Colorado Licensed Child Care Facilities Report (data.colorado.gov, a9rr-k8mu).
Released Nov 2, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated monthly. Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and License (PDDL). data.colorado.gov’s terms ask for this disclaimer: “The data made available here has been modified for use from its original source, which is the State of Colorado. THE STATE OF COLORADO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTY AS TO THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, OR CONTENT OF ANY DATA MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE. THE STATE OF COLORADO EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The data is subject to change as modifications and updates are complete. It is understood that the information contained in the Web feed is being used at one’s own risk.” Facts are extracted; monitoring reports are not republished.
-
Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Data request 2026-967, delivered Oct 28, 2026 and each month since: licensing inspections, complaints and Stage II investigations from Jan 1, 2023.
Released Oct 28, 2026 and checked Oct 29, 2026. CDEC sends the previous month’s records in the first week of each month; a person saves each file and loads it. No licence stated: CDEC sent this file for a data request that said it would be shown on a free public website. Its disclaimer says the data “is now subject to open records law”. Shown free, never sold.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC). Colorado’s own record is on coloradoshines.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.