Harvest Child & Youth Development Center - New Castle
A licensed child care center in Historic New Castle, Delaware 19720
1101 Delaware St, Historic New Castle, Delaware 19720. (302) 276-7581.
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The short answer
Record last released by Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing on Nov 1, 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?
4 visits with violations in the last three years, the latest on Jan 12, 2026; Delaware doesn’t list visits that found nothing.
12 violations cited in the last three years.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Nov 1, 2026. Updated daily.
When those violations happened
12 violations in 4 months of the last 36. Last cited Jan 2026. The last 3 years, to Nov 2, 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 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 Nov 1, 2026. Updated daily.
Jan 12, 2026: unannounced Full Compliance Review5 violations
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Personnel Files
“Ensure staff files are complete”
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Child Files
“Ensure child files are complete”
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Administration of Medication
“MAR needed for Child #4”
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Feeding of Infants
“All infants need a monthly feeding statement”
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License Renewal
“Please submit renewal application 60 days prior to license expiration”
Jan 13, 2025: unannounced Full Compliance Review3 violations
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Personnel Files
“Ensure staff files are complete. CPR and FA for staff #3,4,5,8,12 PD plan staff #1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,12,13,14 Staff #10 and 11 need full files Safe sleep for staff #1,2,3,5,6,7,9,12,13,14 Annual abuse and neglect staff# 2.5.6.9.12.13.14 OCCL H&S training Staff #4 App/resume staff #7,8 job description staff #4,7 references staff #4,7,8 Adult abuse staff #4,8 Health app and TB staff #4,7,8 ROE staff #1,7 fingerprints Staff #12,14,15 Service letters staff# 4,7,8 By 1-31-2025 Training hours needed for Staff # 5,7,8,9,12,13”
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Child Files
“Ensure child files are complete. Child #3 is missing blood lead results. Child #11 is missing health app and immunizations send to OCCL”
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Diapering and Soiled Clothing
“Two- year old room needs diaper procedure posted in changing area. Send pics to OCCL”
Mar 26, 2024: unannounced1 violation
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Ratios, Group Size, and Supervision
“Ensure maximum group size is maintained at all times. The One Year Old classroom (K2A) had 22 children and 3 teachers present. The Maximum group size was exceeded as there should be no more than 12 children in the classroom. LS Hackett and LS Bailey spoke with Administrator Williams regarding the non-compliance and Ms. Williams agreed to comply in the future.”
Jan 22, 2024: unannounced Full Compliance Review3 violations
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Personnel Files
The inspectors’ words, 129 words
“All staff files must be complete. Send the DEEDS certificate for one staff member. Send the CPR/First Aid certificate for six staff members. Send the Administration of Medication certificate for six staff members. Send the professional development plan for seven staff members. Send the Send the annual safe sleep and child abuse and neglect for one staff member. Send the staff orientation record for five staff members. Send the Health & Safety training for seven staff members. Send the references for seven staff members. Send the fingerprinting receipt for one staff member. Send the adult abuse registry for six staff members. Send the health appraisal with TB for four staff members. Send the release of employment history for two staff members. Send the service letters for eight staff members.”
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Parents Right to Know
“Send the completed Parent Right to Know log.”
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Child Files
“All child files must be complete. Send the signed parent permission form for one child. Send the current health appraisal with immunizations for one child. Send the blood lead screening for one child.”
All 4 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 12, 2026 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 5 violations cited |
| Jan 13, 2025 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 3 violations cited |
| Mar 26, 2024 | Unannounced | 1 violation cited |
| Jan 22, 2024 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 3 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).
- Delaware lists it as: Nonprofit.
- Licence number 1458667.
- Capacity: 272 children.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Nov 1, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Delaware acted against it?
- 13 complaint investigations in the last three years. Results, in Delaware’s words: No Evidence to Substantiate (7), Substantiated (5), No Evidence to Substantiate with Concern (1).
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews and Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Nov 1, 2026. Updated daily.
