Charlotte · Licensed center
Kindercare Learning Center-Stafford
At a glance
- Large center, licensed for 172 children.
- Run by a for-profit business, which holds the license.
- KinderCare: public company; majority holder Partners Group (private equity).
Company news
KinderCare, the company that runs this center, reported in a federal filing that it permanently closed 49 of its early childhood centers in the six months ending July 4, 2026. It ran 1,567 of these centers at the end of that period. In the same filing, it reported closing 7 in the same six months of 2025.
The filing is about the company. It does not name which centers closed.
KinderCare’s quarterly report to the SEC, filed August 13, 2026. Shortlist last read it on November 8, 2026.
What the state has found
The state cited rules at 3 of its 10 licensing inspections since June 2024.
See each inspection
Licensing inspections
- Sep 21, 2026Nothing cited
- Sep 9, 2026Nothing cited
- May 12, 2026Nothing cited
- Apr 16, 2026Nothing cited
- Feb 23, 2026Nothing cited
- Jan 7, 2026Nothing cited
Jun 10, 20252 citations
Citation
“Child care providers and uncompensated providers who are not substitute providers or volunteers, including the director did not have a medical report on file prior to employment that was signed by a health care professional and/ or the medical report was older than 12 months. A staff member hired on 5/14/25 did not have a medical report on file prior to employment that was signed by a health care professional.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/3/2025
Citation
“On or before the first day of work, all staff, including the director and individuals who volunteer more than once per week did not provide results indicating that they were free of active TB and/or TB test or screening was older than 12 months. A staff member hired 12/17/24 did not provide results indicating that they were free of active TB and/or TB test or screening was older than 12 months.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/3/2025
- Mar 31, 2025Nothing cited
Dec 4, 20244 citations
Citation
“Operator has not scheduled and obtained a fire inspection within 12 months of the previous inspection. Operator did not submit the original approved report to DCDEE within one week of the inspection visit on a form provided by the Division. Operator's last approved fire inspection was conducted on 11/9/23. Fire inspection conducted on 10/9/24 was not approved and another inspection will need to be conducted.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 12/18/2024
Citation
“Parent's medication authorization did not include required information. In space 1, a child under 1 year of age did not have a Medication Administration Permission Form on file for their emergency medication.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 12/18/2024
Citation
“All staff did not successfully complete certification in First Aid appropriate to the age of children in care. Verification of staff completion of First Aid training from an approved training organization was not in the staff file. A staff member hired on 6/12/24 did not have a current First Aid certificate on file and available for review.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 12/18/2024
Citation
“The child care administrator and all staff did not complete the Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training within 90 days of employment. A staff member hired on 9/13/23 did not have a child maltreatment certificate on file and available for review.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 12/18/2024
Jun 27, 202412 citations
Citation
“For children under three years of age, materials were not made available to children on a daily basis. In space 6 toy and book shelves were turned around, facing the wall, in the classroom.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“For children under three years of age, materials were not offered in sufficient quantity to allow all children to use them at some time during the day and to allow for a range of choices. In space 6, there was not a sufficient quantity of toys in activity areas.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“Food substitution was not of comparable food value or recorded on the menu prior to the meal or snack being served. Menu was not updated to reflect what was given for lunch.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“An individual written feeding plan was not provided by child's parent or health care provider or was not followed and posted. (omit posting for centers located in a residence). In space 7, 2 children under 15 months did not have feeding plans completed and posted in the classroom.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“Parent's medication authorization did not include required information. In space 2, space 6, space 7, and space 10 several children's permission to administer form did not have the amount of ointment to be applied, parent signature, and the date.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“Leftover medicines were not returned to the parent after the course of treatment was completed, after authorization was withdrawn or after authorization had expired and/or medication was not discarded within 72 hours of completion of treatment or withdrawal of authorization. In space 7, one child had an expired permission to administer form.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“All staff, including the director, did not have an annual health questionnaire on file following the initial medical statement. One staff member hired on April 10, 2024 did not update the health questionnaire.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“Child care providers, including the director, uncompensated providers, substitute providers, and volunteers did not have the required Emergency Information Form on file on or before the first day of work, which included all the required information and/or the information on the form was not updated as changes occur and at least annually. One staff member hired on April 10, 2023 did not update the emergency information form.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“Each employee's personnel file did not contain an annual staff evaluation and a staff development plan. One staff member hired on April 10, 2023 did not have a staff development plan completed.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“The trained staff did not review the EPR Plan annually or when information in the plan changed to ensure all information was current. The EPR plan was last updated on March 2, 2020.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“All staff did not review the center's EPR Plan during orientation and/or on an annual basis with the trained staff. Documentation of the review was not maintained on file. One staff member hired on April 10, 2023 did not review the EPR plan annually.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Citation
“The child care administrator and all staff did not complete the Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training within 90 days of employment. A staff member hired on January 29, 2024 did not complete Child Maltreatment training.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
The state cited rules at 3 of this center's 10 inspections. Most Charlotte-area centers inspected 10 or more times had rules cited at some but not all of theirs, as this center did: more than 99% of 271.
How all 271 Charlotte-area centers inspected 10 or more times compare
Of the 271 Charlotte-area centers the state inspected 10 or more times, how many of those inspections cited a rule:
- Someover 99%This center
- Allunder 1%
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — North Carolina DCDEE
- Last visit
- September 21, 2026
- On file
- 10 visits since June 2024 — 7 cited nothing, 7 of those unannounced
- Fixed?
- All 18 record a correction, in the licensor’s own words.
- Most serious
- North Carolina DCDEE does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.
