Cradles to Crayons III Early Learning Center
A licensed child care center in New Castle, Delaware 19720
122 Memorial Drive, New Castle, Delaware 19720. (302) 655-0725.
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?
4 visits with violations in the last three years, the latest on Aug 6, 2026; Delaware doesn’t list visits that found nothing.
32 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
32 violations in 4 months of the last 36. Last cited Aug 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.
Aug 6, 2026: unannounced Full Compliance Review7 violations
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Personnel Files
“Ensure staff files are complete. TB screening needed for staff #1. Send photo to OCCL.”
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Indoor Space
“Ensure indoor space is safe/cleanable. *Repair/paint wall in child bathroom. *Remove all air fresheners and sprays. Send photo to OCCL.”
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Kitchen and Food Preparation
“Ensure kitchen area is non-porous and cleanable. Repair countertop. Send photo to OCCL.”
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Outdoor Area
“Ensure there are no trampolines in use. Remove mini trampoline from School-Age Summer camp room. CAV.”
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Diapering and Soiled Clothing
“Ensure diaper pads are non-porous. Replace torn diaper mats in infant and toddler classrooms. Send photo to OCCL.”
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Administration of Medication
“Ensure there is is an MAR form completed in full for all OTC and RX medications. Send updated MARs for all medications in infant and toddler rooms.”
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Lesson Plans
“Ensure weekly lesson plans are completed and posted as appropriate for all age groups. Send OCCL one week of lesson plans for all classrooms.”
Aug 11, 2025: unannounced Full Compliance Review9 violations
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Ratios, Group Size, and Supervision
“Ensure staff alone with children are determined eligible. Staff #14 was signed in alone with children without a comprehensive background check.”
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General Qualifications
“Ensure staff members have a comprehensive background check and eligibility determination or provisional eligibility notification in file before starting employment. Staff #14 was sent home at the time of the visit.”
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Personnel Files
“Ensure staff files are complete. PD Plan for Staff #10. CPR/First Aid for Staff #1, #2, #8, #10, #11, #13, and #14. OCCL Health and Safety training for Staff #11 and #14. Orientation for Staff #14. Application for Staff #14. References for Staff #14. Eligibility Letter/ Out of State clearances for Staff #4, #12, #14. Adult abuse registry for Staff #14. Health appraisal with TB for Staff #2, #5, #6, #8, #9, #11, #12, #14, and #15. Release of employment for Staff #12 and #14. Service Letters for Staff #14.”
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Staff Attendance
“Ensure staff are signed in to the classroom. School-age classroom staff were not signed.-Corrected at visit.”
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Child Files
“Ensure children’s files are complete. Hours/days attending for Child #2, #4, and #10. Emergency card for Child #4. Health appraisal with immunizations for Child #3, #6, #8, #9, and #10. Blood lead screening results for Child #3, #5, #6, #9, and #10. Parents’ right to know for Child #4. Developmental plan for Child #4, #5, #6, #9, and #10. Infant feeding schedule for Child #1 and #4.”
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Indoor Space
“Ensure vents are cleaned and dust-free. Clean vents in Toddler 1 and Toddler 2 classrooms.”
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Equipment
“Ensure equipment is in good condition. Remove/Replace/Repair 2 chairs in the Pre-K classroom.”
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Emergency Planning
“Ensure there is enough emergency water for all the children enrolled.”
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Lesson Plans
“Ensure lesson plans are dated. Lesson plans in Toddler 1, Pre-School, Toddler 3, and Pre-K classrooms were posted but not dated.”
Aug 2, 2024: unannounced Full Compliance Review7 violations
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Personnel Files
“Submit the following to complete staff files: fingerprinting eligibility for staff #3, #6, #8; health appraisals w/ TB for staff #2, 11; references for #5- 2, #2-1, #4-4, #6-4, #11-2; OCCL H&S training and medication training for staff #4, #9; orientation for staff #9; I/T and SA specialized training documentation for # 13;- not determined completion of annual training hours for staff # 1 (8).”
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Parents Right to Know
“Submit an annual Parent’s Right To Know log.”
