Palos Heights · Licensed center
Sandbox Of Palos Heights
At a glance
- Large center, licensed for 121 children.
What to know
The license is the range the state allows. It does not say which ages have openings.
What the state has found
The state cited rules at all 3 of its licensing inspections since February 2022.
See each inspection
Licensing inspections
Mar 31, 20262 citations
Background Checks for Personnel
Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
Mar 20, 20232 citations
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Feb 7, 20226 citations
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(e)(5)
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b)
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(f)(24)
Guidance and Discipline
Guidance and Discipline
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a)
The state cited rules at all 3 of this center's inspections. Most Chicago-area centers inspected 3 times had the same: 57% of 110.
How all 110 Chicago-area centers inspected 3 times compare
Of the 110 Chicago-area centers the state inspected 3 times, how many of those inspections cited a rule:
- None11%
- 1 of 38%
- 2 of 324%
- All 357%This center
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — Illinois DCFS
- Last visit
- March 31, 2026
- On file
- 3 visits since February 2022 — all of them cited findings
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was April 30, 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.
Mar 2026 Monitoring visit 2 findings
Monitoring visit · March 31, 2026
Background Checks for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation substantiated
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · Violation substantiated
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539893 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Mar 2023 Monitoring visit 2 findings
Monitoring visit · March 20, 2023
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f) · Violation corrected
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539893 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Feb 2022 Monitoring visit 6 findings
Monitoring visit · February 7, 2022
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4) through (e)(5) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(e)(5)
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b) through (f)(24) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b) · 407.210(f)(24)
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f) · Violation corrected
Guidance and Discipline
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 539893 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Details
- Phone
- (708) 371-5443
- Address
- 12832 S Ridgeland Ave, Palos Heights, 60463
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, sick and biting policies, and who owns it. 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 Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked November 8, 2026.
Details
- Phone, Address, License — Checked August 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "SANDBOX OF PALOS HEIGHTS" under Provider Name and 60463 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 539893).
- Ages on the license — Checked November 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "SANDBOX OF PALOS HEIGHTS" under Provider Name and 60463 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 539893).
Large means the biggest quarter of Chicago-area’s 1,948 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 119 to 487 children. Small is 8 to 48; medium is 49 to 118.
The ages on the license are what the state licenses it to care for, which can be wider than the ages it takes.