Lj’s Playpen Academy Center LLC
A licensed child care center in Wilmington, Delaware 19802
2601 Carter Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19802. (302) 764-5853.
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 29, 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?
2 visits with violations in the last three years, the latest on Nov 13, 2025; Delaware doesn’t list visits that found nothing.
13 violations cited in the last three years.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
When those violations happened
13 violations in 2 months of the last 36. Last cited Nov 2025. The last 3 years, to Oct 30, 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 29, 2026. Updated daily.
Nov 13, 2025: unannounced Full Compliance Review9 violations
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Personnel Files
“Staff #1 needs CPR/First Aid Staff #2 needs orientation, job description, references Staff #4 needs to apply/submit for DEEDS Staff #5 needs specializations on DEEDS certificate”
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Child Files
“Child #2 and 8 need blood lead results.”
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Heating and Cooling
“Ensure space heaters are not used within the center. Center must maintain a temperature between 68-82 degrees.”
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Indoor Space
“PreK ceiling tiles need to be replaced or repaired/painted. Toddler napping equipment (blankets) need to be stored separately.”
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Outdoor Area
“Ensure there is 6 inches of rubber mulch under fall zones.”
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Transportation
“Vehicle needs travel first aid kit and emergency contact information for children.”
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Feeding of Infants
“Send a monthly feeding schedule for each infant. All bottles need to be labeled with child’s name.”
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Infant and Toddler Care
“Styrofoam objects (bowls) and balloons are not permitted for children under 3 years old.”
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License Renewal
“Ensure application is turned in 60 days prior.”
Mar 17, 2025: 60-Day Visit4 violations
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Ratios, Group Size, and Supervision
“Ensure infant classroom has it own attendance sheet, there was one infant and one staff present with no record; the toddler room had 4 one-year-olds and one infant present with one staff member- records had three adults signed in.; the 2/3 year old room had 14 children present with 13 children signed in and 5 staff members present with 6 six signed in. One was signed in twice. Send attendance documents for the weeks of 3-24 and 3-31-25 to OCCL.”
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Personnel Files
“Submit the following to complete staff files: OCCL H&S training for 4 staff members; orientation, 4 references and a health appraisal for 1 staff member, and service letters for one staff member.”
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Staff Attendance
“Ensure all staff sign in and out of each classroom with each arrival and departure. Send attendance documents for the weeks of 3-24 and 3-31-25 to OCCL”
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Indoor Space
“Repair replace broken tile in the 2/3 year old classroom and in the hallway next to the ramp to ensure cleanability. Send picture to OCCL.”
All 2 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 13, 2025 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 9 violations cited |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 60-Day Visit | 4 violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Child Care Center.
- Ages served, in Delaware’s words: 6 weeks through 13 years.
- Takes part in: Child Care Food Program (meals reimbursed), Purchase of Care (state-subsidized child care).
- Special conditions, in Delaware’s words: Agreement of Understanding.
- Licence number 1528835.
- Capacity: 115 children.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Delaware acted against it?
- 1 complaint investigation in the last three years. Results, in Delaware’s words: No Evidence to Substantiate (1).
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews and Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 29, 2026. Updated daily.
| Date | What | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On August 18, 2026, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding LJ s Playpen Academy Center LLC, alleging the center failed to follow its policy for handling parent complaints or concerns and failed to communicate important information or incidents involving children to their parents. The complaint also alleged staff failed to use positive behavior supports, including intervening to protect children and preventing children from behaving roughly with one another, and noted concerns about the failure of the air conditioning system during the summer. An investigation was conducted beginning August 28, 2026, and concluded September 30, 2026, including interviewing staff members and administrators. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for the failure to notify OCCL of a malfunction of the air conditioning unit during the summer of 2026. While Owner #1 and Administrator #1 initially stated the system did malfunction, Administrator #1 later stated on October 23, 2026, this was a maintenance issue and there was no interruption to the function of the air conditioning system at that time. Administrator #1 further noted communications with families regarding monitoring conditions were regarding outdoor temperatures rather than maintaining indoor air temperatures. Due to lack of documentation and the timeframe of this allegation, failure to notify OCCL of a system failure is unable to be substantiated. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failing to follow the facility s policy for handling parent complaints or concerns based on interviews and screenshots received. Administrator #1 noted all concerns are addressed with families and staff, if necessary. Screenshots of conversations between Parent #1 and Administrator #1 show no evidence of not addressing concerns appropriately. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for failing to communicate important information or incidents involving children to thei r parents. While Administrator #1 did note there were incidents involving Child #2 and Child #3, they stated there were no injuries that occurred as a result, and they stated the incidents were handled by staff. There is no evidence to substantiate failure to use positive behavior supports based on interviews. Staff interviewed did note there were incidents between children in care, but indicated these incidents were addressed by staff. Staff interviewed denied use of physical force in disciplining children in care. While a potty-trained child having soiled underwear upon arriving home isn t a direct DELACARE Regulation violation, OCCL interviewed Administrator #1 regarding this concern. Administrator #1 explained this appeared to be an issue of constipation with Child #1, and screenshots provided to OCCL show Administrator #1 addressing the concern with Parent #1. |
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 29, 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 29, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Lj’s Playpen Academy Center LLC This child care provider | Not given |
| Kool Kids Learning Center | Not given |
| Chosen Children Child Care, LLC | Not given |
| Donna Nichols | Not given |
| Carter’s Child Care and Learning Center | Not given |
| Shining Stars Childcare Inc. | Not given |
| My Children Childcare Center, LLC | Not given |
| Lily Dollard | Not given |
| Little Hearts Childcare, LLC | Not given |
| Little Legends Learning & Family Development Center | Not given |
| Boys & Girls Club @ Warner Elementary | Not given |
| Brandy Moore | Not given |
| The Choir School of Delaware | 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 29, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 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 29, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 2026. Updated daily. Public Domain.
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Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews (pnbd-85r6).
Released Oct 29, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 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 30, 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.