Cottontails Preschool
A child care center in Raleigh, North Carolina 27616
4020 Mitchell Mill Rd, Raleigh, North Carolina 27616. (919) 373-0023.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. North Carolina’s own record is on ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov.
The short answer
- 8 violations in the last three years
- Jul 92026 the latest visit on record
- 60 children, its licensed capacity
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean5
- 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.
- Quality rating
- Many states rate child care in a quality rating system that goes past the licensing rules, such as Texas Rising Star or Kentucky All STARS. Taking part is often voluntary, so a program with no rating hasn’t been rated low. Source: Each state’s quality rating system.
- 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 DCDEE visits in the last three years, the latest on Jul 9, 2026.
8 violations cited in the last three years, 8 of them marked corrected.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
When those violations happened
8 violations in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Jul 2026. The last 3 years, to Nov 3, 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.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
Jul 9, 2026: announced3 violations
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A current schedule was not posted for each group of children for reference.
“A daily schedule was not poste din space 3. The owner/director posted a copy of the schedule during the visit.”
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All 5 of the following activity areas were not available daily to each group art/creative play, children’s books, blocks/block building, manipulatives, family living/dramatic play.
“Space 6 was missing dramatic play materials and fine motor materials.”
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Staff/child ratios applicable to a classroom, were not posted in each classroom.
“The ratios were not posted in space 3. The owner/director posted a copy during the visit.”
Apr 17, 2026: unannounced1 violation
-
Children were not adequately supervised at all times.
“A teacher was sitting on a picnic table looking at her phone while the children played.”
Feb 24, 2026: unannounced4 violations
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At least one child care provider, who has completed ITS-SIDS training was not present in the infant room, while children were in care.
“A teacher did not have ITS-SIDS training and no one with ITS-SIDS training was with the teacher.”
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Child care providers and uncompensated providers who are not substitute providers or volunteers, including the director did not have a medical report on file prior to employment that was signed by a health care professional and/ or the medical report was older than 12 months.
“Two employees did not have a medical on file prior to employment.”
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Medical exam or health assessment record was not on file before or within 30 days after admission.
“Two children did not have a medical on file within 30 days of enrollment.”
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On or before the first day of work, all staff, including the director and individuals who volunteer more than once per week did not provide results indicating that they were free of active TB and/or TB test or screening was older than 12 months.
“Two teachers had a TB test on file that was more than a year old.”
All 3 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2026 | Announced visit | 3 violations cited |
| Apr 17, 2026 | Unannounced visit | 1 violation cited |
| Feb 24, 2026 | Unannounced visit | 4 violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Child Care Center, holding a Three Star Center License since Aug 9, 2026.
- Licensed for 60 children, ages 0 through 12.
- Not enrolled in North Carolina’s subsidized child care program.
- North Carolina’s licence number: 92004075.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
Has North Carolina acted against it?
- DCDEE says it has taken no action against this facility, for its current licence and location, in the last three years.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
Who does the caring?
- North Carolina’s page gives a staff-to-child ratio policy as the provider reports it, unverified by DCDEE, so it isn’t shown.
Who owns it?
- Owner, as North Carolina lists it: Cottontails Preschool LLC.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
How is it rated?
- Star Rated License: 3 stars of five.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 470 child care providers in Wake County, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 5; this one had 8.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Cottontails Preschool This child care provider | 8 |
| Primary Beginnings Child Development Center, LLC | 2 |
| Fee’s Daycare + | 0 |
| The Neighborhood Nanny | 4 |
| Kids Educational Center VI, Inc. | 3 |
| A Bright Child Development Center | 18 |
| Touched By An Angel | 3 |
| Learning As We Go Child Care Center | 27 |
| Kids Party Zone & Daycare Center | 1 |
| Star Cares | 4 |
| Baby Z’s Child Care Family Child Care Home | 4 |
| The Goddard School of Raleigh at 5401 North | 15 |
| Highland Creek Kindercare | 25 |
What the record doesn’t say
- North Carolina doesn’t show a visit summary tied to an open child maltreatment investigation while the case is active, and shows an administrative action only after its 30-day appeal period, without saying what it was.
- DCDEE’s descriptions of violations are shown in its own words; a description that names or may name a person isn’t shown. Visit summaries, the consultants’ full reports, aren’t read.
- North Carolina’s page lists the provider’s own features (transport, ratios) as furnished by the provider and unverified by DCDEE, so they aren’t shown.
Sources
-
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations.
Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily. nc.gov terms: copying and distribution for non-commercial use, without alteration, citing the source. Shown free and never sold; DCDEE’s own words are quoted.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE). North Carolina’s own record is on ncchildcare.ncdhhs.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 3, 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.