What should I ask on a daycare tour in NYC?

Start with the center's own inspection record: ask what happened with any serious, open or repeated violation and what changed. Then ask about kids per caretaker at drop-off and nap, safe sleep for babies, the sick policy, and to see the performance summary card the city requires centers to post.

Where do I find a daycare's inspection record before touring?

Look up the center on this site or on NYC Child Care Connect, the NYC Health Department's database. Home daycares are licensed by the state, so use the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) child care search for those.

Daycare tour questions to ask in NYC

The short answer

Before a NYC daycare tour, look up its inspection record and bring a list of its violations. Ask what changed after each one, how staffing works at drop-off and nap, and to see the performance summary card the city requires centers to post.

Before the tour: pull the record

Look up the center here or on NYC Child Care Connect and write down anything serious, open or repeated. In our data, 585 centers have a violation still open and 1,069 have had the same violation cited again.

Look at the last 3 years, not just the newest visit.
Note the date and level of each violation (public health hazard, critical, general).
Mark anything listed as open or repeat.

Questions about any violation

Ask about the specific item. A good answer names what happened and what changed.

"I saw this on your inspection record. What happened?"
"What did you change after it, and who checks that it stuck?"
"Was it corrected, and when?"

Staff and ratio questions

583 centers in our data have at least one supervision or staff-ratio violation in the last 3 years.

How many kids per adult in my child's room, at drop-off, at nap and at pickup?
Who covers when a teacher is out sick?
How long have the lead teachers in this room been here?

Infant room questions

353 centers have at least one safe-sleep violation on file. For babies, ask about this first.

Where and how do babies sleep? Can I see the cribs?
Who checks on sleeping babies, and how often?
How are bottles and breast milk labeled and stored?

Day-to-day questions

These come from a parent's tour list on r/nycparents.

What does a normal day look like, and how much time is outside?
What time do you close, and what happens if I'm late?
What is the sick policy?
How do meals and snacks work?

On the way out

The city requires every group child care program to post a performance summary card.

Ask to see the card.
Ask how you'd hear about future inspections.
Ask what openings they have and how the waitlist works.

Sources: inspection counts from city records on NYC Child Care Connect, last 3 years. Card requirement from NYC Health. More: how to check a daycare · what violations mean · FAQ · daycares with no violations

FAQ

What should I ask on a daycare tour in NYC?: Start with the center's own inspection record: ask what happened with any serious, open or repeated violation and what changed. Then ask about kids per caretaker at drop-off and nap, safe sleep for babies, the sick policy, and to see the performance summary card the city requires centers to post.
Where do I find a daycare's inspection record before touring?: Look up the center on this site or on NYC Child Care Connect, the NYC Health Department's database. Home daycares are licensed by the state, so use the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) child care search for those.