STEPS Head Start & Childcare- Appomattox
A child day center in Appomattox, Virginia 24522
185 Learning Lane, Appomattox, Virginia 24522. (434) 352-7066.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. Virginia’s own record is on legacy.dss.virginia.gov.
The short answer
- 5 deficiencies in the last three years
- Sep 292026 the latest visit on record
- 20 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?
9 inspections on record, the latest on Sep 29, 2026.
5 violations cited in the last three years.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly.
When those deficiencies happened
5 deficiencies in 4 months of the last 36. Last cited Sep 2026. 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 its source’s words
Grouped by visit, newest first, with the level its source gave it.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly.
Sep 29, 2026: inspection1 deficiency
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The center shall implement a monthly practice evacuation drill.
“There was no documentation of a monthly practice evacuation drill for August 2026.”
Aug 21, 2025: inspection2 deficiencies
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8VAC20-780-260-A
“The center shall provide an annual fire inspection. The annual fire inspection was overdue by 5 months.”
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8VAC20-780-260-B
“The center shall provide annual approval from the health department. The annual health inspection was overdue by 8 months.”
Apr 10, 2024: inspection1 deficiency
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Based on review of staff’s records, the center failed to ensure that all required out of state background checks were obtained.
“Evidence: Staff # 1 had a documented employment date of 01/24/2024. Staff # 1 indicated on the sworn statement that they have lived outside of the state of Virginia in the past five years. One of the two states indicated on the sworn statement does not participates in the National Fingerprint File which requires a CPS and Criminal check from that state. The second state participates in the National Fingerprint File and requires a CPS from that state.”
Dec 5, 2023: inspection1 deficiency
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Repeat Violation
“Based on review of the playground safety plan, the center failed to ensure that the plan included all required components. Evidence: The play ground safety procedures did not include: provision for active supervision by staff to include , scanning play activities, and circulating among children; and method of maintaining resilient surface.”
May 2, 2023: inspection2 deficiencies
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Based on review of three children’s records, the center failed to ensure that all immunizations were signed by a physician or designee.
“Evidence: Children 1 and 2 did not have a signature by a physician or designee on the immunization record.”
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Based on review of the playground safety plan, the center failed to ensure that the plan included all required components.
“Evidence: The play ground safety procedures did not include: provision for active supervision by staff to include positioning of staff in strategic locations, scanning play activities, and circulating among children; and method of maintaining resilient surface.”
Apr 28, 2022: inspection4 deficiencies
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Based on review of three staff’s records, the center failed to ensure that all out of state background checks were obtained per the Code of Virginia.
“Evidence: 1. Staff # 1 disclosed on their Sworn Statement that they had lived out side of Virginia in the past five years. The staff person lived in three states, two of the states participated in the NFF (national fingerprint file). Staff person was missing the sex offender check for both of these states. The last state did not participate in the NFF and the staff person was missing the criminal record check and the sex offender from that state.”
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Based on review of board officer’s and agents for the program, the center failed to ensure that all background checks were completed per the requirement of the Code of Virginia.
“Evidence: 1. Board officer # 2 that took office on 7/1/2020 was missing a signed Sworn Statement and a returned CPS check on the day of the inspection. 2. Board officer # 4 that took office 7/1/2019 was missing a signed Sworn Statement on the day of the inspection. 3. Agent # 3 that took office on 1/23/2020 was missing a completed CPS check on the day of the inspection.”
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Based on observation, the center failed to ensure that all areas and equipment inside and outside were maintained in a clean, safe and operable condition.
“Evidence: 1. Observed a large metal dome shaped climber in the playground area. The backside of the bolts that were used to fasten the pieces together posed a snag, protrusion and puncture hazard to the children in care. 2. The large plastic climber had a broken step to the ladder. There were layers of duck tape around the step trying to hold it together. This posed a falling hazard to the children.”
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Based on review of four children’s records, the center failed to ensure that all required items were obtained.
“Evidence: 1. All four children reviewed was missing the physician’s contact phone number.”
All 9 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2026 | Inspection | 1 violation cited |
| Apr 22, 2026 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Aug 21, 2025 | Inspection | 2 violations cited |
| Nov 21, 2024 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Apr 10, 2024 | Inspection | 1 violation cited |
| Dec 5, 2023 | Inspection | 1 violation cited |
| May 2, 2023 | Inspection | 2 violations cited |
| Nov 30, 2022 | Inspection | No violations cited |
| Apr 28, 2022 | Inspection | 4 violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Child Day Center: Two Year license, expires May 13, 2028.
- Program Located in a Public School.
- Ages: 3 years - 5 years 11 months.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each facility’s page. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly.
Has Virginia acted against it?
- 0 complaint inspections on record.
- No complaint allegations published with findings.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations and Search for Child Day Care: each complaint’s page, with its allegations and findings. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly.
Who does the caring?
- Virginia doesn’t publish staffing levels for individual providers. State rules set staff-to-child ratios by age.
Who owns it?
- Virginia’s search doesn’t list owners.
How is it rated?
- Virginia’s search doesn’t show a quality rating.
How does it compare nearby?
- Among 8 child care providers in Appomattox County, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 4; this one had 5.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Bible Baptist Church | 1 |
| Grace Hills Baptist Church | 9 |
| Liberty Baptist Church | 6 |
| STEPS Head Start & Childcare- Appomattox This child care provider | 5 |
| Memorial Methodist Church | 3 |
| Aslan Castle ELC #2 | 10 |
| Cornerstone Christian Academy | 2 |
| Verna Preston | 0 |
What the record doesn’t say
- Virginia doesn’t grade how serious a violation is, so no severity is shown.
- Virginia publishes a complaint’s allegations and findings only when its inspection found a violation and the records are linked.
- Virginia doesn’t publish staffing levels or owners for individual providers.
- A plan of correction sent late, or not at all, isn’t online: Virginia says to ask the inspector.
- Virginia’s pages show about the last five years of inspections; for older ones, Virginia says to contact the licensing inspector.
- Virginia says this information may not be accurate, up to date or complete, and shouldn’t be the only source in choosing care.
Sources
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Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each facility’s page.
Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly. No open licence; Virginia allows non-commercial use, so Care Ledger shows it free.
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Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations.
Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly. No open licence; Virginia allows non-commercial use, so Care Ledger shows it free.
-
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each complaint’s page, with its allegations and findings.
Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly. No open licence; Virginia allows non-commercial use, so Care Ledger shows it free.
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: Virginia Department of Education. Virginia’s own record is on legacy.dss.virginia.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 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.