Small Blessings
A family child care home in Vilas, North Carolina
Address not published at provider’s request, Vilas, North Carolina.
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
- 7 violations in the last three years
- Oct 62026 the latest visit on record
- 8 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?
8 DCDEE visits in the last three years, the latest on Oct 6, 2026.
7 violations cited in the last three years, 7 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
7 violations in 5 months of the last 36. Last cited Aug 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.
Aug 6, 2026: unannounced1 violation
-
A child care operator did not notify the Division of any new child care providers, as defined in G.S.
“110-90.2(a)(2), who were hired or moved into the child care facility within five business days. The provider has completed the training on how to do this, but the ABCMS roster has not been completed.”
Feb 10, 2026: unannounced3 violations
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Hazardous cleaning supplies and other items that might be poisonous e.g. toxic plants, were not out of reach or in locked storage when children were in care.
“There were several cleaning items in the cabinet under the kitchen sink that needed to be kept five (5) feet high and some that needed to be locked. The cabinet was locked with a baby lock, which doesn’t count as a locking device.”
-
Plastic bags, toys, and toy parts small enough to be swallowed, including but not limited to materials that can be easily torn apart such as foam rubber and styrofoam, were accessible to children under the age of three.
“There were plastic trash bags and other items that were plastic that we were lower than five (5) feet.”
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Prior to the expiration date of the qualification letter, the child care provider did not complete and submit required forms to complete a criminal background check (a qualification letter is valid for a maximum of five years from the date of issuance).
“The providers spouse’s criminal background check expired in September 2025 but has been renewed as of 2/3/26.”
Jun 12, 2025: unannounced1 violation
-
A child care operator did not notify the Division of any new child care providers, as defined in G.S.
“110-90.2(a)(2), who were hired or moved into the child care facility within five business days. Provider has not completed the ABCMS training to compile the roster needed to meet this rule.”
Feb 17, 2025: unannounced1 violation
-
Rule violated (DCDEE’s description below)
“Over-the-counter medications were administered on an “as needed” basis, other than as allowed in rule .1720(b)(4). Tylenol and Neosporin was sent by parents to be used on an as needed basis.”
Feb 26, 2024: unannounced1 violation
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The signed statement regarding receipt of the shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma policy did not contain the required information.
“Newly enrolled child did not have a signed statement of receipt of the shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma policy.”
All 8 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Aug 6, 2026 | Unannounced visit | 1 violation cited |
| Feb 10, 2026 | Unannounced visit | 3 violations cited |
| Jan 22, 2026 | Announced visit | No violations cited |
| Jun 12, 2025 | Unannounced visit | 1 violation cited |
| Feb 17, 2025 | Unannounced visit | 1 violation cited |
| May 28, 2024 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Feb 26, 2024 | Unannounced visit | 1 violation cited |
Is it licensed?
- Family Child Care Home, holding a Five Star Family CC Home License since Aug 11, 2022.
- Licensed for 8 children, ages 0 through 12.
- Enrolled in North Carolina’s subsidized child care program.
- North Carolina’s licence number: 95000043.
- Restriction: Other - Serves no more than two children under age one. Wood stove blocked off from children. No more than 3 children less than 1 year old.
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: Norris, Felecia C..
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: 5 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 26 child care providers in Watauga County, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 20.5; this one had 7.
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 |
|---|---|
| Small Blessings This child care provider | 7 |
| First Baptist Church Child Development Center | 9 |
| Small Ones Home Child Care Center | 24 |
| Ms. Ingrid’s House | 27 |
| Hardin Park Elementary Pre-K | 3 |
| Sugar Grove Developmental Day School | 49 |
| Western Tlc Head Start Center | 6 |
| Parkway Extended Learning Center | 23 |
| Hardin Park Extended Learning Center | 22 |
| Green Valley Elementary Preschool | 14 |
| Green Valley Extended Learning Center | 28 |
| Mabel Extended Learning Center | 30 |
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
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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.