Palo Alto · Licensed center
Downtown Children's Ctr
- Small play-based center, licensed for 24 children.
- Run by a nonprofit. A board oversees it, and there are no owners taking profit.
What these mean, and where they come from
Small means the smallest quarter of Bay Area’s 439 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 8 to 30 children. Medium is 31 to 75; large is 76 to 312.
Source for who runs it
ccld.dss.ca.govHow they teach
Play-based and developmental
“committed to providing comprehensive, enriching, play-based programming that stimulates curiosity, creativity, and exploration”In their words, July 2026.paccc.org
“At PACCC, we believe in a whole-child approach to early education and care”In their words, July 2026.paccc.org
One of 82 Bay Area providers that describe a play-based approach, out of 164 that describe any approach at all.
Who cares for your child
One adult for every four infants
Shortlist has not yet sourced this state’s legal ratio limit, so there is nothing to set this beside yet.
One adult for every four toddlers. Shortlist has not yet sourced this state’s legal ratio limit, so there is nothing to set this beside yet.
One adult for every eight preschoolers. Shortlist has not yet sourced this state’s legal ratio limit, so there is nothing to set this beside yet.
One staff is named on their site, with no start year given.
What it costs
$3,570 a month for an infant
Higher than 6 of 10 Bay Area providers that publish a full-time infant price.
Higher than 22 of 36 Bay Area providers that publish a full-time preschool price.
Downtown Children's CtrMost Bay Area prices (middle 80%)
Scale $1,000 to $4,000 a month. Bay Area prices as of September 29, 2026. Part-time $1,490 to $2,570 a month. Application fee $25. Prices from their website, July 2026.
Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: a typical day, sick and biting policies.
What the state has found
The state lists 5 visits below. Shortlist has not read the reports behind them, so there is no share of visits that cited something to set beside other providers yet.
State record — California CDSS Community Care Licensing
- Last visit
- April 14, 2025
- On file
- 5 visits since November 2021
- 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.
A day here
- Calendar
- Year round
- Schedule
- Full Day, Part Day Long
Details
- Website
- paccc.org
- Address
- 555 Waverley Street
- License
- 430700018, active
Do you run Downtown Children's Ctr? Shortlist has no policies or daily routine for it, because the state does not publish that. Adding it is free and takes about ten minutes.
Add what is missingSources 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.
How they teach
- Approach — Checked July 2026 paccc.org
How they teach
- Approach — Checked July 2026 paccc.org
Who cares for your child
- Children per adult — Checked July 2026 paccc.org
Who cares for your child
- Staff paccc.org
What it costs
- Infant, Preschool, Second price, Application fee — Checked July 2026 paccc.org
State record
Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.
A day here
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 ccld.dss.ca.gov
- Website — Checked July 2026 paccc.org
- Who runs it — Checked September 2026 ccld.dss.ca.gov