What is a self-report at a Texas daycare?
Updated August 30, 2026 · Sourced from official Texas HHSC records
A self-report is an operation's own account of a serious incident, such as a
serious illness or injury to a child, a missing child, or a disaster that forces it to close, that
it is required to report to the state. All Texas child care operations except listed family
homes must report certain serious incidents, and the state may investigate and cite a
deficiency.
Here is how Texas HHSC Child Care Regulation defines a self-report, in full:
“A self report is an account of a serious incident that happened at an operation. All operations, except listed family homes, are required to report certain types of serious incidents to CCR, which chooses to investigate an operation’s self-report and, if applicable, cite a deficiency of statutes, administrative rules or minimum standards. A serious incident includes but is not limited to a serious illness or injury to a child, a missing child or a disaster that requires the operation to close.”
How to read a self-report on a record
- A self-report on an operation's history means the operation told the state about a serious incident, which is what the rules require it to do.
- The state may investigate a self-report. If it finds a violation of a standard, it cites a deficiency; if not, there is no citation.
- So a self-report is not the same as a violation. On a facility page, self-reports and the deficiencies (if any) that came out of them are shown separately, exactly as the state records them.
- Listed family homes are the exception: they are not required to self-report. That is one of the ways they differ from licensed and registered operations. See licensed vs. registered vs. listed child care.
To find self-reports and their outcomes for a specific operation, see how to look up a daycare's inspection record.