Small Steps Nurturing Center-5th Ward
A licensed child care center in Houston, Texas 77026
2902 Jensen Dr, Houston, Texas 77026. (713) 236-0330.
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 HHSC on Nov 5, 2026.
- 14 deficiencies cited in the last three years Middle in Harris County: 4
- 6 rated High by Texas, its most serious level (needs attention)
- 20 inspections on record
- Not rated 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?
14 deficiencies cited in the last three years
The middle of the 2,139 child care providers in Harris County had 4.
20 inspections on record. The latest, on Sep 10, 2026: no violation found.
Rated High by Texas: Required Equipment in Vehicles - Emergency Medical Information, at the inspection on Aug 25, 2026
Rated High by Texas: Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity, at the report to the state on Apr 1, 2026
Rated High by Texas: Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity, at the report to the state on Nov 10, 2025
3 more rated High; all are listed below.
Texas HHSC, deficiencies (non-compliance data) and inspections and investigations. Released Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
When those deficiencies happened
14 deficiencies in 8 months of the last 36. Last cited Aug 2026. Most serious: High. The last 3 years, to Nov 5, 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 Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
Aug 25, 2026: inspection2 deficiencies
-
Required Equipment in Vehicles - Emergency Medical Information
“12 children transported were missing the Emergency Medical Authorization forms in the van.”
-
Food Allergy Emergency Plan Signed by Parents and Health Care Professional
“2 children with a diagsnosed food allergy were missing medication that the health care provider says needs to be part of the plan.”
May 20, 2026: inspection1 deficiency
-
Liability Insurance Requirements - Provide Proof of Coverage Annually by Anniversary Date of Issuance
“The policy on file that was documented on 10/16/24 had expired on 9/19/25. Note: this was corrected at inspection when the director entered the updated policy in the on line provider portal account.”
Apr 1, 2026: report to the state1 deficiency
-
Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity
“A self-report by the operation was made that a child was left unsupervised in the hallway for a minute.”
Nov 12, 2025: inspection1 deficiency
-
Incident/Illness Report Form Shared with Parent
“The operation did not complete an incident report or share the report with the parent within 48 hours of the incident.”
Nov 10, 2025: report to the state1 deficiency
-
Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity
“One child was left unsupervised in the classroom for several minutes.”
Oct 22, 2025: inspection2 deficiencies
-
Safety - Televisions Anchored to Prevent Tip Over
“Two tv monitors in 2 classrooms were unfastended to the children’s bookshelf, posing as a tipping hazard.”
-
Food Allergy Emergency Plan Signed by Parents and Health Care Professional
“4 out of 6 children with diagnosed food allergies did not have a complete and current food allergy emergency plan. 1 kid is missing Benadryl, 2 kids had expired epi-pens, 1 kid missing medication and authorization form.”
Nov 13, 2024: inspection3 deficiencies
-
Required Equipment in Vehicles - Emergency Medical Information
“The transportation binder is missing Emergency medical transport and treatment authorization forms for 3 children being transported.”
-
Administering Medication - Original Container with Child’s Name, Date
“8 medications did not have the date received written on the container. Note; this was corrected at inspection when the director wrote on each medication the date it was received from the parent.”
-
Emergency Preparedness Plan - Evacuation, relocation, and sheltering/lock-down procedures
“The Emergency Prepardeness Plan is missing the address of the alternate shelter away from the center.”
Oct 16, 2024: inspection1 deficiency
-
AP Background check results - Must receive notification prior to allowing subject to be present at your operation
“2 student volunteers, 1 caregiver and 1 contract vendor were with children without approved background checks.”
Oct 14, 2024: report to the state1 deficiency
-
Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity
Dec 5, 2023: inspection1 deficiency
-
Transportation Safety Training -Director and Employee Complete 2 Hours Annually
“The director did not have current transportation training, the last training was taken in 2021.”
4 deficiencies older than three years
Oct 12, 2023: report to the state1 deficiency
-
Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity
“It was determined that a child was left alone for approximately five minutes.”
Sep 30, 2022: report to the state1 deficiency
-
Responsibilities of Caregivers - Supervision of Children
“Caregivers left a child on the outside patio of the classroom.”
Jan 6, 2022: inspection2 deficiencies
-
Mark Cleaning Supplies, Toxic Materials; Keep Separate from Food and Inaccessible to Children
“During the walkthrough I observed four buckets of disinfectant wipes and spray bottles with cleaning solution in the reach of children. This was corrected when the director removed the buckets and placed the bottles out of reach.”
-
Required Equipment in Vehicles - Emergency Medical Information
“During review of transportation the operation was found to not have emergency medical information on van used to transport children. This was corrected when the director updated the transportation binder.”
All 25 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 2026 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Aug 31, 2026 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Aug 25, 2026 | Inspection | 2 deficiencies cited |
| May 20, 2026 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Apr 8, 2026 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Apr 2, 2026 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Report to the state | 1 deficiency cited |
| Dec 3, 2025 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Nov 19, 2025 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Nov 12, 2025 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Nov 10, 2025 | Report to the state | 1 deficiency cited |
| Oct 22, 2025 | Inspection | 2 deficiencies cited |
| Nov 13, 2024 | Inspection | 3 deficiencies cited |
| Oct 16, 2024 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Oct 14, 2024 | Report to the state | 1 deficiency cited |
| Aug 26, 2024 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Dec 5, 2023 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Nov 15, 2023 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Oct 18, 2023 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Oct 12, 2023 | Report to the state | 1 deficiency cited |
| Dec 8, 2022 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Oct 28, 2022 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Oct 4, 2022 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Sep 30, 2022 | Report to the state | 1 deficiency cited |
| Jan 6, 2022 | Inspection | 2 deficiencies cited |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Center, permit issued Dec 20, 2006.
- Its permit has conditions.
- Licensed for ages: Toddler, Pre-Kindergarten, School.
- Capacity: 189 children.
Texas HHSC, child care operations. Released Nov 5, 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 Nov 5, 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?
- Not rated in Texas Rising Star.
Texas Workforce Commission, subsidy providers and Texas Rising Star. Released Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 2139 child care providers in Harris County, the middle value for deficiencies cited in the last three years was 4; this one had 14.
Texas HHSC, deficiencies (non-compliance data). Released Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Deficiencies, 3 years |
|---|---|
| Dogan Head Start | 3 |
| Kathy’s Daycare | 1 |
| Community Partners Fifthward Early Childhood Development Ctr | 9 |
| Hornstead Learning Academy | 1 |
| Imagination Island | 19 |
| Dre’s Locker Room Community Center | 30 |
| Tammy Harris | 2 |
| Global Kiddos Academy | 22 |
| Humble Beginners | 14 |
| Small Steps Nurturing Center-5th Ward This child care provider | 14 |
| J B Adams School | 21 |
| Yorkshire Academy | 4 |
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
-
Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Child care operations (bc5r-88dy).
Released Nov 5, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily. Creative Commons 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication).
-
Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Inspections and investigations (m5q4-3y3d).
Released Nov 5, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily. Creative Commons 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication).
-
Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Deficiencies (non-compliance data) (tqgd-mf4x).
Released Nov 5, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated daily. Creative Commons 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication).
-
Texas Workforce Commission, Subsidy providers and Texas Rising Star.
Released Nov 5, 2026 and checked Nov 5, 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 5, 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.