Teachable Moments
A licensed large family child care in New Castle, Delaware 19720
634 Firewood Ln, New Castle, Delaware 19720. (302) 328-1041.
- Intent to Place on Warning of Probation (Delaware)
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 Dec 11, 2025; Delaware doesn’t list visits that found nothing.
7 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
7 violations in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Dec 2025. 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.
Dec 11, 2025: unannounced Full Compliance Review4 violations
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Children’s Files
“Ensure child files are complete. Submit blood lead screening results for Children #2 and 3. Submit health appraisal for Child #3 to OCCL.”
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Diapering and Soiled Clothing
“Place a foot operated diaper only trashcan in the bathroom and send a picture to OCCL.”
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Training
“Submit 15 training hours to OCCL.”
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License Renewal
“Submit renewal application by 12/31/2025.”
Dec 11, 2024: unannounced Full Compliance Review2 violations
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Hazardous Materials
“Submit Radon rest results. Current results expired on 5/8/2024.”
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License Renewal
“Submit notarized renewal application.”
Dec 12, 2023: unannounced Full Compliance Review1 violation
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Pets
“Submit updated rabies information for Rafe.”
All 3 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 11, 2025 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 4 violations cited |
| Dec 11, 2024 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 2 violations cited |
| Dec 12, 2023 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 1 violation cited |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Large Family Child Care.
- Ages served, in Delaware’s words: 8 weeks through 12 years.
- Takes part in: Child Care Food Program (meals reimbursed), Purchase of Care (state-subsidized child care).
- Licence number 1190674.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Delaware acted against it?
- 1 complaint investigation in the last three years. Results, in Delaware’s words: Substantiated (1).
- Delaware has given notice: Intent to Place on Warning of Probation.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intent to Place on Warning of Probation | Delaware has given notice: Intent to Place on Warning of Probation. | |
| Jul 8, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | On June 11 and June 12, 2026, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), received complaints regarding Teachable Moments alleging non-compliance with supervision requirements, safe sleep practices and sleeping accommodations, screen time restrictions, expressed breast milk return procedures, meal and snack requirements, water availability, diapering procedures, parent communication standards, pet disclosure requirements, and safety gate installation. An investigation was conducted on June 29, 2026. The complaint is substantiated regarding safe sleep practices, use of screen time, discarding expressed breast milk, not following diapering procedures, improper safety gate installation, not following parent communication standards, lack of supervision and not following meal and snack requirements. Regarding safe sleep, Licensee #1 acknowledged allowing Child #2, a two-month-old infant, on multiple occasions to remain in a car seat while sleeping. Additionally, the nap room door was confirmed to be closed during sleeping hours. Furthermore, sleep checks were conducted every 30 minutes rather than every 15 minutes as required. Regarding screen time, Licensee #1 confirmed Child #1, a one-year-old, was exposed to television on at least one occasion without parental permission, and Child #3, also one year old, was permitted to view television in violation of the prohibition on screen time for children under age two. Regarding expressed breast milk, Licensee #1 admitted to discarding expressed breast milk in amounts less than one ounce. Additionally, Child #2 did not have an infant feeding schedule completed by Parent #2. Regarding diapering, Licensee #1 acknowledged checking diapers every two hours and changing them every two to three hours, rather than checking every hour and changing every two hours as required. Additionally, Child #2 was observed wet in his/her car seat upon parent pick-up, and no daily log from June 11, 2026, was available. Regarding s afety gates, the safety gates remained unmounted as noted at the December 2025 annual compliance review, and one gate was observed propped with a stool. Regarding parent communication, Licensee #1 acknowledged discussing families and enrolled children with other parents and making subjective comments about a child’s hair to another parent. Regarding meal and snack requirements, Licensee #1 acknowledged she had previously requested families bring in all liquids, fruits, vegetables, and snacks and had believed this practice was permissible, although she is enrolled in the CACFP program. Licensee #1 also stated menu changes were not documented on the posted menu as required. Regarding lack of supervision, Licensee #1 acknowledged Child #2 was left crying in the nap room behind a closed door without timely intervention. Additionally, sleep checks were conducted every 30 minutes rather than the required 15-minute intervals, and children were monitored with video and audio monitor while sleeping behind a closed door rather than in-person checks. There was no evidence to substantiate allegations regarding the denial of water and food to children and children forced to sit on cots without activity. Licensee #1 stated water and food were available to children at all times, and no evidence to the contrary was established during the investigation. Licensee #1 stated Child #1 was never forced to sit on his/her cot as he/she preferred to sit there at times and stated she encouraged him/her to play with toys and with the other children. There is no evidence to substantiate the allegation regarding informing parents of pets, as the parent handbook provided by Licensee #1 has notification to families regarding pets in the home. However, Licensee #1 did state the dogs were put away during tours due to barking. Additional concerns noted during this visit include not following the daily schedule, as Licensee #1 confirmed the posted schedule was not consistently follow ed as children, including Child #1 and Child #4, were found asleep on more than one occasion at the time of parent pick-up. Licensee #1 noted she followed the children s lead on the daily schedule, sometimes starting nap time late in the afternoon. An additional concern noted during this visit was not maintaining a child s file for three months following the child s departure from the program. Licensee #1 stated she destroyed a child file after they left the program. |
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?
- No facility injuries reported. 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 |
|---|---|
| Rebekah Mercer | Not given |
| Sherell Thomas | Not given |
| Joy Harvey | Not given |
| Boys & Girls Club @ New Castle | Not given |
| YMCA of Delaware/New Castle | Not given |
| Latoya Jackson | Not given |
| Brickhouse Care Academy Corporation | Not given |
| Sara Hayton | Not given |
| Comforts of Home Preschool LLC | Not given |
| Teachable Moments This child care provider | Not given |
| Seeds of Greatness Early Learning Center | Not given |
| Lorraine Cali | 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.