Palo Alto · Licensed center
Downtown Children's Ctr
At a glance
- Medium play-based center, licensed for 32 children.
- Tuition Infant $3,570, preschool $2,920 a month, full time. See costs
- Run by a nonprofit. A board oversees it, and there are no owners taking profit.
From their website, read July 2026:
“Infant-Toddler | 1:4 Ratio Downtown Children’s Center (DCC) Infant-Toddler Center (ITC) Sojourner Truth Child Development Center (STCDC)”
“Preschool | 1:8 Ratio Barron Park Children’s Center (BPCC) College Terrace Children’s Center (CTC) Downtown Children’s Center (DCC-PS) Ellen Thacher Children’s Center (ETCC) Sojourner Truth Child Development Center (STCDC-PS)”
What the state has found
The state cited rules at 1 of its 6 licensing inspections since November 2021.
See each inspection
Licensing inspections
- Nov 4, 2025Nothing cited
- Apr 14, 2025Nothing cited
- Feb 1, 2024Nothing cited
- Oct 4, 2023Nothing cited
Sep 2, 20221 citation
CCR 101220(a)Type B
“(a) Prior to, or within 30 calendar days following the enrollment of a child, the licensee shall obtain a written medical assessment of the child. This medical assessment enables the licensee to assess whether the center can provide necessary health-related services to the child. This requirement is not met as evidenced by: Based on record review, the licensee did not comply with the section cited above in that one of the ten children's files checked did not contain the required Physicians Report which poses a potential health, safety or personal rights risk to persons in care.”
CCR 101220(a)
- Nov 4, 2021Nothing cited
The state cited rules at 1 of this center's 6 inspections. Bay Area centers inspected 6 times split three ways: 17% had fewer, 35% the same, and 48% more (252 centers).
How all 252 Bay Area centers inspected 6 times compare
Of the 252 Bay Area centers the state inspected 6 times, how many of those inspections cited a rule:
- None17%
- 1 of 635%This center
- 2 of 631%
- 3 of 612%
- 4 of 66%
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — California CDSS Community Care Licensing
- Last visit
- November 4, 2025
- On file
- 6 visits since November 2021 — 5 cited nothing
- Most serious
- No finding carrying a severity level in the last 24 months.
California CDSS publishes the full investigation narrative for a complaint, including its disposition, and classifies a citation Type A — an immediate risk to a child — or Type B.
Sep 2022 Licensing visit 1 finding
Licensing visit · September 2, 2022
CCR 101220(a) · Type B
(a) Prior to, or within 30 calendar days following the enrollment of a child, the licensee shall obtain a written medical assessment of the child. This medical assessment enables the licensee to assess whether the center can provide necessary health-related services to the child. This requirement is not met as evidenced by: Based on record review, the licensee did not comply with the section cited above in that one of the ten children's files checked did not contain the required Physicians Report which poses a potential health, safety or personal rights risk to persons in care.
Shortlist replaces people’s names in the state’s text with initials. This is done by rule, not by hand, so it can miss a name or shorten a word that isn’t one. The state’s report, linked on each row, has the original.
What it costs
Downtown Children's CtrMost Bay Area prices (middle 80%)
Monthly, full time. The band is the middle 80% of Bay Area full-time prices for that age; 10 infant and 36 preschool programs publish one.
- Part time
- $1,490 to $2,570 a month
- Application fee
- $25
A day here
- Calendar
- Year round
Schedule
- Schedule
- Full Day, Part Day Long
How they teach
Play-based and developmental
“At PACCC, we believe in a whole-child approach to early education and care”
Details
- Phone
- (650) 321-9578
- Address
- 555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto, 94301
- License
- 435700790
We couldn’t find some information that may matter to your decision: openings, child care subsidies, a typical day, and sick and biting policies. We can ask the program for you and copy you in.
Sources and dates
Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.
Children per adult
- Children per adult — Checked July 2026 paccc.org/…/tuition_itp_2026-2027_v2.pdf
How they teach
- Approach — Checked July 2026 paccc.org
What it costs
- Infant, Preschool, Second price, Application fee — Checked July 2026 paccc.org/…/tuition_itp_2026-2027_v2.pdf
State record
From California CDSS Community Care Licensing’s published reports, last checked November 5, 2026.
A day here
- Calendar — Checked July 2026 paccc.org
- Schedule — Checked July 2026 paccc.org/…/tuition_itp_2026-2027_v2.pdf
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 ccld.dss.ca.gov
- Website — Checked July 2026 paccc.org
- Who runs it — Checked November 2026 ccld.dss.ca.gov
Medium means the middle half of Bay Area’s 439 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 31 to 75 children. Small is 8 to 30; large is 76 to 312.