Hearth Record

One Step Ahead Child Care & Preschool Inc.

A licensed child care center in Newark, Delaware 19702

432 Salem Church Road, Newark, Delaware 19702. (302) 292-1162.

Delaware’s own record, on data.delaware.gov

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 Nov 4, 2026.

The last 24 months 11 violations in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Dec 2025. Every month

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 15, 2025; Delaware doesn’t list visits that found nothing.

11 violations cited in the last three years.

Source:

Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Nov 4, 2026. Updated daily.

When those violations happened

11 violations in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Dec 2025. The last 3 years, to Nov 5, 2026.

11 violations by month over the last 3 years. Each cell is one month.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2023 Dec
2024 JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2025 JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2026 JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNov

Hover or focus a month to read it.

No visit on record Visited, nothing cited A stronger orange is more serious, on its source’s own levels, read onto four bands: from the least serious it publishes to the most
Source:

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.

Source:

Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Nov 4, 2026. Updated daily.

Dec 15, 2025: unannounced Full Compliance Review3 violations

  • Personnel Files

    The inspectors’ words, 101 words

    “Ensure staff files are complete. Staff #1: 8.5 training hours (ND) Staff #2: 8.5 training hours (ND) Staff #3: 8.5 training hours (ND), annual review of abuse and neglect Staff #4: 15.5 training hours (ND) Staff #5: CPR/FA (ND), Administration of Medication, Health/Safety training, adult health appraisal with TB, 6 training hours (ND) Staff #6: Health/Safety training, 1 more reference Staff #7: CPR/FA (ND), 1 more reference All training hours are not determined and are due on 12/31/2025. CPR/FA is not determined for Staff #5 and 7 because the appointment was scheduled for 12/16/2025. CPR/FA cards will be sent once completed.”

    Rule 30U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Feb 19, 2026.

  • Indoor Space

    “Ensure all outlets are covered. This was corrected at the visit.”

    Rule 49U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Dec 15, 2025.

  • License Renewal

    “Submit renewal application by 12/31/2025.”

    Rule 8U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Dec 24, 2025.

Dec 17, 2024: unannounced Full Compliance Review6 violations

  • Insurance Coverage

    “Submit liability insurance to OCCL.”

    Rule 16U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Jan 20, 2025.

  • Staff Qualifications

    “Ensure there is sufficient staffing to prepare meals, facilitate nap time, and transitions. Upon arrival, there were 2 teachers and 12 children. 3 toddlers with 1 teacher, and 9 preschoolers with the Administrator. There was no one to answer the door or answer phone calls. Send in a staffing plan that shows the days/times for all staff, identify who makes meals and what time, who is covering for nap, who is assigned to each classroom, etc. to OCCL.”

    Rule 24U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Dec 20, 2024.

  • Personnel Files

    “Ensure staff files are complete. Staff #1 and 2 need CPR/FA certification, and Staff #2 needs 2 documented attempts of sending their service letter.”

    Rule 30U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Jan 16, 2025.

  • Hazardous Materials

    “Submit Radon results.”

    Rule 45U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Jan 16, 2025.

  • Indoor Space

    “Remove Febreze plug-ins and spray in all bathrooms and send a picture to OCCL.”

    Rule 49U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Jan 16, 2025.

  • Toilet Facilities

    “Repair sink handle in the 1st floor bathroom and send a video to OCCL.”

    Rule 51U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Jan 16, 2025.

Dec 19, 2023: unannounced Full Compliance Review2 violations

  • Personnel Files

    “Ensure staff files are complete. Submit Health and Safety training for Staff #2 and #4.”

    Rule 30U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Jan 5, 2024.

  • Indoor Space

    “Ensure the three’s bathroom and the Pre-K bathroom have trashcans with lids. Send a picture of covered trashcans to OCCL.”

    Rule 49U. Correction date, as Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing recorded it: Dec 29, 2023.

All 3 visits on record
Visits on record
DateVisitWhat the record says
Dec 15, 2025Unannounced Full Compliance Review3 violations cited
Dec 17, 2024Unannounced Full Compliance Review6 violations cited
Dec 19, 2023Unannounced Full Compliance Review2 violations cited

Is it licensed?

  • Licensed Child Care Center.
  • Ages served, in Delaware’s words: 2 years through 12 years.
  • Takes part in: Child Care Food Program (meals reimbursed), Purchase of Care (state-subsidized child care).
  • Licence number 396672.
  • Capacity: 84 children.
Source:

Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Nov 4, 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).
Source:

Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews and Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Nov 4, 2026. Updated daily.

On record, newest first
DateWhatDetail
Feb 8, 2024OCCL Standards Complaint: No Evidence to SubstantiateOn January 4, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding improper discipline. A self-report of this allegation was received on January 8, 2024, and an unannounced visit was conducted to investigate this complaint on January 22, 2024. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint because all staff members denied witnessing or participating in improper discipline and denied witnessing Staff #1 or Staff #2 spank Child #1. The attendance records collected show Child #1 was not in Staff #1 s care during October, November, and December 2023. The camera footage observed showed no evidence of improper discipline.

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?

  • 2023: 1 facility injury. No facility deaths reported.
  • 2022: 2 facility injuries. No facility deaths reported.
Source:

Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities. Released Nov 4, 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.
Source:

Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing, Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information. Released Nov 4, 2026. Updated daily.

13 compared
PlaceViolations cited in the last three years
One Step Ahead Child Care & Preschool Inc. This child care providerNot given
The Little Campus, LLCNot given
Cradles to Crayons and Beyond Early Learning CenterNot given
A. S. Academy of Learning 1Not given
Sunshine Bright Kids LLCNot given
All Aspire AcademyNot given
Lacc Learning Center @ La Academia Antonia AlonsoNot given
Tysela Young DBA Young Scholars Childcare LLCNot given
Tarbiyah SchoolNot given
Jade ThompsonNot given
Olivette JacksonNot given
Lil’ Einsteins Learning Academy IIINot given
Tamikya WhittleNot 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

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.

Source:

This copy of the record was made on Nov 5, 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.

How to read a record

Four things every record does, shown on an example record made up for this guide.

An example record, made up for this guide

An example nursing home

Made up for this guide: no real place is shown

Not fully inspected in over two years (CMS flag)

11 health citations at the latest inspection cycle

The state average is 14.3.

Source:

CMS, State and US Averages and Health Deficiencies. Released Oct 28, 2026. Updated monthly.

From the homeNone yet. Replies and paid listings aren’t open, and when they open they will sit here, below the record.

1 of 4

Every fact names its source.

Who published it, when, and how often it changes sit beside each fact, with a link to the agency’s own file.

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