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Documenting Children’s Progress
“Submit a developmental plan for Child #7.”
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Indoor Space
“Clean all carpets.”
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Outdoor Area
“Install and send photos of self-closing latches on all playground fence gates.”
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Feeding of Infants
“Submit infant feeding schedules.”
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Infant and Toddler Care
“Eliminate all choking hazards from the infant room (a small hair barrette was on the rug.)”
Feb 19, 2024: unannounced Full Compliance Review9 violations
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Insurance Coverage
“Provide documentation of current insurance coverage.”
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Ratios, Group Size, and Supervision
“Ensure infants and toddlers are cared for in areas separate from older children. At the time of the visit , two preschool children were observed in the toddler classroom. Send attendance sheet to OCCL. Also, one staff member left the toddler room to answer the door leaving the classroom unattended. Review regulation/policy/practice with staff.”
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Personnel Files
“Submit the following to complete staff files: OCCL H&S training for Staff #1, 2, 3, and 4; references for Staff # 1, 2, 4; orientation for Staff #4; release of employment history for Staff # 4; documentation of service letters being sent for Staff #2, 3, and 4.”
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Staff Attendance
“Ensure staff attendance to include exact arrival and departure times when entering and leaving the classrooms. At the time of the visit, one staff member was not signed out of the infant room and one staff member was not signed out of the toddler two room.”
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Child Files
“Submit the following to complete children’s files: a health appraisal with immunizations for Child #2; parent’s right to know for Child #2, 4, 5, 6, 7; a complete file for Child #3. Ensure all children have complete files including children with drop-in status.”
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Kitchen and Food Preparation
“Replace thermometer in the refrigerator in the infant room.”
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Sleeping Accommodations and Safe Sleep Environments
“Ensure all infant cribs are labeled.”
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First Aid Kits
“Add an eye patch to complete the first aid kit.”
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Lesson Plans
“Post lesson plans in the infant and toddler 2 rooms.”
All 4 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2026 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 7 violations cited |
| Aug 11, 2025 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 9 violations cited |
| Aug 2, 2024 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 7 violations cited |
| Feb 19, 2024 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 9 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 1487802.
- Capacity: 83 children.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Delaware acted against it?
- 7 complaint investigations in the last three years. Results, in Delaware’s words: No Evidence to Substantiate (4), Substantiated (2), 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 Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
| Date | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 27, 2026 | IA Investigation: Substantiated | Delaware gives no summary. |
| Nov 5, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | The Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint on October 16, 2025, regarding concerns of failure to report child abuse and neglect to the Child Abuse and Neglect Report Line. An investigation was conducted on October 22, 2025. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failure to report abuse and neglect to the Child Abuse and Neglect Report Line based on staff interviews. Administrator #1 and seven staff members interviewed stated they would report all allegations of abuse or neglect to the Child Abuse and Neglect Report Line. Administrator #1 denied saying they were not allowed to report it , and staff members interviewed stated they have not been told they are not allowed to report to the Child Abuse and Neglect Report Line. All staff interviewed were unaware of any incidents of a sexual or inappropriate nature involving any children in care. |
| Sep 26, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: Substantiated | The Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint on August 25, 2025, regarding concerns of a staff member failing to use positive behavior management techniques. An investigation was conducted on September 10, 2025. This complaint is substantiated for failure to use positive behavior management techniques based on a self-report from Owner #1, a review of video footage by LS #1, and a written statement from Owner #1. Video footage reviewed showed Staff #1 pushing Child #1 to the ground, causing them to hit their hit on a shelf, pulling Child #1’s hair, hitting Child #1 repeatedly with a shoe, and holding Child #1 on the ground. An additional concern noted was the failure of a staff member present in the room to intervene during this altercation, as all staff should have an understanding of and respect for children s needs. While reviewing video footage of the altercation between Staff #1 and Child #1, LS #1 observed Staff #3 sitting, observing, and not intervening to help Child #1. |
