Under the sanitation regulations, child care facilities must be inspected at least twice a year. These sanitation inspections are unannounced and are carried out by authorized Environmental Health Specialists (EHS) employed in the local Health Department. Elements evaluated include, but are not limited to:
- Cleanliness
- Structure and equipment in good repair
- Food preparation and storage
- General storage
- Hand washing, diaper-changing, and other equipment sanitizing procedures
- Lead hazards
- Bathrooms, diaper-changing areas
- Water quality (e.g. temperatures)
- Waste disposal
- Safety (child hot water access, carbon monoxide alarms, locked hazardous materials)
Copies of inspections can be obtained by contacting the Program Secretary at
704-336-5101
Demerit Categories
Sanitation ratings of child care facilities are based on the assigned demerit score. The numeric values for the items evaluated are pre-set by the State.
Classifications are as follows:
Superior: 0-15 demerits, no 6 demerit critical item
Approved: 16-30 demerits, no 6 demerit critical item
Provisional: 31-45 demerits or a 6 demerit item
Disapproved: 46+ demerits or failure to improve provisional classification within the specified time period
Child Care Center sanitation ratings can be
searched online.
County services have returned to their normal schedule unless noted otherwise. Read the latest service availability update.