Sowah, Bernice
A local ordinance approved FDH in Alexandria, Virginia 22304
432 Stanton Place, Alexandria, Virginia 22304. (703) 823-1696.
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
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?
6 inspections on record, the latest on May 18, 2026.
2 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
2 deficiencies in 1 month of the last 36. Last cited Jun 2024. 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.
Jun 17, 2024: subsidy health and safety inspection2 deficiencies
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Based on the review of the vendor records, the vendor failed to get a subsequent background check after 5 years.
“Evidence: The vendors Virginia Central Registry check was last received on 3/29/2019.”
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Based on record review, children’s records were missing required information.
“Evidence: Child #1 was missing from their file: ~Parent’s name of employer, the address and the phone number. ~2 emergency contacts with names, addresses, and phone numbers.”
Jun 28, 2023: subsidy health and safety inspection3 deficiencies
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8VAC20-790-170-G
“Based on review and interview, the vendor did not maintain a current dated written list of all children’s allergies, sensitivities and dietary restrictions. Evidence: 1. The vendor stated they did not have a allergy list.”
-
8VAC20-790-190-B
The inspectors’ words, 121 words
“Based on review of three children’s records, the child information did not include all required information. Evidence: 1. Child #1’s file was missing both parents place of employment, work address and work phone number, one emergency contact address and written authorization for emergency medical care. 2. Child #2’s file was missing one parent’s work address, one emergency contact address and written authorization for emergency medical care. 3. Child #3’s file was missing both parent’s work address, one emergency contact address, written authorization for emergency medical care and a written care plan with instructions from a physician regarding the food to which the child is allergic and the steps to be taken in the event of a suspected or confirmed allergic reaction..”
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8VAC20-790-430-B
“Based on review, the vendor did not maintain a record of the dates of the practice drills for one year. Evidence: 1. The vendor had a drill record for 1/2023 through 6/2023, but did not have record of drills for one year.”
All 6 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2026 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| May 28, 2025 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Jun 17, 2024 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | 2 violations cited |
| Jun 28, 2023 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | 3 violations cited |
| Aug 18, 2022 | Complaint inspection | No violations cited |
| Jul 6, 2022 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Local Ordinance Approved FDH: Local Ordinance Approved FDH, expires May 17, 2027.
- A current subsidy provider.
- Capacity: Not given.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each facility’s page. Checked Nov 5, 2026. Updated weekly.
Has Virginia acted against it?
- 1 complaint inspection 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 171 child care providers in the City of Alexandria, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 7; this one had 2.
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 |
|---|---|
| Sowah, Bernice This child care provider | 2 |
| The Butterfly House | 29 |
| The Campagna Center-Samuel Tucker | 1 |
| Creative World Learning Center - Landmark | 23 |
| Bright Start Learning Center | 15 |
| Valley Drive Preschool | 2 |
| Bright Start Preschool II | 13 |
| Miriam Ayala | 28 |
| Bright Start Preschool I | 3 |
| The Child and Family Network Centers - Wheeler Site | 22 |
| Vanessa Gutierrez | 2 |
| Miryam Galarza | 36 |
| Kalsoom Akhtar | 5 |
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.