| Sep 24, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate with Concern | The Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint on August 25, 2025, regarding concerns of unqualified staff working with children, lack of supervision due to children being left outside, not following policies regarding children with unsafe behaviors, not notifying families of important information regarding their children such as child-on-child sexual misconduct and harmful behaviors, not following illness exclusions, sanitation concerns, not following diapering procedures, and falsifying information. An investigation was conducted on September 10, 2025. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for concerns of unqualified staff working with children based on classroom observations and review of attendance records. Classrooms observed had staff members who had DEEDS Early Learning qualifications as required and attendance records reviewed reflected all staff members had DEEDS Early Learning qualifications as required. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for lack of supervision due to children being left outside based on staff interviews. All staff members interviewed stated they are unaware of any children being left on the playground. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for not following policies regarding children with unsafe behaviors based on staff interviews. All staff interviewed stated they have some challenging behaviors in the classroom, but nothing that seems unsafe, and families are notified if a child displays unsafe behaviors. All staff interviewed noted additional help is available if needed for challenging behaviors. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for not notifying families of important information regarding their children such as child-on-child sexual misconduct and harmful behaviors. All staff interviewed stated they are unaware of any child-on-child sexual misconduct or harmful behaviors. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for not following illness exc lusions, specifically among staff based on staff interviews. All staff members interviewed stated all families are notified of contagious illnesses within the center via the ProCare application, and all staff members interviewed stated they do not bring their children into the facility when they are showing symptoms of an illness. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for sanitation concerns based on staff interviews. All staff interviewed stated they follow all the required sanitation policies, and all toys and surfaces are cleaned with soap and water and then sanitized with bleach and water. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for not following diapering procedures based on staff interviews. All staff members interviewed stated children s diapers are checked every hour and changed at least every two hours or immediately when soiled. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for falsifying information based on staff interviews. All staff interviewed denied falsifying documents or being asked to falsify a document or statement. A concern noted during this investigation is inaccurate attendance records. Attendance records reflected children are not being signed out of the classroom at the end of the day. Attendance records also reflected staff members signing out of the classroom with no coverage indicated on the attendance record, and staff members not signing out of the classroom when leaving the classrooms. |
| May 12, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On April 28, 2025, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding concerns of improper restraint of preschool children by forcing them to stay on cots during rest time, not following the daily schedule for lunch/naps, and improper discipline leading to an injury. An investigation was conducted on May 2, 2025. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for concerns of improper restraint of preschool children based on interviews conducted and observation of the classrooms during naptime. Staff interviewed stated children are not forced to sleep or restrained to their cots, and no children were observed restrained to their cots or forced to sleep during this visit. There is no evidence to substantiate not following the daily schedule for lunch/naps based on interviews conducted. Administrator #1 stated the facility follows the schedule, and lunch is served at 11:30, and nap time follows for all classrooms. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for improper discipline, leading to an injury, based on interviews conducted. Administrator #1 stated Child #1 lost their balance from their arms on the cot, and hit their face, and an injury report was written and signed by Parent #1. |
| Jan 17, 2025 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | A complaint was received on December 16, 2024, regarding concerns about improper discipline. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint because Staff #1 denied smacking any children, or witnessing children being smacked, and denied ever verbally threatening to hit a child. Administrator #1 stated they have not observed any improper discipline from Staff #1. During observation of the facility, no yelling, threatening or smacking was observed. There is no video evidence available for review as the facility does not currently have operating cameras. |
| Oct 10, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | A complaint was received on September 18, 2024, regarding concerns about not utilizing security procedures, improper discipline, using inappropriate language in front of children, use of confining and inappropriate age equipment, safe sleep violations, and improper feeding of infants. There is no evidence to substantiate the allegations in this complaint because of interviews with Administrator #1, Owner #1, and staff members, and observation of the facility during this visit. Security procedures were in place and followed upon OCCL arriving. There were no loud voices, yelling, or cursing observed during this visit, and staff interviewed denied witnessing or using any improper discipline or inappropriate language. No children older than infants were seen in confining equipment nor was such equipment seen outside of the infant classroom. Staff interviewed denied putting any older children into confining equipment. All infants present were being cared for properly and Staff #1 noted they follow all safe sleep and infant feeding procedures. |
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: 1 facility injury. 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 |
|---|---|
| Cradles to Crayons III Early Learning Center 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 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.