Choosing a daycare in SC? Here’s how to check licenses, inspections & compliance
For parents, choosing a daycare is often about more than convenience – it’s about trust and safety.
The recent arrest of a Beaufort County preschool teacher on child pornography charges may have raised concerns for parents and citizens about how child care facilities are overseen.
In South Carolina, families have access to public tools and records that can help them verify whether a child care facility meets state standards and whether staff members have passed required background checks. These are three ways to research the safety and transparency of a child care facility.
1. Check its license status
Parents and caregivers can check a daycare’s license status through the South Carolina Child Care Services website, which is managed by the state Department of Social Services.
Licensed child care facilities in the state are required to meet minimum health and safety standards and ensure staff members pass several background screenings. These include state and federal fingerprint-based background checks, state criminal record checks and national sex offender registry searches.
Parents can search for providers by using the website’s search tool and entering their ZIP code, facility name or county where their child’s daycare is located.
Once search results appear, parents can filter facilities to:
- View only licensed locations (facility types)
- See a center’s quality rating from the state Division of Early Care and Education
- Identify whether the facility participates in special state programs
The search link can be found here.
2. Review inspection reports and complaints
DSS states it conducts at least one unannounced inspection each year at every licensed child care facility. Additional unannounced inspections may occur if a complaint is filed against a center.
Parents can review a facility’s inspection history directly on the Child Care Services website.
By clicking on a facility’s name in the search results and scrolling down, families can access previous inspection dates and detailed reports.
Inspections evaluate a wide range of areas, including:
- Management and administration
- Staffing and supervision
- Cleanliness and sanitation
- Safety and security
- Educational programs
- Playground and outdoor areas
- Sleeping and resting equipment
- Food service
- Infant care
- Transportation, if applicable
3. Ask questions directly
In addition to online research, parents and families can request verification from a licensed facility director that all employees have completed required background checks.
These include state and federal fingerprint-based criminal background checks, national and sate child abuse and neglect registries along with national and state sex offender registries.
If parents have questions about the background check process, South Carolina’s Child Care Services can be reached via phone at 803-898-9020 or email at centralofficechildcare@dss.sc.gov.
What if I have a complaint or concern about my child’s facility?
If a parent or guardian has a complaint or would like to make a report, those can be filed with a regional Child Care Licensing Office in your respective county.
Contacts for each county/area can be found here.
Child Care Services says that common complaints include:
- Someone is keeping children without a license or registration
- A provider has more children in a room than the staff-to-child ratio allows
- Playground equipment is in unsafe condition
- A provider has hired someone without a background check
- A provider is not providing appropriate activities
- A provider is not following good handwashing practices
- A provider is not talking to children appropriately
Child Care Licensing states it will not investigate complaints about a provider’s rates.
If a parent would like to report suspected child abuse and neglect in a child care facility, the statewide, 24/7 hotline number for reporting is 1-888-227-3487.
Non-emergency reports of abuse or neglect can also be made through the SCDSS webpage.
