Owl Creek Nature Playschool
A group family day care in Ithaca, New York 14850
326 1/2 Stone Quarry Road, Ithaca, New York 14850. (603) 923-8936.
What New York’s list coversOutside New York City
Programs New York State’s Office of Children and Family Services licenses or registers outside New York City, each county added once it is read in full. Programs in the city’s five boroughs, including the day care centers its Health Department regulates, aren’t here yet.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. New York’s own record is on hs.ocfs.ny.gov.
The short answer
Record last released by New York State Office of Children and Family Services on Nov 2, 2026.
- 9 violations in the last three years
- Jul 272026 the latest visit on record
- 16 children, its licensed capacity
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?
15 inspections in the last three years, the latest on Jul 27, 2026.
9 violations cited in the last three years.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Program pages: inspection and complaint history. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
When those violations happened
9 violations in 6 months of the last 36. Last cited Jul 2026. The last 3 years, to Nov 2, 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.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Program pages: inspection and complaint history. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Jul 27, 2026: monitoring1 violation
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The program must maintain on file at the group family day care home, available for inspection daily attendance records that are filled out at the time a child arrives and departs, and must include arrival and departure times;
May 5, 2026: monitoring2 violations
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The provider, assistant(s), and substitute(s), must each submit a medical statement on forms furnished by the Office or an approved equivalent from a health care provider: before such person has any involvement in child care work.
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fingerprint images necessary for the Office to conduct a criminal history review,
Mar 4, 2026: annual Unannounced2 violations
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In addition to a smoke detector on each floor, there must be a smoke detector located either within rooms where children nap, or in adjoining rooms. In the case of rooms used for napping or sleeping which have doors, a smoke detector is required inside that room.
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Operating carbon monoxide detectors must be used in all group family day care homes when required, and located in areas of the home in accordance with applicable laws.
Feb 10, 2025: mid-Point1 violation
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At the two-year calendar date in a four year licensing cycle, a program must be in compliance with the following mid-point requirements and be able to show proof of compliance to the Office when requested: proof of compliance with the training requirements of section 416.14.
Dec 11, 2024: monitoring2 violations
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Medication must be returned to the parent or guardian when it is no longer required by the child or, with the permission of the parent or guardian, be properly disposed of by the caregiver.
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In the case of medication that needs to be given on an ongoing, long-term basis, the authorization and consent forms for children under the age of 5 years of age must be reauthorized at least once every six months. Any changes in the medication authorization related to dosage, time or frequency of administration shall require a program to obtain new instructions written by the licensed authorized prescriber. All other changes to the original medication authorization require a change in the prescription.
Sep 16, 2024: monitoring1 violation
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The use of trampolines by day care children is prohibited, except for small one-person exercise trampolines.
All 15 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 2026 | Monitoring | 1 violation cited |
| May 5, 2026 | Monitoring | 2 violations cited |
| Mar 4, 2026 | Annual Unannounced | 2 violations cited |
| Dec 11, 2025 | Monitoring | No violations found |
| Sep 16, 2025 | Monitoring | No violations found |
| Jun 16, 2025 | Monitoring | No violations found |
| Feb 10, 2025 | Annual Unannounced | No violations found |
| Feb 10, 2025 | Mid-Point | 1 violation cited |
| Dec 11, 2024 | Monitoring | 2 violations cited |
| Sep 16, 2024 | Monitoring | 1 violation cited |
| Jun 11, 2024 | Annual Unannounced | No violations found |
| Jun 11, 2024 | Monitoring | No violations found |
| Mar 27, 2024 | Monitoring | No violations found |
| Dec 14, 2023 | Annual Unannounced | No violations found |
| Dec 14, 2023 | Monitoring | No violations found |
Is it licensed?
- Group Family Day Care, open since Dec 29, 2022.
- School district: Ithaca.
- Capacity, in New York’s words: 12 children, ages 6 weeks to 12 years AND 4 additional school-aged children.
- Keeps epinephrine auto-injectors for emergencies.
- Licence 886688, issued Dec 29, 2022, expires Dec 28, 2026.
- Capacity: 16 children.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Child Care Regulated Programs. Released Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Program pages: inspection and complaint history. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Has New York acted against it?
- No complaints in the last three years.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Program pages: inspection and complaint history. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Child Care Regulated Programs. Released Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily.
Who does the caring?
- New York doesn’t publish staffing levels for individual programs.
Who owns it?
- New York’s open data doesn’t list owners.
How is it rated?
- Takes part in QUALITYstarsNY, New York’s quality rating program.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Program pages: inspection and complaint history. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 68 child care providers in Tompkins County, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 3.5; this one had 9.
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Program pages: inspection and complaint history. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Owl Creek Nature Playschool This child care provider | 9 |
| Enfield School Age Program, Inc. | 28 |
| Northeast Kids Count, Inc. | 2 |
| Barber, Judy | 4 |
| Durfee, Melinda | 2 |
| Cornell Child Care Center | 29 |
| Coddington Road Community Center, Inc. | 24 |
| ITHACA COMMUNITY CHILDCARE CENTER, INC. | 21 |
| Downtown Ithaca Children’s Center | 41 |
| Ithaca Montessori School | 5 |
| YMCA SACC Year Round School’s Out Y Site | 7 |
| Community Nursery of Cayuga Heights, Inc. | 4 |
| Ithaca Community Childcare at Kendal | 0 |
What the record doesn’t say
- New York doesn’t grade violations by severity, so read what was cited.
- New York’s records give the regulation behind each violation, not what the inspector saw.
- New York’s program pages cover four calendar years; this page shows the last three years.
- New York doesn’t publish staffing levels or owners for individual programs.
Sources
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New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Child Care Regulated Programs (cb42-qumz).
Released Nov 2, 2026 and checked Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily. No licence stated.
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New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Program pages: inspection and complaint history.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. No licence stated.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: New York State Office of Children and Family Services. New York’s own record is on hs.ocfs.ny.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 2, 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.