Aurora · Licensed center
The Children's Courtyard
A center in Aurora, licensed for 206 children. The state cited something at 8 of 11 routine visits (Chicago-area centers: about 5 in 6). Shortlist has found no website for it yet.
Large center. Large means the biggest quarter of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 119 to 487 children. Small is 8 to 48; medium is 49 to 118.
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: 8 of 11 cited something
Across Chicago-area centers, the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits (19,088 visits).
From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked September 25, 2026.
Read every record and the state’s reports
Across The Children's Courtyard's 5 locations in the Chicago area, it cited something at 66% of 32 visits.
State record — Illinois DCFS
- Last visit
- April 4, 2025
- On file
- 11 visits since April 2019 — 3 cited nothing
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was March 11, 2025. 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.
Feb 2025 Monitoring visit 17 findings
Monitoring visit · February 19, 2025
Personnel Records
4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (6) · Repeat violation · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(a)(6)
General Requirements for Personnel
3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) through (d) · Repeat violation
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · 407.100(c)(7) · 407.100(d)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) through (r)(3) · Repeat violation · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)(3) · 407.370(r)(3)
Equipment and Materials
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(b) through (j)(7) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(b) · 407.380(j)(7)
Daily Arrival and Departure of Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(e)(3) · Violation substantiated
Guidance and Discipline
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(c)(2) · Violation substantiated
Health Requirements for Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(l) · Violation substantiated
Napping and Sleeping
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(c) · Repeat violation
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Repeat violation
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Repeat violation
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576797 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Apr 2024 Monitoring visit 21 findings
Monitoring visit · April 29, 2024
General Requirements for Personnel
5 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) through (d) · Repeat violation
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(c)(6) · 407.100(c)(7) · 407.100(d)
Grouping and Staffing
5 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.190(a) through (g) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.190(a) · 407.190(b) · 407.190(c) · 407.190(f) · 407.190(g)
Program Requirements for All Ages
3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.200(f)(5) through (j) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.200(f)(5) · 407.200(g) · 407.200(j)
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) through (4) · Repeat violation
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(c)(9) through (i)(4)(a) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(c)(9) · 407.250(i)(4)(a)
Nutrition and Meal Service
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(f) through (1) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(f) · 407.330(f)(1)
Napping and Sleeping
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(c) · Repeat violation
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Repeat violation
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576797 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Apr 2023 Monitoring visit 15 findings
Monitoring visit · April 27, 2023
Guidance and Discipline
6 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) through (5) · Violation substantiated
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · 407.270(a)(1) · 407.270(a)(2) · 407.270(a)(3) · 407.270(a)(4) · 407.270(a)(5)
General Requirements for Personnel
4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) through (f) · Violation substantiated · Repeat violation
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(d) · 407.100(f)
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) through (4) · Repeat violation
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)
Organization and Administration
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(l) · Violation substantiated
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(p) · Violation substantiated
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Repeat violation
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576797 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Feb 2022 Monitoring visit 7 findings
Monitoring visit · February 24, 2022
General Requirements for Personnel
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c) through (d) · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c) · 407.100(d)
Personnel Records
2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) through (4) · Rule cited again · Violation corrected
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(d) · Violation corrected
Health Requirements for Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) · Violation corrected
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576797 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Mar 2021 Monitoring visit 4 findings
Monitoring visit · March 10, 2021
General Requirements for Personnel
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · Violation corrected
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · Rule cited again
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Rule cited again
Cited: CCASEC4
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576797 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Mar 2020 Monitoring visit 4 findings
Monitoring visit · March 18, 2020
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · Violation corrected
Special Requirements for Infants and Toddlers
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.210(b) · Violation corrected
Medications
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(e) · Violation corrected
Cited: FHSEC305
0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected on site
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576797 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Aug 2019 Monitoring visit 1 finding
Monitoring visit · August 22, 2019
Personnel Records
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576797 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Apr 2019 Monitoring visit 3 findings
Monitoring visit · April 17, 2019
Program Requirements for All Ages
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.200(d) · Violation corrected
Daily Arrival and Departure of Children
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(d) · Violation corrected on site
Napping and Sleeping
1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(c) · Violation corrected
DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576797 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.
Details
- Phone
- 6308514414
- Address
- 701 Shoreline Dr
- License
- pending renewal application (rn)
- Chain
- The Children's CourtyardSource: childrenscourtyard.com
- Owner
- American Securities (via Learning Care Group)The Children’s Courtyard is one of Learning Care Group's brands. The private-equity firm American Securities lists Learning Care Group among its current companies, an investment it made in 2014. american-securities.com
Do you run The Children's Courtyard? Shortlist has no tuition, hours or ratios for it, because the state does not publish that. Add what is missing. It is free and takes about ten minutes.
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
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 — Checked August 2026 · sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "THE CHILDREN'S COURTYARD" under Provider Name and 60504 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 576797).
- Chain — Checked September 2026 · childrenscourtyard.com
- Owner — Checked September 2026 · american-securities.com