| Date | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 23, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On September 15, 2026, the Office of Child Care Licensing, (OCCL) received a complaint regarding failing to show respect for a child’s family, a lack of respectful communication by staff, failing to follow their procedure for dealing with parent complaints, and failing to ensure staff members consult with a child s parent or guardian and professionals, if necessary, to design effective positive behavioral supports or to make reasonable accommodations to comply with provisions in an IFSP or IEP and to adapt behavior supports or other practices for a child who has a special need or disability. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failing to show respect for a child’s family, or a lack of respectful communication by staff. When asked, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Administrator #1, and Staff #1 all denied speaking about families or children in the presence of a child and Staff #1 provided printouts of messages sent to Parent #1 on the center s communication application that were never answered by Parent #1. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failing to follow the procedure for dealing with parent complaints. When Relative #1 requested an immediate meeting, it was granted at that time. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failing to ensure staff members consult with a child s parent or guardian and professionals, if necessary, to design effective positive behavioral supports or to make reasonable accommodations to comply with provisions in an IFSP or IEP and to adapt behavior supports or other practices for a child who has a special need or disability. Child #1 was receiving support from Agency Representative #1 daily for two hours. Child #1 also had a signed transition action plan that was put in place based on Child #1 s IEP. |
| Oct 12, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | On September 18, 2026, OCCL received a complaint regarding failing to administer medication as required and not following infant feeding requirements. An investigation began on September 25, 2026, and concluded on September 28, 2026. This complaint is substantiated for not following infant feeding requirements. Staff #3 stated in an incident report they did not check the initials on the bottle before giving it to Child #2 and gave the wrong formula and bottle to the child. Staff #3 is no longer employed by the facility. DELACARE Regulation 63 states OCCL only allows staff members who are certified to give medication to children when a Medication Administration Record (MAR) has been completed. Because there was no MAR readily accessible, center administration declined to provide the medication to the child but erred by having the agency representative (AR) obtain verbal parent permission for the AR to administer the medication. Center administration should have contacted the parent to obtain the verbal permission and have had a certified staff member administer the medication. OCCL acknowledges that center staff were attempting to comply with DELACARE Regulations but made an error in judgement in suggesting a non-certified non-staff member administer medication to the child. |
| Mar 5, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | On February 6, 2026, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding allegations of insect infestation, lack of building security procedures to prevent unauthorized access, unsanitary toilet areas, and failing to follow child release policy. An investigation was conducted on February 19, 2026. This complaint is substantiated for lack of security procedures and failing to follow child release policy. Based on interviews, a person was able to access the facility without proper security procedures and Child #1 was released without staff identifying an unknown person. Based on interviews, observations, and documentation reviewed, there is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for insect infestation or unsanitary toilet areas. |
| Feb 4, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On December 8, 2025, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding failing to use positive behavior supports. The Reporter emailed a video clip dated September 29, 2025, to OCCL. An investigation was conducted on December 18, 2025. After viewing the video, interviewing staff, and checking staff attendance records, there is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failing to use appropriate behavior supports. |
| Nov 12, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | Between October 1 and October 15, 2025, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received five complaints regarding failing to meet the needs of children, not using appropriate behavior supports, incorrect staff-to-child ratios, lack of supervision, keeping an infant in confining equipment for more than 30 minutes, and failing to provide an injury report. The investigation began on October 3, 2025, and ended on October 24, 2025. After interviews and a review of camera footage, this complaint is substantiated for incorrect staff-to-child ratios. The infant classroom was observed on video with one staff member alone with six children on September 30, 2025. The complaint is substantiated for failing to have an understanding of and respect for children and their needs. Administrator #2 was heard on video telling another staff member that picking up a crying infant only makes it worse. An additional concern noted during the investigation was an infant was observed on video asleep in a bouncy seat for more than two hours. While Regulation #78 is not being cited as non-compliant, the time stamp on the video footage documented that Child #1 was in confining equipment (a crib) while awake and crying for exactly 30 minutes before being picked up by a staff member but immediately placed back in the crib. Based on interviews conducted, video, and documents reviewed, there is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for lack of supervision, failing to provide an injury report, or failing to use appropriate behavior supports. |
| Oct 20, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On September 23, 2025, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint alleging a staff member was using alcohol or drugs that could impair job performance while working with children. An investigation was conducted on September 30, 2025. There is no evidence to substantiate the complaint. All staff denied observing Staff #1 being impaired while working with children. Administrator #1 stated there is no indication Staff #1 has used or been under the influence of drugs while on duty. As a precaution, Administrator #1 reported all staff will be subject to random drug testing and confirmed any staff member with a positive result will be terminated. |
| Nov 26, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On October 21, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding improper discipline. An investigation began on October 23, 2024, and concluded on November 14, 2024. After interviewing staff members and administration and a review of video footage, there is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for improper discipline. |
| Nov 13, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On September 24, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding disrespectful communication with a parent and failing to provide an accident/injury report as required. An investigation was conducted on October 1, 2024. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for disrespectful communication. Administrator #1 stated she was never rude or yelled at Parent #1. Administrator #1 noted she spoke with Parent #1 regarding her communication with Staff #1 and #2 and stated to Parent #1 that she did not like her tone toward Staff #1 and #2. All staff interviewed said they have never witnessed Administrator #1 disrespecting any parent. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failing to provide an accident/injury report as required. Parent #1 was not provided with an accident/injury report because Staff #1 and #2 did not know Child #1 had lost the hair. According to Administrator #1 and Staff #1, Child #1 did not cry at any point during the day. All staff stated if Child #1 were injured, they would have come to a teacher for assistance. Administrator #2 could not identify when the hair went missing from watching camera footage. |
