Guides

Severity levels in each state

There is no national scale for how serious a child care violation is. California splits citations into Type A and Type B; Texas weights every standard on a five-step scale; Connecticut publishes no level at all. To let a record be scanned quickly, this site places each state's word in one of three groups:

• High: the state's top level, used for findings that put children at immediate or serious risk.
• Medium: the state's middle levels.
• Low: the state's lowest levels, often paperwork, records or minor maintenance.

The state's own word is always shown first, and the group second. Where a state gives no level, the violation is shown with its rule and finding only. The groups are a reading aid, not a judgment: read the finding.