1st Step Early Learning Center
A licensed child care center in Pflugerville, Texas 78660
401 FM 685 Ste 104, Pflugerville, Texas 78660. (512) 251-2276.
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 Oct 30, 2026.
- 13 deficiencies cited in the last three years Middle in Travis County: 3
- 2 rated High by Texas, its most serious level (needs attention)
- 12 inspections on record
- 4-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?
13 deficiencies cited in the last three years
The middle of the 624 child care providers in Travis County had 3.
12 inspections on record. The latest, on Aug 3, 2026: 1 deficiency cited.
Rated High by Texas: Infant May Not Sleep in a Restrictive Device, at the inspection on Sep 26, 2024
Rated High by Texas: Responsibilities of Caregivers - Know number of children responsible for, at the inspection on Sep 18, 2024
Texas HHSC, deficiencies (non-compliance data) and inspections and investigations. Released Oct 30, 2026. Updated daily.
When those deficiencies happened
13 deficiencies in 3 months of the last 36. Last cited Aug 2026. Most serious: High. The last 3 years, to Oct 30, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Nov | 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 |
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 30, 2026. Updated daily.
Aug 3, 2026: inspection1 deficiency
-
Maintenance of Building, Grounds and Equipment
“An outdoor play table on the playground was covered in bird waste. This was fixed at inspection when the caregiver cleaned the table.”
Aug 7, 2025: inspection4 deficiencies
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Maintenance of Building, Grounds and Equipment
“Observed holes, and chipped paint in the infant, toddler and preschool room.”
-
Maintenance Procedures for Active Play - Hazards Removed or Repaired
“Observed broken toys, an open bag of planting soil and loose trash on the playground.”
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Measurement of Use Zone for Rotating and Rocking Equipment (Sitting)
“6FT of usezone around the mulit-person tricylce was not observed.”
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Written Activity Plans
“Current lesson plans were unavailable to review for two classrooms. Lesson plan posted was dated from 6/30 to 7/04.”
Sep 26, 2024: inspection1 deficiency
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Infant May Not Sleep in a Restrictive Device
“One infant was observed to be asleep in a restrictive device during inspection.”
Sep 23, 2024: inspection1 deficiency
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Safety Requirements for Cribs - Snug Fitting Sheets
“Two infants were napping in a crib that did not have a sheet.”
Sep 18, 2024: inspection6 deficiencies
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Responsibilities of Caregivers - Know number of children responsible for
“One staff did not know the correct number of children they had in care and was responsible for.”
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Infant Daily Report - Share with Parent
“The operation was not completing an infant daily report for two infants in care or sharing the information that would be included on the report with the parents.”
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Immunization Records, Exceptions, and Exemptions Current
“One child did not have current immunizations on file.”
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First Aid Kit - Supplies Not Expired
“The operation had antibiotic ointment inside of the first aid kit that expired in of May 2020. This was corrected when it was removed from the first aid kit.”
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Written Operational Policies - Parent Rights
“The operation’s operational policies did not include parent’s rights.”
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Minimum Qualifications Employees and Caregivers - Affidavit (Form 2912)
“Two staff did not have a Pre-Employment Affidavit for Applicants for Employment at Certain Child Care Operations.”
4 deficiencies older than three years
Dec 22, 2022: inspection4 deficiencies
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Policies Comply with Rules
“The operational policies were missing the following: - infant safe sleep - promotion of indoor/outdoor activities”
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Infant Care Area Furnishings and Equipment - Crib for Each Non-walking Infant Younger Than 12 Months of Age
“A 9-month-old non-walking infant was observed sleeping on a sleeping mat.”
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Immunization Records, Exceptions, and Exemptions Current
“Two out of six children files reviewed were missing updated immunization records.”
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Reduction of child/caregiver naptime ratio by 50% allowed, If 13 or more children in care, children are 18 mo. or older and other standards met
“During nap time there were 13 children ages 9 months to 4 years old with one caregiver. There was nobody else in the building.”
All 12 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 2026 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Jan 12, 2026 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Sep 5, 2025 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Aug 7, 2025 | Inspection | 4 deficiencies cited |
| Sep 30, 2024 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Sep 23, 2024 | Inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Sep 18, 2024 | Inspection | 6 deficiencies cited |
| Nov 22, 2023 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Jan 3, 2023 | Inspection | No violation found |
| Dec 22, 2022 | Inspection | 4 deficiencies cited |
| Jan 7, 2022 | Inspection | No violation found |
Is it licensed?
- Licensed Center, permit issued Nov 4, 2009.
- Accepts state child care subsidies.
- Licensed for ages: Infant, Toddler, Pre-Kindergarten, School.
- Capacity: 47 children.
Texas HHSC, child care operations. Released Oct 30, 2026. Updated daily.
Has Texas acted against it?
- No corrective or adverse action by Texas on record.
- 0 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 30, 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: 4-Star (the highest of three levels).
Texas Workforce Commission, subsidy providers and Texas Rising Star. Released Oct 30, 2026. Updated daily.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 624 child care providers in Travis County, the middle value for deficiencies cited in the last three years was 3; this one had 13.
Texas HHSC, deficiencies (non-compliance data). Released Oct 30, 2026. Updated daily.
| Place | Deficiencies, 3 years |
|---|---|
| 1st Step Early Learning Center This child care provider | 13 |
| Immanuel Lutheran Day School | 11 |
| Pflugerville Montessori House | 12 |
| Pisd Riojas Elementary Extended Day Program | 2 |
| Pisd Barron Elementary Extended Day Program | 5 |
| Pisd Highland Park Elementary Extended Day Program | 5 |
| Pisd Murchison Elementary Extended Day Program | 3 |
| Pisd Rowe Lane Elementary Extended Day Program | 5 |
| Pisd Pflugerville Elementary Extended Day Program | 3 |
| Pisd Springhill Elementary Extended Day Program | 4 |
| Pisd Wieland Elementary Extended Day Program | 4 |
| Pisd Windermere Elementary Extended Day Program | 10 |
| Dione Lewis | 2 |
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 30, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 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 30, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 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 30, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 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 Oct 30, 2026 and checked Oct 30, 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 Oct 30, 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.