Smart Start Center
A licensed child care center in Terrell, Texas 75160
100 F M 429 N, Terrell, Texas 75160. (972) 524-0071.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. Texas’s own record is on its child care search.
The short answer
Record last released by Texas Workforce Commission on Nov 2, 2026.
- 10 deficiencies cited in the last three years Middle in Kaufman County: 1
- 1 rated High by Texas, its most serious level (needs attention)
- 11 inspections on record
- 2-Star Texas Rising Star rating
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.
- Texas’s risk levels
- Texas gives each child care deficiency a risk level, by how likely it is to harm a child: Low, Medium Low, Medium, Medium High or High. High is its most serious. Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Child Care Regulation.
- 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?
10 deficiencies cited in the last three years
The middle of the 83 child care providers in Kaufman County had 1.
11 inspections on record. The latest, on Sep 28, 2026: no violation found.
Rated High by Texas: Prohibited Punishments - Corporal Punishment, at the inspection on Mar 19, 2026
Texas HHSC, deficiencies (non-compliance data) and inspections and investigations. Released Oct 31, 2026. Updated daily.
When those deficiencies happened
10 deficiencies in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Mar 2026. Most serious: High. 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 deficiency, in Texas’s words
Grouped by visit, newest first, with the risk level Texas gave it, from Low to High.
Texas HHSC, deficiencies (non-compliance data). Released Oct 31, 2026. Updated daily.
Mar 27, 2026: report to the state2 deficiencies
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Provide Parents With Copy of Policies
“A parent was not provided with the operational policies.”
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Provide Access to Children’s Records - Parents
“A parent was not allowed access to their child’s application.”
Mar 19, 2026: inspection1 deficiency
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Prohibited Punishments - Corporal Punishment
“Based on interviews and observations, it was determined that a caregiver threatened a child.”
Mar 18, 2026: report to the state1 deficiency
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Safety - Electrical Outlets Covered
“The operation did not ensure that the electric outlet was covered. One outlet did not have a cover.”
Apr 16, 2025: inspection4 deficiencies
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Director Annual Training 30 Hours Required
“The center director not have all required training hours on file for the previous full year. Only 7 hours could be accounted for. One caregiver also did not have all the required training hours for the previous full year. 13 hours could be accounted for.”
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Children’s Records - Health Statement
“At the time of inspection two children did not have the required health statements on file for review.”
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Children’s Records - Immunizations
“At the time of inspection one child did not have their most current immunization record on file for review, a doctor’s note indicating a deviation in the vaccination schedules, or a signed/notarized immunizations exemption affidavit.”
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Required Personnel Records - Required Affidavit (Form 2985)
“Two caregivers employed at the operation did not have a signed and notarized affidavit on file for review.”
May 7, 2024: inspection2 deficiencies
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Documentation of Drills
“At the time of inspection the last documented fire drill was on 3/22/24. There was no documentation for a fire drill conducted in April.”
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Children’s Records - Immunizations
“Three children did not have their most current immunization records on file for review at the time of inspection.”
5 deficiencies older than three years
Jun 21, 2023: inspection3 deficiencies
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Each Caregiver and the Director Must Have Current Training in pediatric first aid with rescue breathing and choking.
“Three caregivers did not have current CPR/First Aid.”
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Documented Annual Training Area - 24 Hours Required
“8 caregivers did not have the required 24 hours of annual training.”
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Director Annual Training 30 Hours Required
“Director had 12 of the 30 required hours.”
Jul 26, 2022: inspection1 deficiency
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AP Background check results - Must receive notification prior to allowing subject to be present at your operation
“One caregiver was providing care without an active background check. This was corrected at inspection when the teacher was removed from the operation.”
Jul 22, 2022: report to the state1 deficiency
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Report Outbreak of Communicable Illness
“The operation did not report a communicable disease within 48 hours of being notified.”
All 16 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2026 | Report to the state | No violation found |
| Apr 2, 2026 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Mar 27, 2026 | Report to the state | 2 deficiencies cited |
| Mar 19, 2026 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Mar 18, 2026 | Report to the state | 1 deficiency cited |
| Feb 25, 2026 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Apr 16, 2025 | Inspection | 4 deficiencies cited |
| May 7, 2024 | Inspection | 2 deficiencies cited |
| Feb 20, 2024 | Report to the state | No violation found |
| Sep 13, 2023 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Jun 21, 2023 | Inspection | 3 deficiencies cited |
| Apr 11, 2023 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Mar 2, 2023 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Jul 26, 2022 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Jul 22, 2022 | Report to the state | 1 deficiency cited |
| Feb 17, 2022 | Inspection | No violation found |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Center, permit issued Oct 19, 2004.
- Accepts state child care subsidies.
- Licensed for ages: Infant, Toddler, Pre-Kindergarten, School.
- Capacity: 113 children.
Texas HHSC, child care operations. Released Oct 31, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Texas acted against it?
- No corrective or adverse action by Texas on record.
- 5 reports to the state on record; Texas doesn’t publish whether they were A complaint allegation the state investigated and found true: the evidence showed it more likely than not happened. Inconclusive means the evidence couldn’t show it either way. Neither inconclusive nor unsubstantiated proves it didn’t happen. Source: California Department of Social Services, complaint findings; each state’s licensing agency..
Texas HHSC, child care operations and inspections and investigations. Released Oct 31, 2026. Updated daily.
Who does the caring?
- Texas doesn’t publish staffing levels for individual providers. State rules set staff-to-child ratios by age.
Who owns it?
- Texas’s open data doesn’t list owners.
How is it rated?
- Texas Rising Star: 2-Star (the first of three levels).
Texas Workforce Commission, subsidy providers and Texas Rising Star. Released Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 83 child care providers in Kaufman County, the middle value for deficiencies cited in the last three years was 1; this one had 10.
Texas HHSC, deficiencies (non-compliance data). Released Oct 31, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Deficiencies, 3 years |
|---|---|
| Our Kidstreehouse | 3 |
| Kids Kamp | 1 |
| Terrell Early Learning Center | 3 |
| Mary Womack | Not given |
| Kenisha Richmond | 1 |
| Smart Start Center This child care provider | 10 |
| First Presbyterian Church Kindergarten | 3 |
| First United Methodist Church Preschool | 0 |
| Sonya Ward | 0 |
| Eangee Anderson | 1 |
| Janel Lapp | Not given |
| Einsteins Daycare and Preschool | 3 |
What the record doesn’t say
- Texas doesn’t publish whether a complaint was substantiated.
- Texas rates some paperwork slips as High risk, so read what was actually cited.
- Texas doesn’t publish staffing levels or owners for individual providers.
Sources
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Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Child care operations (bc5r-88dy).
Released Oct 31, 2026 and checked Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily. Creative Commons 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication).
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Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Inspections and investigations (m5q4-3y3d).
Released Oct 31, 2026 and checked Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily. Creative Commons 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication).
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Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Deficiencies (non-compliance data) (tqgd-mf4x).
Released Oct 31, 2026 and checked Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily. Creative Commons 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication).
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Texas Workforce Commission, Subsidy providers and Texas Rising Star.
Released Nov 2, 2026 and checked Nov 2, 2026. Updated daily. No licence stated.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: Texas HHSC or Texas Workforce Commission. Texas’s own record is on its child care search. 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
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Paid listing
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