Western Tlc Head Start Center
A child care center in Zionville, North Carolina 28698
1769 Mabel School Road, Zionville, North Carolina 28698. (828) 278-4990.
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
- 6 violations in the last three years
- Sep 82026 the latest visit on record
- 18 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 Sep 8, 2026.
6 violations cited in the last three years, 6 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
6 violations in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Oct 2025. 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.
Oct 20, 2025: unannounced2 violations
-
A safe indoor and outdoor environment was not provided for the children.
“The wooden border around the mulch is uneven causing tripping hazards, has splinters, cracks and a screw sticking out. The fence has open spots near the ground and sharp wires exposed. Stairs on the large climber has loose and torn rubber covering.”
-
Potentially hazardous items including but not limited to power tools, nails, chemicals, propane stoves, lawn mowers, gasoline, or kerosene were not stored in locked areas, removed from the premises, or made inaccessible to children.
“Children walk by the kerosene tank and monitor heater exhaust to get to the playground.”
Apr 8, 2025: unannounced3 violations
-
All electrical appliances were not used in accordance with the manufacturers instruction.
“Appliances with heating elements, such as bottle warmers, crock pots, curling irons, irons, coffee pots, and/or their cords were accessible to preschool-age children. Two laminators were stored on a low shelf that were accessible to children.”
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Center has not passed required sanitation inspection and received an approved or superior rating.
“It has been over a year since the last sanitation inspection.”
-
Electrical outlets and power strips, not in use, which were located in space used by children did not have safety outlets or were not covered with safety plugs unless located behind furniture or equipment that cannot be moved by a child.
“A power strip beside a teacher desk was accessible and without a safety plug.”
Dec 4, 2023: unannounced1 violation
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Safe pick-up and delivery procedures were not communicated to parents and/or were not posted where they can be seen by the parents.
“The safe pick-up and delivery procedures were not posted on the bus where they can be seen by the parents”
All 8 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 8, 2026 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Mar 23, 2026 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Oct 20, 2025 | Unannounced visit | 2 violations cited |
| Oct 16, 2025 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Apr 8, 2025 | Unannounced visit | 3 violations cited |
| Nov 20, 2024 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| May 2, 2024 | Unannounced visit | No violations cited |
| Dec 4, 2023 | Unannounced visit | 1 violation cited |
Is it licensed?
- Child Care Center, holding a Five Star Center License since Mar 23, 2026.
- Licensed for 18 children, ages 3 through 5.
- Not enrolled in North Carolina’s subsidized child care program.
- North Carolina’s licence number: 95000086.
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: Intermountain Children’s Services, Inc..
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 6.
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 |
|---|---|
| Western Tlc Head Start Center This child care provider | 6 |
| Mabel Extended Learning Center | 30 |
| Little Jewels Home Child Care | 11 |
| Mabel Developmental Day | 7 |
| First Baptist Church Child Development Center | 9 |
| Small Blessings | 7 |
| Small Ones Home Child Care Center | 24 |
| Ms. Ingrid’s House | 27 |
| Hardin Park Elementary Pre-K | 3 |
| Sugar Grove Developmental Day School | 49 |
| Parkway Extended Learning Center | 23 |
| Hardin Park Extended Learning Center | 22 |
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.