Chicago · Licensed center

First Step Learning Daycare, Inc.

What these mean, and where they come from

Small means the smallest quarter of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 8 to 48 children. Medium is 49 to 118; large is 119 to 487.

Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, sick and biting policies.

What the state has found

Routine visits: 6 of 7 cited something

Chicago-area centers: the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits.

From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked September 25, 2026.

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit
July 14, 2026
On file
7 visits since November 2011 — 1 cited nothing
Fixed?
The latest correction deadline was August 13, 2026. Illinois DCFS does not publish whether it was made.
Most serious
Illinois DCFS does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.

Illinois DCFS cites each subsection of a rule separately, so one audit of a filing cabinet can produce ten citations. It publishes the rule’s title and a correction deadline, but no description of what was observed.

Jul 2026 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · July 14, 2026

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f) · Violation substantiated

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 499953 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Oct 2024 Monitoring visit 5 findings

Monitoring visit · October 15, 2024

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f) · Violation corrected

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(1) · Violation corrected

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(7) · Violation corrected

Outdoor Play Area

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.390(l)(1) · Violation corrected

Cited: FHSEC305

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 499953 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jul 2023 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · July 13, 2023

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · Violation corrected

Daily Arrival and Departure of Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(f) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 499953 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2020 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · August 27, 2020

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 499953 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

May 2019 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited
Aug 2018 Monitoring visit 4 findings

Monitoring visit · August 9, 2018

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · Violation corrected

Guidance and Discipline

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Violation corrected

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a) · Violation corrected

Cited: FHSEC305

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 499953 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Nov 2011 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · November 28, 2011

Guidance and Discipline

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270 · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 499953 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

How the comparison is built

Routine visits: across Chicago-area centers, the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits (19,088 visits).

Details

7734343100

Address
6401 S Ashland Ave
License
license issued (il)

Do you run First Step Learning Daycare, Inc.? Shortlist has no tuition, hours or ratios for it, because the state does not publish that. Adding it is free and takes about ten minutes.

Add what is missing
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.

All checked July 2026.

State record

Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.

Details

  • Phone, Address, License sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "FIRST STEP LEARNING DAYCARE, INC." under Provider Name and 60636 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 499953).