Choosing a daycare is one of the most important decisions a family makes. The marketing materials all look the same. The tour gives you a polished version. The actual track record is harder to find but it’s public, and you should look at it before you enroll.
This guide walks through how to vet an Arizona daycare using the public records available, what red flags to watch for during visits, and what to do if something goes wrong.
Step 1: Check AZ CareCheck Before You Visit
Arizona’s AZ CareCheck website is the public database for all state-licensed care facilities, including childcare centers and certified group homes. Before you visit any daycare, look it up.
Search by facility name or address. The result page shows:
- License status (active, on probation, suspended)
- Licensing history (when first licensed, any prior suspensions)
- Inspection results (annual licensing inspections)
- Substantiated complaints (formal complaints DHS investigated and confirmed)
- Enforcement actions (fines, license restrictions, conditions)
A facility with no substantiated complaints and clean inspection history is the baseline. A facility with multiple substantiated complaints, repeated cite-and-correct issues, or any enforcement actions warrants closer examination.
What to look for:
- Repeated supervision violations. This is the most serious pattern. A daycare that gets cited for inadequate supervision more than once has a structural problem.
- Ratio violations. Operating below required staff-to-child ratios. Even one citation is a yellow flag. Multiple citations are a red flag.
- Background check failures. Hiring staff before completing required background checks.
- Failure to report incidents. Not reporting injuries or incidents to parents or DHS as required.
- Open complaints under investigation. Pending complaints aren’t on the public record yet, but if you see “investigation in progress” or similar status, ask follow-up questions.
If anything on AZ CareCheck looks concerning, ask the daycare director directly during your visit. Their response will tell you a lot about the facility’s culture.
Step 2: Request Public Records
For the most complete picture, file a public records request with ADHS at recordsrequest.azdhs.gov. Request:
- Full inspection reports (not just the summary AZ CareCheck shows)
- Complaint history (substantiated AND unsubstantiated)
- Any correspondence between ADHS and the facility about prior incidents
- Plans of correction (POCs) for any cited violations
Public records requests are free for individuals and typically processed within 30 days. The unsubstantiated complaints are particularly useful because they show patterns DHS investigated even if it didn’t find enough evidence to formally cite the facility.
This is the same step a personal injury attorney would take if a child was injured at the facility. Doing it before you enroll gives you the same information without the injury.
Step 3: Visit in Person (Multiple Times)
The tour the daycare director gives is a marketing event. The real facility looks different. Visit at multiple times of day:
What you’re looking for: warm, attentive, present staff who know each child by name and engage with them as individuals. What you’re avoiding: rotating staff, screen time as supervision, exhausted-looking workers, and any sense that children are being managed rather than cared for.
- Staff members on phones during programming
- Children left unsupervised even briefly
- A general feeling of disorganization or chaos
- Staff ratios that look wrong (too many kids, not enough adults)
- Visible safety hazards (cleaning chemicals accessible, broken equipment, unfenced pools)
- Unexplained loud noises from rooms you can’t see into
- Staff who can’t or won’t answer your questions about training or policies
- High staff turnover (ask how long the lead teachers have been there)
- Rooms that smell strongly of disinfectant during midday (covering up something)
- Children who seem fearful or overly subdued
Step 4: Ask the Right Questions
Most parents ask about hours, cost, and whether snacks are provided. Those are fine questions, but they don’t tell you about safety. Ask:
What’s your staff-to-child ratio in each room, right now?
Compare to required minimums. Get specific numbers.
What’s your staff turnover rate?
A facility with 30%+ annual turnover has structural problems. The best facilities have lead teachers who’ve been there for years.
What’s your background check process?
They should describe DHS-required state and federal background checks, fingerprinting, and ongoing rechecks. If they’re vague, that’s a problem.
How do you handle medication?
Specifically, ask about how staff document, store, and administer prescription medications.
What’s your incident reporting process?
A good facility has a written incident report form, parent notification protocol, and DHS notification protocol for serious incidents.
Can I see your most recent inspection report?
