Every Licensed Child Day Care Center in Ohio is scheduled for a minimum of 2 annual inspections (one announced, one unannounced) every year, by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).  Center Licenses are renewed every 2 years, therefore there are at least 4 inspections during every licensed period.

 There are approximately 54 areas in these inspections, resulting in literally thousands of possible infractions (i.e. in every child’s enrollment forms there are 20-30 items that need to be filled in. If we have 100 files, that is 2,000-3,000 items.  A missing item in any file is a violation!)

 State Inspection are vitally important to insuring minimal quality, and can give a good indicator of areas where centers need to improve.  It is important to consider that these standards are basic standards—if a center is lax in the basics…  they probably do not have a strong commitment to excellence.                         

While many rule violations may be minor (a missing signature), some are very important (not enough staff).  We recommend that parents look for a strong history of as few violations as possible. 

At Little Bears, excellent Inspections are not a recent development.

Both Little Bears locations have averaged less than 2 violations
per inspection over the last 7 years!!! 

Nobody in Brunswick, Medina or Strongsville comes even close
to this level of quality.