| Oct 16, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On September 5, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing received a complaint regarding not notifying parents of communicable disease, incorrect mixing of age groups, incorrect staff-to-child ratios, not following child illness exclusion regulations, and not having an administrator present. A second complaint was received on September 17, 2024 from the same reporter, again stating concerns of incorrect staff-to-child ratios. A complaint investigation was conducted on September 13, 2024. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for not notifying parents of a communicable disease or not following child illness exclusion regulations based on administration interviews and a review of messages sent to parents in the ProCare application. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for incorrect mixing of age groups or incorrect staff-to-child ratios based on administrator interviews and a review of attendance documentation. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for an administrator not being present based on interviews and a review of administrator attendance documentation. |
| Oct 2, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate with Concern | On September 5, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding improper discipline. An investigation was conducted on September 13, 2024. Based on the results of the investigation, there is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for improper discipline because the administrators, staff, and children who were interviewed all stated they did not witness any improper discipline from Staff #1 or any other staff members. A concern noted at the visit was that Staff #1 had not completed a criminal background check and had not been determined at least provisionally eligible before starting employment in the licensed facility. |
| Sep 5, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On August 5, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding failing to provide required food portions, insufficient supplies for school-age children, improper discipline, and lack of supervision. An investigation was conducted on August 12, 2024. Based on the results of this investigation there is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failing to provide required food portions because all three staff members who were interviewed denied the center has ever not had enough food for children. Also, LS #1 and LS #2 observed the kitchen area to have an adequate food supply. There is no evidence to substantiate the classrooms do not have sufficient supplies for the children because all the classrooms observed by LS # 1 and LS #2 had adequate materials. There is no evidence to substantiate the children are not properly supervised at the pool because two staff members who were interviewed stated children are directly observed by center staff and pool lifeguards. There is no evidence to substantiate for improper discipline because all three staff members who were interviewed denied having any knowledge of a child being grabbed or threatened by a staff member. |
| May 29, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | On March 28, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding allegations of not being respectful to a child and their needs. An investigation was conducted on May 2, 2024. This complaint is substantiated because when interviewed, Staff #1 stated to Adult #1 that Child #1, a two-year-old, must dress herself. After Adult #1 responded with concerns about that not being developmentally appropriate, Staff #1 rolled her eyes and ignored the concerns. Staff #1 stated she eventually helped Child #1 with her clothing. |
| Mar 12, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | On February 12, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding staff members beginning work prior to being determined eligible by the Criminal History Unit (CHU), lack of supervision, being out of staff-to-child ratio, having unqualified staff in the classrooms, not following a daily schedule including not providing outdoor play, and overuse of screen time. Additionally, this complaint was received regarding not washing children s bedding weekly, not cleaning and sanitizing the center daily, staff using their cellphones while working with children, no milk being provided during meals, and not all required meal components being offered. An investigation was conducted on February 16, 2024. This complaint is substantiated for staff working before completing a comprehensive background check and being determined eligible by CHU because four staff members present at the visit had not yet been determined eligible. Three of these staff were working before having fingerprints taken. This complaint is also substantiated for lack of supervision because children were observed in the boys bathroom unsupervised. This complaint is substantiated for not providing daily outdoor play because the infant and toddler classrooms were not provided outdoor play as listed on their daily schedule during this visit. This complaint is substantiated for overuse of screen time because more than one staff member interviewed stated over an hour of screen time is provided daily. This complaint is substantiated for staff using cell phones because two staff members were observed using their cell phones during nap time while responsible for caring for children, and one staff member was speaking on their cell phone in a classroom while caring for children. This complaint is also substantiated for not providing the required meal components because chocolate milk was provided to the children for lunch. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for not wash ing the nap bedding weekly because of interviews where staff stated the bedding is provided by parents and sent home weekly for cleaning. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for not cleaning and sanitizing the center daily because the applicant Raymond Williams and Administrator Letitia Williams stated the center has four contracted staff solely to clean and sanitize the center after closing and staff members stated they clean and sanitize throughout the day. There is no evidence to substantiate children not being served all food components because the menu matched what was being served on the day of this visit and met the requirements. An additional concern noted at the visit was the presence of school-age children in classrooms that were not enrolled in the center, some of the classrooms not having staff members signed out, and two classrooms not having children signed in or out. An additional concern noted at this visit was exceeding the maximum group size in the infant classroom and multiple infant safe sleep violations. During an initial walkthrough, an infant was asleep on a boppy pillow on the floor and another infant was asleep in a crib with a blanket. This was corrected, and then during a second walkthrough, this same infant classroom was over the maximum group size with 10 children present. The infants in the classroom again had blankets and bottles in their cribs. The same infant that was sleeping on the floor earlier in the visit was asleep in a swing with a blanket. Infant bottles were not labeled. The cribs were less than 18 inches apart. An additional concern noted was the use of an air freshener plug-in a classroom. |
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?
- 2025: 2 facility injuries. No facility deaths reported.
- 2023: 2 facility injuries. No facility deaths reported.
- 2021: 1 facility injury. No facility deaths reported.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Nov 1, 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 Nov 1, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Harvest Child & Youth Development Center - New Castle This child care provider | Not given |
| 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 | 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 Nov 1, 2026 and checked Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information (wb83-pkcv).
Released Nov 1, 2026 and checked Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews (pnbd-85r6).
Released Nov 1, 2026 and checked Nov 2, 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 Nov 2, 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.