North Carolina DCDEE describes every citation in the licensor’s own words and records the correction in that same text — the only one of the six states that publishes whether a violation was fixed. It attaches no rule number and no report document.
Jun 2025 Unannounced visit 2 findings
Unannounced visit · June 10, 2025
Child care providers and uncompensated providers who are not substitute providers or volunteers, including the director did not have a medical report on file prior to employment that was signed by a health care professional and/ or the medical report was older than 12 months. A staff member hired on 5/14/25 did not have a medical report on file prior to employment that was signed by a health care professional.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/3/2025
On or before the first day of work, all staff, including the director and individuals who volunteer more than once per week did not provide results indicating that they were free of active TB and/or TB test or screening was older than 12 months. A staff member hired 12/17/24 did not provide results indicating that they were free of active TB and/or TB test or screening was older than 12 months.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/3/2025
DCDEE facility lookup On that page, enter license number 13000599 in the License Number box, choose Search and open the result; the record is listed under Visits.
Dec 2024 Unannounced visit 4 findings
Unannounced visit · December 4, 2024
Operator has not scheduled and obtained a fire inspection within 12 months of the previous inspection. Operator did not submit the original approved report to DCDEE within one week of the inspection visit on a form provided by the Division. Operator's last approved fire inspection was conducted on 11/9/23. Fire inspection conducted on 10/9/24 was not approved and another inspection will need to be conducted.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 12/18/2024
Parent's medication authorization did not include required information. In space 1, a child under 1 year of age did not have a Medication Administration Permission Form on file for their emergency medication.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 12/18/2024
All staff did not successfully complete certification in First Aid appropriate to the age of children in care. Verification of staff completion of First Aid training from an approved training organization was not in the staff file. A staff member hired on 6/12/24 did not have a current First Aid certificate on file and available for review.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 12/18/2024
The child care administrator and all staff did not complete the Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training within 90 days of employment. A staff member hired on 9/13/23 did not have a child maltreatment certificate on file and available for review.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 12/18/2024
DCDEE facility lookup On that page, enter license number 13000599 in the License Number box, choose Search and open the result; the record is listed under Visits.
Jun 2024 Unannounced visit 12 findings
Unannounced visit · June 27, 2024
For children under three years of age, materials were not made available to children on a daily basis. In space 6 toy and book shelves were turned around, facing the wall, in the classroom.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
For children under three years of age, materials were not offered in sufficient quantity to allow all children to use them at some time during the day and to allow for a range of choices. In space 6, there was not a sufficient quantity of toys in activity areas.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Food substitution was not of comparable food value or recorded on the menu prior to the meal or snack being served. Menu was not updated to reflect what was given for lunch.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
An individual written feeding plan was not provided by child's parent or health care provider or was not followed and posted. (omit posting for centers located in a residence). In space 7, 2 children under 15 months did not have feeding plans completed and posted in the classroom.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Parent's medication authorization did not include required information. In space 2, space 6, space 7, and space 10 several children's permission to administer form did not have the amount of ointment to be applied, parent signature, and the date.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Leftover medicines were not returned to the parent after the course of treatment was completed, after authorization was withdrawn or after authorization had expired and/or medication was not discarded within 72 hours of completion of treatment or withdrawal of authorization. In space 7, one child had an expired permission to administer form.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
All staff, including the director, did not have an annual health questionnaire on file following the initial medical statement. One staff member hired on April 10, 2024 did not update the health questionnaire.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Child care providers, including the director, uncompensated providers, substitute providers, and volunteers did not have the required Emergency Information Form on file on or before the first day of work, which included all the required information and/or the information on the form was not updated as changes occur and at least annually. One staff member hired on April 10, 2023 did not update the emergency information form.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
Each employee's personnel file did not contain an annual staff evaluation and a staff development plan. One staff member hired on April 10, 2023 did not have a staff development plan completed.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
The trained staff did not review the EPR Plan annually or when information in the plan changed to ensure all information was current. The EPR plan was last updated on March 2, 2020.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
All staff did not review the center's EPR Plan during orientation and/or on an annual basis with the trained staff. Documentation of the review was not maintained on file. One staff member hired on April 10, 2023 did not review the EPR plan annually.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
The child care administrator and all staff did not complete the Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training within 90 days of employment. A staff member hired on January 29, 2024 did not complete Child Maltreatment training.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 7/11/2024
DCDEE facility lookup On that page, enter license number 13000599 in the License Number box, choose Search and open the result; the record is listed under Visits.
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.
Details
- Phone
- (704) 599-4088
- Address
- 9525 Stafford Road, Charlotte, 28215
- License
- 13000599
- Quality program
- Three Star License
We couldn’t find some information that may matter to your decision: openings, child care subsidies, cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, 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.
State record
From North Carolina DCDEE’s published reports, last checked November 8, 2026.
Details
- Phone, Address, License, Quality program — Checked July 2026 ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov. To check it, open ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/childcaresearch, enter licence 13000599 under License Number, and open the result.
- Website, Who runs it — Checked October 2026 kindercare.com
- Who runs it — Checked October 2026 ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov. To check it, open ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/childcaresearch, enter licence 13000599 under License Number, open the result and expand Owner Information: the licensee is listed as Primary Owner.
- Who runs it — Checked October 2026 sec.gov/…/klc-20260704.htm
From KinderCare's quarterly report to the SEC, filed August 13, 2026. sec.gov
Large means the biggest quarter of Charlotte-area’s 605 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 163 to 528 children. Small is 11 to 50; medium is 51 to 162.