Ballad Health Center for Early Learning - Norton
A child day center in Norton, Virginia 24273
1424 Park Avenue NW, Norton, Virginia 24273. (276) 679-4790.
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
- 15 deficiencies in the last three years
- Jun 102026 the latest visit on record
- 130 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?
10 inspections on record, the latest on Jun 10, 2026.
15 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 2, 2026. Updated weekly.
When those deficiencies happened
15 deficiencies in 5 months of the last 36. Last cited Jun 2026. 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 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 2, 2026. Updated weekly.
Jun 10, 2026: subsidy health and safety inspection4 deficiencies
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22.1-289.035-B-2
“Providers must obtain a completed national criminal background check prior to the employee’s first day of employment. Staff #3, 4, & 5, who had been employed for two days, id not have a completed national criminal background check.”
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22.1-289.035-B-3
“The center must request a search of the central registry prior to the employee’s first day of employment. Staff #3, 4 & 5, who had been employed for two days, did not have a central registry search requested. Staff #4 was working alone with children.”
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8VAC20-780-330-A
“Playgrounds shall be located and designed to protect children from hazards. Located on the mound of dirt is a climbing wall. The wood is protruding out of the dirt, causing a tripping hazard. The wooden steps on the side of the mound have sharp edges and are steep. The garden boxes have sharp edges and are accessible to the children. Located under the slide was five wooden stepping stones. There are three shrubs on the preschool playground. These shrubs have sharp sticks.”
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8VAC20-780-330-B
“Where playground equipment is provided, resilient surfacing shall comply with minimum safety standards. The surfacing under the slide measured approximately two inches. The resilient surfacing should measure 6 inches.”
Dec 3, 2025: inspection6 deficiencies
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8VAC20-770-60-B
“An employee or volunteer of a licensed child day program must not be employed or provide volunteer service until the agency or home has the person’s completed sworn statement or affirmation. Staff #1had been employed one month and staff #3 had been employed two months did not have documentation of a completed sworn statement of affirmation.”
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8VAC20-780-160-A
The inspectors’ words, 93 words
“Documentation of a negative tuberculosis (TB) screening must be submitted at the time of employment, before coming into contact with children, and shall have been completed within the last 30 days of the date of employment. Staff #1 had no documentation and had been employed for one month, Staff #2 had no documentation and had been employed seven months, Staff #3 had no documentation and had been employed two months, Staff #4 had no documentation and had been employed three months, and Staff #5 had no documentation and had been employed three months.”
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8VAC20-780-330-C
“Ground supports shall be covered with materials that protect children from injury. The concrete footing under the yellow piece of play equipment had ground supports exposed.”
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8VAC20-780-540-E
“The following nonmedical emergency supplies shall be required: one working, battery operated flashlight on each floor used by the children. The center did not have a battery operated flashlight.”
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8VAC20-780-560-F
“When centers choose to provide meals or snacks, the following shall apply: Centers shall follow the most recent, age appropriate nutritional requirements of the CACFP, USDA. The snacks being served to children only had one component.”
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8VAC20-780-70
“Documentation of at least 2 references to character, reputation, and competency are to be checked prior to employment. Documentation to demonstrate the individual possesses the education, certification, and experience required by the job. Staff #1, employed wo months and Staff #3 employed three months do not have documentation of reference checks nor, documentation of diploma or transcripts.”
Jun 12, 2025: inspection3 deficiencies
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8VAC20-780-260-A
“The center shall provide to the licensing representative an annual fire inspection report from the appropriate fire official having jurisdiction. The last available fire marshal report was dated 4/12/24.”
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8VAC20-780-500-A
“Children’s hands shall be washed with soap and running water after or disposable wipes before and after eating meals or snacks The children in the Panda preschool room did not wash hands following lunch.”
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8VAC20-780-560-J
“Tables and high chair trays shall be sanitized before and after each use for feeding. Staff #4 wiped the bleach water after spraying it on the table.”
Dec 5, 2024: inspection1 deficiency
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8VAC20-780-550-D
“The center shall implement a monthly practice evacuation drill. There was no documentation of a fire drill (evacuation) being conducted in October, 2024.”
Aug 12, 2024: inspection1 deficiency
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8VAC20-780-330-C
“Based on observation the center failed to ensure that ground supports shall be covered with materials that protect children from injury. Evidence: The ground supports for the climbing apparatus have concrete that is exposed and could injure a child if they fell on it.”
All 10 visits on record
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 10, 2026 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | 4 violations cited |
| Jan 7, 2026 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Dec 3, 2025 | Inspection | 6 violations cited |
| Aug 16, 2025 | Complaint inspection | No violations cited |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Jun 12, 2025 | Inspection | 3 violations cited |
| Dec 5, 2024 | Subsidy health and safety inspection | No violations cited |
| Dec 5, 2024 | Inspection | 1 violation cited |
| Aug 12, 2024 | Inspection | 1 violation cited |
| Apr 30, 2024 | Inspection | No violations cited |
Is it licensed?
- Child Day Center: Two Year license, expires Dec 31, 2026.
- A current subsidy provider.
- Ages: 1 month - 12 years 11 months.
- Capacity: 130 children.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each facility’s page. Checked Nov 2, 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 2, 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 4 child care providers in the City of Norton, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 9; this one had 15.
Virginia Department of Education, Search for Child Day Care: each inspection’s page, with its violations. Checked Nov 2, 2026. Updated weekly.
| Place | Violations cited in the last three years |
|---|---|
| Kids Central, Inc.@Esserville Center for Early Learning | 4 |
| Norton Christian Church | 14 |
| Kids Central, Incorporated @ Parker D Mullins Center for Early L | 4 |
| Ballad Health Center for Early Learning - Norton This child care provider | 15 |
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 2, 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 2, 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 2, 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 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
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.