Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHS) regulates licensed child-care centers under 26 TAC Chapter 746 (the Minimum Standards for Child-Care Centers). The facility-side requirements that affect daily operations and inspection readiness are spread across multiple subchapters and are inspected on a recurring basis by HHS licensing representatives.
For multi-site daycare operators in Dallas-Fort Worth, this guide covers the facility-side items HHS inspectors look at, the daily and quarterly inspection items the operator is responsible for documenting, and the coordination layer that keeps a multi-location portfolio inspection-ready without the operator chasing each location separately. The piece is operational, not legal. HHS is the authority on Chapter 746 interpretation, and the chapter should be read directly for any specific compliance question.
What Chapter 746 actually covers (facility-side)
Chapter 746 is the comprehensive set of Minimum Standards for licensed child-care centers in Texas. The standards cover staffing, programming, health, safety, nutrition, and physical facility. The facility-side requirements (the items that affect the building itself rather than staff or program content) are concentrated in:
- Subchapter R: Physical Facility and Equipment
- Subchapter S: Outdoor Activities and Playgrounds
- Subchapter K: Health and Safety
- Subchapter T: Animals (if the facility includes pet or program animals)
The physical facility section covers building condition, classroom requirements (square footage, lighting, ventilation), restroom requirements (fixture counts, plumbing standards), kitchen and food preparation areas, sleep areas, storage, and emergency egress.
The outdoor section covers playground equipment, surfacing, fall zones, perimeter fencing, and playground safety inspection requirements (including CPSI-performed annual inspection where applicable).
The health and safety section covers ventilation, water temperature, lead and air quality considerations, and hazardous material storage.
These are the facility-side items most likely to surface during an HHS inspection.
Daily and quarterly inspection items
HHS expects daycare operators to perform a documented daily building and grounds inspection and to maintain records demonstrating ongoing facility attention. HHS Form 1100 is the most commonly used reference template, though the form itself is not mandatory.
Daily items typically include:
- Building exterior walk: trash, hazards, perimeter integrity
- Playground equipment: visual inspection for damage, surface condition
- Classroom condition: floor hazards, electrical, ventilation, lighting
- Kitchen and food prep: cleanliness, temperature, equipment function
- Restrooms: cleanliness, plumbing, supply levels
- Emergency egress: doors unlocked, paths clear
Quarterly or more frequent items typically include:
- Fire extinguisher visual inspection (annual full inspection by licensed tester is separate from the visual check)
- HVAC filter changes and visual unit inspection
- Playground formal annual inspection by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) where applicable
- Pest control documentation
- Backflow preventer testing schedule (see our piece on TCEQ backflow testing)
These items are inspected by HHS at the licensed center on a recurring cycle. The documentation is what carries an operator through an inspection cleanly.
What HHS inspectors look at on the facility side
Texas HHS licensing representatives perform monitoring inspections, deficiency follow-ups, and complaint inspections. Common facility-side items they evaluate:
- Building safety and condition: structural items, electrical, plumbing, ventilation function
- Outdoor area safety: playground surfacing, equipment condition, fencing, fall zones
- Classroom physical environment: square footage compliance, lighting, ventilation, temperature
- Health and sanitation: handwashing fixtures, restroom function, water temperature
- Emergency preparedness: posted plans, drill documentation, egress condition
- Pest control: documentation of routine pest management
- Fire safety: extinguisher inspection records, emergency lighting where applicable
The inspector is not looking for theoretical compliance. They are looking at the building as it stands on the day of the inspection. The facility-side preparation is what carries an operator through the inspection without surprise findings.
Multi-site daycare coordination
For a single-location operator, daily building inspection and quarterly facility maintenance can be handled internally by the center director and a maintenance vendor. The cycle is manageable at one location.
For multi-site operators with two to twenty locations across DFW, the coordination overhead compounds. Each location runs its own daily inspection. Each location has its own playground inspection schedule. Each location's pest control, HVAC, and backflow testing run on separate cycles. Without a coordination layer, the cycles drift, documentation gaps appear at random locations, and inspectors find surprises ownership did not know existed.
A facility management layer keeps the multi-location program on a shared schedule. The structured cadence is what closes the gap between what Chapter 746 requires and what each location actually produces in documentation.
What Proportional FM coordinates, and does not
Proportional FM coordinates the facility-side schedule, documentation, and vendor program that supports HHS licensing compliance. Coordination covers:
- Quarterly Facility Condition Assessments documenting the items HHS inspectors evaluate
- Coordinated scheduling for HVAC inspection, pest control, fire extinguisher inspection (by licensed tester), backflow testing (by licensed BPAT), and playground safety inspection (by CPSI where applicable)
- Documentation cycle for items that need filed records
- Portfolio-level visibility for multi-location daycare operators
Proportional FM does not perform HHS licensing audits, file inspection appeals, interpret Chapter 746, or substitute for the licensed daycare director's compliance authority. The licensed daycare director is the compliance owner. Proportional FM is the facility-coordination layer underneath.
The structured Facility Condition Assessment cadence is the differentiator. For multi-site daycare operators, the FCA cadence surfaces the items that would otherwise become inspection findings, before they reach the inspection.