Licensed child care center · public record
Small Steps Nurturing Center-5th Ward
Houston, Texas. The state’s inspection record for this operation, from Texas Health and Human Services Child Care Regulation, in plain English.
The operation
- Type
- Licensed child care center
- State permit
- Full Permit, issued December 20, 2006
- Capacity
- 189 children
- Ages served
- Toddler, Pre-Kindergarten, School
- Hours
- Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri · 08:00 AM-05:30 PM
- Accepts child care subsidies
- No
- Conditions on the permit
- Yes
- Corrective action listed
- No
- Adverse action listed
- No
- Temporarily closed
- No
- State operation number
- 864420
Where
2902 Jensen Dr
Houston, TX 77026
Deficiencies by risk level
The state’s own summary counts for this operation, as published in the HHSC operations file.
Citations on the record
Each standard the state found not met, newest first, with its risk level and when it was corrected.
| Inspection | Risk | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| August 25, 2026 | Medium High | 746.3819 - Food Allergy Emergency Plan Signed by Parents and Health Care Professional State’s note: “2 children with a diagsnosed food allergy were missing medication that the health care provider says needs to be part of the plan.” |
| August 25, 2026 | High | 746.5617(a)(2) - Required Equipment in Vehicles - Emergency Medical Information State’s note: “12 children transported were missing the Emergency Medical Authorization forms in the van.” |
| May 20, 2026 | Medium | 746.203(2) - Liability Insurance Requirements - Provide Proof of Coverage Annually by Anniversary Date of Issuance State’s note: “The policy on file that was documented on 10/16/24 had expired on 9/19/25. Note: this was corrected at inspection when the director entered the updated policy in the on line provider portal account.” |
| April 1, 2026 | High | 746.1205(a)(4) - Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity State’s note: “A self-report by the operation was made that a child was left unsupervised in the hallway for a minute.” |
| November 12, 2025 | Medium | 746.707 - Incident/Illness Report Form Shared with Parent State’s note: “The operation did not complete an incident report or share the report with the parent within 48 hours of the incident.” |
| November 10, 2025 | High | 746.1205(a)(4) - Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity State’s note: “One child was left unsupervised in the classroom for several minutes.” |
| October 22, 2025 | Medium High | 746.3701(10) - Safety - Televisions Anchored to Prevent Tip Over State’s note: “Two tv monitors in 2 classrooms were unfastended to the children's bookshelf, posing as a tipping hazard.” |
| October 22, 2025 | Medium High | 746.3819 - Food Allergy Emergency Plan Signed by Parents and Health Care Professional State’s note: “4 out of 6 children with diagnosed food allergies did not have a complete and current food allergy emergency plan. 1 kid is missing Benadryl, 2 kids had expired epi-pens, 1 kid missing medication and authorization form.” |
| November 13, 2024 | High | 746.5617(a)(2) - Required Equipment in Vehicles - Emergency Medical Information State’s note: “The transportation binder is missing Emergency medical transport and treatment authorization forms for 3 children being transported.” |
| November 13, 2024 | Medium High | 746.5202(1) - Emergency Preparedness Plan - Evacuation, relocation, and sheltering/lock-down procedures State’s note: “The Emergency Prepardeness Plan is missing the address of the alternate shelter away from the center.” |
| November 13, 2024 | Medium High | 746.3805(b)(1) - Administering Medication - Original Container with Child's Name, Date State’s note: “8 medications did not have the date received written on the container. Note; this was corrected at inspection when the director wrote on each medication the date it was received from the parent.” |
| October 16, 2024 | High | 745.641 - AP Background check results - Must receive notification prior to allowing subject to be present at your operation State’s note: “2 student volunteers, 1 caregiver and 1 contract vendor were with children without approved background checks.” |
| October 14, 2024 | High | 746.1205(a)(4) - Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity |
| December 5, 2023 | Medium High | 746.1316(a) - Transportation Safety Training -Director and Employee Complete 2 Hours Annually State’s note: “The director did not have current transportation training, the last training was taken in 2021.” |
| October 12, 2023 | High | 746.1205(a)(4) - Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity State’s note: “It was determined that a child was left alone for approximately five minutes.” |
| September 30, 2022 | High | 746.1203(4) - Responsibilities of Caregivers - Supervision of Children State’s note: “Caregivers left a child on the outside patio of the classroom.” |
| January 6, 2022 | High | 746.5617(a)(2) - Required Equipment in Vehicles - Emergency Medical Information State’s note: “During review of transportation the operation was found to not have emergency medical information on van used to transport children. This was corrected when the director updated the transportation binder.” |
| January 6, 2022 | High | 746.3407(12) - Mark Cleaning Supplies, Toxic Materials; Keep Separate from Food and Inaccessible to Children State’s note: “During the walkthrough I observed four buckets of disinfectant wipes and spray bottles with cleaning solution in the reach of children. This was corrected when the director removed the buckets and placed the bottles out of reach.” |
Recent inspections and visits
- September 10, 2026 Inspection · deficiency found: No
- August 31, 2026 Inspection · deficiency found: No
- August 25, 2026 Inspection · deficiency found: Yes
- May 20, 2026 Inspection · deficiency found: Yes
- April 8, 2026 Inspection · deficiency found: No
- April 2, 2026 Inspection · deficiency found: No
- April 1, 2026 Report · deficiency found: Yes
- December 3, 2025 Inspection · deficiency found: No
- November 19, 2025 Inspection · deficiency found: No
- November 12, 2025 Inspection · deficiency found: Yes
- November 10, 2025 Report · deficiency found: Yes
- October 22, 2025 Inspection · deficiency found: Yes
- November 13, 2024 Inspection · deficiency found: Yes
- October 16, 2024 Inspection · deficiency found: Yes
- October 14, 2024 Report · deficiency found: Yes
How many times has the state inspected Small Steps Nurturing Center-5th Ward?
Texas HHSC's file lists 11 inspections in the last two years, the most recent on September 10, 2026. 7 of the inspections and other visits in that period are marked as having found a deficiency.
Does Small Steps Nurturing Center-5th Ward have deficiencies on its record?
The state's summary for this operation lists 18: 10 high-risk, 6 medium-high-risk, 2 medium-risk. Each one is listed below with its date and whether it was corrected.
Is this a rating?
No. This page shows the State of Texas's own public records, summarized. It is not a rating, a review or our opinion. Ask the operation or HHSC about anything here.
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