Happy Place Child Care of Middletown
A licensed child care center in Middletown, Delaware 19709
100 Patriot Dr, Middletown, Delaware 19709. (302) 449-3311.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. Delaware’s own record is on data.delaware.gov.
The short answer
Record last released by Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing on Oct 23, 2026.
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean4
- 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.
- 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?
3 visits with violations in the last three years, the latest on Mar 12, 2026; Delaware doesn’t list visits that found nothing.
6 violations cited in the last three years.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
When those violations happened
6 violations in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Mar 2026. The last 3 years, to Oct 24, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 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 violation, in its source’s words
Grouped by visit, newest first, with the level its source gave it.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
Mar 12, 2026: unannounced Full Compliance Review1 violation
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Child Health Appraisal
“Ensure children have blood lead screenings. Send Child #2, 12, and 14 to OCCL.”
Mar 11, 2025: unannounced Full Compliance Review3 violations
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Child Health Appraisal
“Ensure children have health appraisals on file. Send Child #1’s health appraisal with immunizations to OCCL.”
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Outdoor Area
“Ensure no hazards are on the playground. Repair, replace, or cover area between poured-in-place and concrete.”
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Hand Washing
“Ensure staff wash hands after changing diapers. Review regulation and procedure with Staff #1 and send to OCCL.”
Mar 12, 2024: unannounced Full Compliance Review2 violations
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Personnel Files
“Ensure staff files are complete. Staff #1 needs one reference letter. Staff #2 needs either one service letter and one reference letter, or 3 additional references. Staff #4 needs 7-hour OCCL Health and Safety training and signed job description.”
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Kitchen and Food Preparation
“Ensure thermometer in kitchen refrigerator reads 41 degrees or below. Send a picture to OCCL.”
All 3 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2026 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 1 violation cited |
| Mar 11, 2025 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 3 violations cited |
| Mar 12, 2024 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 2 violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Child Care Center.
- Ages served, in Delaware’s words: 6 weeks through 12 years.
- Takes part in: Child Care Food Program (meals reimbursed), Purchase of Care (state-subsidized child care).
- Licence number 1019281.
- Capacity: 144 children.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Delaware acted against it?
- 3 complaint investigations in the last three years. Results, in Delaware’s words: No Evidence to Substantiate (3).
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews and Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
| Date | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On July 16, 2026, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding allegations of lack of supervision, failure to have and follow procedures for reporting accidents or critical incidents involving children and other important information relating to the child, and failure to intervene quickly to ensure the safety of children and others by allowing children to hit, punish, or discipline one another. An investigation was conducted on July 23, 2026. Based on interviews conducted, observations made, and documents collected during the investigation, there is no evidence to substantiate the allegation of lack of supervision. The classrooms were arranged with clear lines of sight for supervision, staff were actively supervising children throughout the visit, and attendance records confirmed that required staff-to-child ratios were maintained in accordance with Delacare Regulations. Based on interviews conducted and documents collected and reviewed during the investigation, there is no evidence to substantiate the allegation that the center failed to have and follow procedures for reporting accidents or critical incidents involving children and other important information relating to the child. All staff interviewed consistently described the center’s procedures for reporting incidents, and their responses were consistent with the procedures outlined in the parent handbook. Based on interviews conducted, and observations made, there is no evidence to substantiate the allegation that staff failed to intervene quickly to ensure the safety of children and others or allowed children to hit, punish, or discipline one another. All staff interviewed described using positive guidance techniques, including redirection and discussing inappropriate behaviors with children, to address challenging behaviors. No evidence was identified to support the allegation that Child #1 hit or kicked other children or that staff failed to intervene appropriately. |
| Mar 4, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | Between January 27, 2026, and February 2, 2026, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received two complaints regarding infant safe sleep, failing to meet a child s needs, sanitation requirements, access to electrical outlets, washing of bedding, failing to follow requirements for breastfeeding, and staff using cell phones. An investigation began on February 2, 2026, and concluded on February 5, 2026. According to staff interviews and observations, there is no evidence to substantiate this complaint. All staff interviewed stated they follow infant safe sleep guidelines, sanitation requirements, washing of bedding, breastfeeding requirements, and cell phone requirements. Based on observations, children s needs were met, electrical outlets are safety outlets and are not required to be covered, no staff were using their cell phones while caring for children, and breastfeeding requirements were met. |
| Oct 16, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On September 25, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding improper discipline, behavior management techniques, proper handwashing, toileting procedures, and concerns about sanitization procedures. The investigation was conducted on October 2, 2024. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for improper discipline, behavior management techniques, lack of proper handwashing, not sanitizing properly, or not following toileting procedures based on staff interviews and documentation received. A behavior report was reviewed for Child #1 and all staff interviewed denied using improper discipline, stated they use appropriate behavior management techniques, use proper handwashing and toileting procedures, and clean and sanitize classrooms regularly. |
Who does the caring?
- Delaware doesn’t publish staffing levels for individual providers.
Who owns it?
- Delaware’s open data doesn’t list owners.
How is it rated?
- 2026: 2 facility injuries. No facility deaths reported.
- 2025: 1 facility injury. No facility deaths reported.
- 2024: 1 facility injury. No facility deaths reported.
- 2023: 4 facility injuries. No facility deaths reported.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Providers aren’t compared: Delaware lists only the visits that found violations, so a count can’t tell a clean record from one never visited.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Katherine Manning | Not given |
| Barbara Needles | Not given |
| Shaun Mullan-Wright DBA Sunshine Children’s House | Not given |
| Happy Place Child Care of Middletown This child care provider | Not given |
| Jeffrey Whiting | Not given |
| Susan Thompson | Not given |
| Peace Arousa Augusta Osayanmwen | Not given |
| Mercy Land Academy | Not given |
| Brilliant Little Minds @apc | Not given |
| Grow & Learn Childcare Center | Not given |
| Charlotte Goode | Not given |
| Celebree School of Middletown | Not given |
What the record doesn’t say
- Delaware doesn’t grade violations by severity, so read what was cited.
- Delaware’s open data lists a visit only when a violation was cited there, so visits that found nothing aren’t shown.
- Delaware publishes five years of reviews and complaints; this page shows the last three.
- Delaware doesn’t publish staffing levels or owners for individual providers.
- Delaware lists only the visits that found violations, so a provider with none listed may not have been visited at all: no count of violations is used to headline, filter or compare its providers.
Sources
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities (iuzd-3dbt).
Released Oct 23, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information (wb83-pkcv).
Released Oct 23, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews (pnbd-85r6).
Released Oct 23, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing. Delaware’s own record is on data.delaware.gov. 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 Oct 24, 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.