Licensed facilities are required to make these available. Refusal is a red flag.
What’s your policy on parent visits?
A facility with nothing to hide welcomes unannounced parent visits any time. A facility with restrictions or appointment requirements has something they don’t want you to see.
How do you handle naps and supervision during them?
Sleeping infants have died from improper sleep position, suffocation, and SIDS at understaffed daycares. Sleep supervision should be active, not just monitored from outside the room.
What’s your emergency plan?
For medical emergencies, fire, lockdown, severe weather. They should have written plans and conduct drills.
Who is your DHS licensing surveyor and how often do they visit?
A good facility knows this and will tell you. Surveyors typically visit annually for licensed centers.
Step 5: Talk to Other Parents
Find current and former parents at the facility. Talk to them away from the daycare. Ask:
- Has your child ever been injured?
- How does the facility communicate about incidents?
- Have you noticed changes in your child’s behavior?
- Would you recommend the facility?
- Is there anything you wish you’d known before enrolling?
Online reviews are useful but unreliable. In-person conversations with parents who have a year or more of experience with the facility are gold.
What to Do If Something Happens
If your child is injured at a daycare:
Get medical attention immediately
Document everything.
Get the incident report from the daycare
They’re required to document injuries. If they refuse, that’s a red flag.
Photograph the injuries
Photograph any visible evidence of how the injury happened.
File a formal complaint with ADHS
facility-licensing.azdhs.gov/s/childcare-facility-complaints. The complaint can be anonymous if you want. ADHS will investigate.
Submit a public records request
Request the facility’s full file at recordsrequest.azdhs.gov. You’ll get inspection history, prior complaints, and any correspondence.
Call us if the injury is serious
(602) 654-0202. Intake is confidential. Representation is on contingency. Daycare negligence cases involve evidence preservation that needs to start within days. See Arizona daycare negligence law for the legal framework.
How to File a Complaint
Filing a complaint with ADHS is free and straightforward:
Go to the ADHS complaint portal
facility-licensing.azdhs.gov/s/childcare-facility-complaints
Fill out the online complaint form
Complete all fields accurately.
Include all relevant details
Facility name, address, date and time of incident, description of what happened, witnesses if any, and your contact info (or anonymous).
Submit
ADHS will investigate. Investigations typically take 30 to 60 days. If the complaint is substantiated, it appears on the facility’s AZ CareCheck record and can result in fines, plans of correction, or license restrictions.
You can also call the Surveyor on Duty at (602) 364-2539 during business hours for urgent concerns.
When to Walk Away
Trust your instincts. If a daycare:
- Has multiple substantiated complaints
- Refuses to show inspection records
- Restricts parent visits
- Has high staff turnover with no explanation
- Has staff who can’t or won’t answer your questions
- Feels chaotic, neglectful, or unsafe in any way
Walk away. There are other options. The cost and inconvenience of finding a different facility is small compared to the cost of a serious injury or developmental harm to your child.
The best daycares welcome scrutiny. They’ll show you their records, answer every question, and let you visit any time. The ones that resist are the ones to avoid.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check a daycare's history in Arizona?
What are the worst red flags when visiting a daycare?
How do I file a complaint about a daycare?
Can I sue an Arizona daycare for negligence?
What questions should I ask before enrolling my child?
Sources & references
- Arizona Department of Health Services. (2026). AZ CareCheck: Search Licensed Facilities https://azcarecheck.azdhs.gov
- Arizona Department of Health Services. (2026). Arizona DHS Childcare Facility Licensing https://www.azdhs.gov/licensing/childcare-facilities/index.php
- Arizona Department of Health Services. (2026). Childcare Facility Complaints https://facility-licensing.azdhs.gov/s/childcare-facility-complaints
- Arizona Department of Health Services. (2026). ADHS Public Records Requests https://recordsrequest.azdhs.gov
- Arizona State Legislature. (2025). ARS 36-883: Child Care Facility Licensure https://www.azleg.gov/ars/36/00883.htm