Find a program / Delaware / Camden / THE NEXT STEP LEARNING CENTER AT CAMDEN
Child care center · Camden, DE
THE NEXT STEP LEARNING CENTER AT CAMDEN
A licensed child care center in Camden, Delaware, with its state inspection and complaint history from the Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL).
Program details
Program type: Licensed child care center
Address: 3377 S DUPONT HWY, Camden, DE 19934
Phone: (302) 899-8004
Ages served: 6 weeks through 5 years.
Age group: Infant through Pre-School
Licensed capacity: 75 children
OCCL license number: 1559979
Current enforcement action (as published): none listed in the state's file
Injuries reported to the state (as published): the state's file lists injuries in the last 5 years that needed medical or dental treatment. No facility injuries reported. No facility deaths reported.
View the official record on Delaware's child care search (search for the program's name).
Inspection history
Last 3 years (November 12, 2023 to November 12, 2026, when the state's files were last updated)
- 5 visits where violations were cited (the state's file doesn't list visits where nothing was cited)
- 11 violations cited on these visits
- 4 complaint investigations completed (No Evidence to Substantiate: 3; Substantiated: 1)
A violation means a licensing specialist found that a Delaware licensing rule wasn't met. The state gives the program a date to correct each one and records when it was corrected. Complaint results use the state's own terms, as published. Read the official record for details.
Visits with violations
All 5 visits with violations in the state's file (which starts November 12, 2021), newest first, with 11 violations in all. The state's file lists only visits where a rule was cited, so visits where nothing was cited are not shown. Each violation shows the state's short title for the rule, its regulation code, the date the state set for the fix and the correction status as published.
April 9, 2026 · Unannounced Full Compliance Review · 3 violations
Personnel Files
Regulation code 30U · Correct by April 23, 2026 · Correction status: Completed, April 13, 2026 · How the correction was shown (as published): Document
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure staff files are complete. One staff member needs a complete adult health appraisal.
Outdoor Area
Regulation code 53U · Correct by April 23, 2026 · Correction status: Completed, April 13, 2026 · How the correction was shown (as published): Document
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure the gates to the outdoor play area are not locked during child care hours and are self-closing and self-latching. The gate in the garden area was observed locked. The gate closest to the parking lot was not self-closing.
Administration of Medication
Regulation code 63U · Correct by April 23, 2026 · Correction status: Completed, April 13, 2026 · How the correction was shown (as published): Document
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure written parent permission is obtained using a Medication Administration Record (MAR) for each medication. One child needs a MAR for an epi-pen. One child needs a MAR for sunscreen.
April 2, 2025 · Unannounced Full Compliance Review · 2 violations
Personnel Files
Regulation code 30U · Correct by April 30, 2025 · Correction status: Completed, May 8, 2025 · How the correction was shown (as published): Document
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure staff files are complete. One staff member needs administration of medication training and/or certification, orientation, OCCL's Health and Safety Training for Child Care Professionals, and two references.
Child Files
Regulation code 40U · Correct by April 30, 2025 · Correction status: Completed, April 17, 2025 · How the correction was shown (as published): Document
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure child files are complete. One child needs an updated health appraisal. Two children need completed Medication Administration Records (MAR) for diaper cream.
September 26, 2024 · Unannounced · 1 violation
Ratios, Group Size, and Supervision
Regulation code 27U · Correct by September 26, 2024 · Correction status: Completed, September 26, 2024 · How the correction was shown (as published): Facility Visit
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure maximum group size is maintained at all times. A group of 13 one and two year olds were observed with two staff members. This was corrected when a third staff member arrived and took the two year olds to the two-year-old classroom.
September 19, 2024 · Unannounced Full Compliance Review · 3 violations
Ratios, Group Size, and Supervision
Regulation code 27U · Correct by September 19, 2024 · Correction status: Completed, September 19, 2024 · How the correction was shown (as published): Facility Visit
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure staff-to-child ratios are maintained through qualified staff. A staff member, who does not have eligibility determination was observed with a group of four one year olds. This was corrected when a qualified staff member entered the classroom and the staff member left. A second staff member, an intern with provisional eligibility was observed alone with two infants. This was corrected when a qualified staff member entered the classroom.
General Qualifications
Regulation code 28U · Correct by September 19, 2024 · Correction status: Completed, September 19, 2024 · How the correction was shown (as published): Facility Visit
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure staff complete a comprehensive background check and eligibility determination or provisional eligibility notification on file. A staff member, who does not have eligibility determination was observed with a group of four one year olds. This was corrected when a qualified staff member entered the classroom and the staff member left. A second staff member, with provisional eligibility was observed alone with two infants. This was corrected when a qualified staff member entered the classroom.
Personnel Files
Regulation code 30U · Correct by October 3, 2024 · Correction status: Completed, October 10, 2024 · How the correction was shown (as published): Document
The state's notes for this violation may name a person, so we don't show them here. They're in the state's published file (see Sources).
July 2, 2024 · Unannounced · 2 violations
Personnel Files
Regulation code 30U · Correct by July 19, 2024 · Correction status: Completed, July 17, 2024 · How the correction was shown (as published): Document
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure staff files are complete. One staff needed an eligibility letter and one staff needed one service letter.
Lesson Plans
Regulation code 74U · Correct by July 19, 2024 · Correction status: Completed, July 17, 2024 · How the correction was shown (as published): Document
Licensing specialist's notes (as published)
Ensure lesson plans for children two and older have the required once-a-week components. Two lesson plans were missing them.
Complaint investigations
All 4 complaint investigations in the state's file (which starts November 29, 2021), newest first, with the result and the state's summary as published.
Completed April 15, 2025 · Result: No Evidence to Substantiate
Type (as published): OCCL Standards Complaint
The state's summary (as published)
On March 26, 2025, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding improper staff-to-child ratios. An investigation was conducted on April 2, 2025. There is no evidence to substantiate for improper staff-to-child ratio because attendance records and video footage for March 26, 2025, showed the opening classroom and the one-year-old classroom were following proper staff-to-child ratio. Additionally, all classrooms were observed following proper-staff-to-child ratio during the complaint investigation.
Completed January 9, 2025 · Result: No Evidence to Substantiate
Type (as published): OCCL Standards Complaint
The state's summary (as published)
On December 6, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding administration of medication procedures. An investigation was conducted on December 11, 2024. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint because staff denied the allegation, and LS #1 observed a written Medication Administration Record (MAR) for Child #1's prescription cream.
Completed December 12, 2024 · Result: Substantiated
Type (as published): OCCL Standards Complaint
The state's summary of this complaint may name a person, so we don't show it here. It's in the state's published file (see Sources).
Completed November 4, 2024 · Result: No Evidence to Substantiate
Type (as published): OCCL Standards Complaint
The state's summary (as published)
On October 17, 2024, the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) received a complaint regarding possible improper discipline. An investigation was conducted on October 18, 2024. There is no evidence to substantiate this complaint because staff denied the allegations.
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More programs in Camden · Delaware child care rules
Sources
- Licensed Child Care Providers and Facilities: program details, enforcement action and injuries report.
- Child Care Licensing Compliance Review Information: visits, violations, corrections and specialist notes.
- Child Care Licensing Complaint Reviews: complaint investigations, results and summaries.
All three are published by the Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing on data.delaware.gov as Public Domain and cover about the last five years. State files updated November 12, 2026. We show the state's text as published. Program details last checked October 21, 2026.