Smalls Stepping Stone Daycare & Preschool, Inc.
A licensed child care center in Wilmington, Delaware 19801
1408 Clifford Brown Walk, Wilmington, Delaware 19801. (302) 652-3011.
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?
2 visits with violations in the last three years, the latest on Nov 13, 2024; Delaware doesn’t list visits that found nothing.
5 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
5 violations in 2 months of the last 36. Last cited Nov 2024. 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.
Nov 13, 2024: unannounced Full Compliance Review2 violations
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Kitchen and Food Preparation
“Infant 1 & 2 refrigerators need to be replaced or repair due to not reading under 40’.”
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Sanitation
“Staff files need to be complete. Staff #2 annual safe sleep and annual abuse and neglect. Staff #3 need OCCL health and safety training, release of employment. Staff #4 needs release of employment and service letters.”
Nov 15, 2023: unannounced Full Compliance Review3 violations
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Personnel Files
“All staff files must be complete. Send the DEEDS certificate for three staff members. Send the health and safety training for eight staff members. Send the application for one staff member. Send the job description for two staff members. Send the references for one staff member. Send the updated fingerprinting receipt for ten staff members. Send the adult abuse registry for one staff member. Send the release of employment history for one staff member. Send the service letters for three staff members. Send the health appraisal for one staff member.”
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Child Files
“All child files must be complete. Send the documentation of the completed blood lead screening for four children.”
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License Renewal
“Send the completed and notarized renewal application.”
All 2 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 13, 2024 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 2 violations cited |
| Nov 15, 2023 | Unannounced Full Compliance Review | 3 violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Child Care Center.
- Ages served, in Delaware’s words: 6 months through 12 years.
- Takes part in: Child Care Food Program (meals reimbursed), Purchase of Care (state-subsidized child care).
- Licence number 250535.
- Capacity: 250 children.
Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Delaware acted against it?
- 4 complaint investigations in the last three years. Results, in Delaware’s words: No Evidence to Substantiate (4).
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 9, 2026 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On December 3, 2025, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding failing to use appropriate behavior supports and use respectful communication with parents or guardians. An investigation was conducted on December 9, 2025. After separate interviews of center staff were conducted and documentation reviewed, it appears that respectful communication and appropriate behavior supports are used within the classroom and with communication to the families. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint. |
| Jul 8, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On February 22, 2024, a complaint regarding Smalls Stepping Stone Daycare & Preschool, Inc., was called into the Child Abuse and Neglect Report Line and accepted for investigation by the Institutional Abuse Unit (IAU). The report was sent to the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) on February 23, 2024, and accepted for improper discipline. On May 1, 2024, IAU notified OCCL their case would be closed as unsubstantiated with concern. On May 8, 2024, Wilmington Police Department (WPD) notified OCCL their case would be closed as insufficient evidence. An investigation by OCCL was begun on May 15, 2024, and concluded on June 20, 2024. Based on the results of this investigation there is no evidence to substantiate this complaint for improper discipline. The specialist interviewed staff members and administration and reviewed reports from IAU and WPD that stated there was insufficient evidence. |
| Jan 5, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On December 7, 2023, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding allegations of improper discipline. An unannounced visit was conducted on December 8, 2023, to investigate the complaint. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint because Ms. Smalls and Staff #1 both stated the children were not hit. Two children interviewed also stated Staff #1 has never hit them and they have not seen Staff #1 hit other children. Video footage was not available to view as it is only a live feed. |
| Jan 2, 2024 | OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to Substantiate | On December 5, 2023, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding concerns of improper discipline and an insect infestation. An investigation was conducted on December 8, 2023. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint because Ms. Smalls and Staff #1 both stated the children are not hit. The children interviewed also stated Staff #1 does not hit the children. A walkthrough of all the classrooms was conducted and no evidence of insects were observed. Ms. Smalls provided documentation that the building is serviced by a pest control company every month. |
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 |
|---|---|
| Smalls Stepping Stone Daycare & Preschool, Inc. This child care provider | Not given |
| Little Leaders in Training Academy | Not given |
| Junebug’s Little Rubies, LLC | Not given |
| Sister Sister Care Daycare | Not given |
| Our Future Christian Child Care Center | Not given |
| Early Childhood Educational Arts Academy | Not given |
| Teenie Weenie’s Precious Feet | Not given |
| Learning Center at Madison Street | Not given |
| The Goddard School in Wilmington | Not given |
| Kid’s Kingdom Elc Inc. | Not given |
| Junebug’s Little Rubies Preschool, LLC | Not given |
| A Leap of Faith Cdc, Inc. - Adams 4 | Not given |
| Ark South Learning Center | 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.