Small Characters

Center · Lakewood · 8700 W 14th Ave

What kind of place is this?

Size 62 children licensed In the middle half for Denver centers, where the middle half licenses 40–113. Measured across 1,156 Denver centers, 2026-08-17.

Will it fit our family?

Not yet reported: ages served, hours, days / week, schedule, holiday closures.

What will it cost us?

This provider does not publish pricing.

What Shortlist has verified

State quality rating Colorado Shines Level 5
License status Active

State record — Colorado Department of Early Childhood

Last visit
April 23, 2026
On file
3 visits since July 2024 — all of them cited findings
Fixed?
The latest correction deadline was April 23, 2026. Colorado Department of Early Childhood does not publish whether it was made.
Most serious
Colorado Department of Early Childhood does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.

Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood lists each program’s complaints on its Colorado Shines page, with the department’s verdict on each and a report behind it, going back about three years. Older complaints are released only on request. The department does not rank complaints by severity in either place.

Apr 2026 Supervisory visit 2 findings

Supervisory visit · April 23, 2026

2.209.A.7 · Correction due April 23, 2026

Licensing Specialist reviewed 5 child files and observed one child to have expired emergency medical authorization.

Required correction: Each child's admission record must include a dated, written authorization for emergency medical care signed and updated annually by the parent/guardian. Correct by 4/23/26. Document compliance to Specialist by 5/23/26. Correct by 04/23/2026

Licensing Specialist reviewed 5 child files and observed one child to be missing a health statement completed by a health care provider.

State records file

Jun 2025 Supervisory visit 4 findings

Supervisory visit · June 9, 2025

2.133.A · Correction due June 9, 2025

Reviewed 13 staff files and observed Dolores A. to be missing an Emergency Disaster Preparedness training.

Required correction: Prior to working with children all staff must complete a department approved training in emergency and disaster preparedness training. Correct by 6/9/25. Document compliance to Specialist by 7/9/25. Correct by 06/09/2025

2.209.B.4

Reviewed 5 child files and observed one child to have an expired health statement.

2.213.B · Correction due June 9, 2025

Reviewed 13 staff files and observed Lisa S. to have an expired Standard Precautions training.

Required correction: Obtain a current standard precautions training. Correct by 6/9/25. Document compliance to Specialist by 7/9/25. Correct by 06/09/2025

2.213.F · Correction due July 9, 2025

Reviewed 13 staff files and observed Elise C. to be missing the Introduction to First Aid and CPR module.

Required correction: Obtain a department approved Introduction to First Aid and CPR module or a CPR/1st aid certification. Correct by 7/9/25. Document compliance to Specialist by 7/9/25. Correct by 07/09/2025

State records file

Jul 2024 Supervisory visit 3 findings

Supervisory visit · July 24, 2024

2.120.C.1.a · Correction due July 24, 2024

Reviewed 6 staff files and observed Jennifer M. to have an expired TRAILS background check.

Required correction: All individuals requiring a background check must review Navigating the Background Check Investigation Unit's (BIU) Webpage powerpoint. Submit verification that staff member Jennifer M. has reviewed the powerpoint within 24 hours. Submit documentation of TRAILS for staff member Jennifer M. with written response to the Specialist. Correct by 7/24/24. Document compliance to Specialist by 7/31/24. Correct by 07/24/2024

2.121.D.4.a · Correction due July 24, 2024

Reviewed 6 staff files and observed Heather W. to be missing a CBI background check.

Required correction: All individuals requiring a background check must review Navigating the Background Check Investigation Unit's (BIU) Webpage powerpoint. Submit verification that staff member Heather W. has reviewed the powerpoint within 24 hours. Submit documentation of CBI for staff member Heather W. with written response to the Specialist. Correct by 7/24/24. Document compliance to Specialist by 7/31/24. Correct by 07/24/2024

2.229.C · Correction due July 24, 2024

One bottle of Gorilla Glue, accessible to children, in an unlocked drawer on a desk, labeled keep out of reach of children in the school age classroom.

Required correction: All items labeled keep out of reach of children must be inaccessible to children. Correct by 7/24/24. Staff removed the bottle of Gorilla Glue from the classroom and placed it in the Director's office where it is inaccessible to children. Corrected at the time of inspection. No response necessary. Correct by 07/24/2024

State records file

Where this record comes from

The Department of Early Childhood keeps about three years of complaints on a program’s public page. Anything older is released only on request, as a single file covering the whole state. Shortlist asked for that file under the Colorado Open Records Act and renews it yearly; it is what this page shows for complaints older than the department’s own window.

The file this page is built from arrived on September 13, 2026 and covers complaints the department publishes today, and complaints back to January 2023 obtained by records request. The next request goes in September 2027.

The department publishes a report for each of these visits. Shortlist has not read those reports yet, so this page shows when the state came and not what it found.

Ask for this program’s record now

The department will also review one program’s complete file on request, which is more than either source above contains. Leave your email and Shortlist will ask for Small Characters’s file specifically, instead of waiting for the next one.

Before you tour

Small Characters hasn’t published

Cost, hours and late pickup, a typical day, sick and biting policies.

Ask which of these findings were serious, and what changed.Colorado Department of Early Childhood publishes a correction deadline, never whether the work was done or how serious it was.

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.

What kind of place is this

Not yet reported: established, teaching approach.

Licensing and contact

State record

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

Do you run Small Characters? 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.