WARNING TO ALL DAYCARE OPERATORS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS

I have been reminded by another daycare operator that daycare operators are at an additional risk from the State of Texas Childcare Licensing. When a childcare licensing representative makes a visit to your daycare you will be asked to sign (on their computer) an "acknowledgement" of having received the report which may or may not contain write-ups. You will be told by the Childcare Licensing Representative that your signing the report is not an acknowledgment that the write-ups are true but an acknowledgment of having received the report. DO NOT BELIEVE IT. DO NOT SIGN THE REPORT.

Any write-up that you receive you will have to be challenged within their "Administrative Review" process. By challenging the write-ups you are saying that you disagree with the write-ups. Administrative Reviews are held within the same office of the person whose write-ups you are challenging. They operate similar to a court system except that Childcare Licensing acts as the judge, jury, and executioner. I can tell you from experience that these people are not going to overrule the write-ups of people that they work with everyday. These people are friends with each other. That is just not going to happen no matter how much evidence that you have to support you. That is why the State of Texas Childcare Licensing "Administrative Review" process is well-known for being a Kangaroo Court System.

In the "Administrative Reviews" you cannot question their evidence, you cannot question the Childcare Licensing Representatives, nor can you question any witnesses that they claim they may have.  It is very possible that they may not even have any witnesses but merely claim they do so as to allow Childcare Licensing to state that you are violating the State of Texas Minimum Standards for Childcare Centers the rules by which daycares operate. You will hear from honest Childcare Licensing Representatives that the majority of reports against daycare owners come from disgruntled employees, clients that have been charged penalties for paying their tuitions late, or competing daycares. These make up the majority of their witnesses.

If Childcare Licensing revokes your license to operate they will use the write-ups against you and portray your daycare as a danger to children. They will inform the judge that you were given due-process through their administrative review process. Judges will be none the wiser and believe that the write-ups were proven to be correct.

Another tactic that Childcare Licensing will do is to add additional write-ups after having left the daycare. The purpose of this is obviously to pad the amount of write-ups to your daycare. If they do this to you take it as a huge red flag that you are being targeted.

What you should do to protect yourself are: 1) DO NOT SIGN THE REPORT 2) Have video cameras with sound in your daycare 3) Record everything that the Childcare Licensing Representative tells you. 4) Take pictures of the Report even if you do not have any write-ups. 5) Challenge the write-ups at the daycare and have witnesses. 6) Related to 5, obtain a notarized statement from the witness to corroborate your conversation with the Childcare Licensing Representative. 7) Keep a sign-in/sign-out sheet for all visitors to sign including Childcare Licensing Representatives.  Be aware however that asking Childcare Licensing Representatives may get upset with you for wanting them to sign in/out and may not want to cooperate.