Bright Start The Early Years
Bright Start The Early Years is a licensed child care center in Santa Barbara, CA, licensed for up to 30 children and serving preschool-age children. It has held its California license since 1996. Since February 2021, state licensing staff have inspected it 2 times and investigated 1 complaint, 0 of them substantiated. No visit in that period produced a citation, which puts it among the 34% of ranked California centers with no citations. Measured by weighted citations per inspection, it is tied for #1 of 48 centers in Santa Barbara and is tied for the best record statewide (no citations).
Inspection record
Every state visit
Citations, newest first
Complaint investigations
How often are complaints about daycares in California substantiated? See the county-by-county report →
About this center
Common questions
Does Bright Start The Early Years take infants?
Not under this license, which covers preschool-age children.
Has Bright Start The Early Years had any serious violations?
No Type A citations since 2021.
Have there been complaints about Bright Start The Early Years?
California investigated 1 complaint since 2021 and substantiated 0. Allegations are shown only for substantiated complaints.
How does Bright Start The Early Years compare with other daycares in Santa Barbara?
It is tied for #1 of 48 centers in Santa Barbara by weighted citations per inspection, and is tied for the best record statewide (no citations).
When was Bright Start The Early Years last inspected?
Aug 27, 2025. No citations were issued during that visit.
How much does Bright Start The Early Years cost?
California does not publish individual centers’ prices, so ask Bright Start The Early Years for its current tuition. For comparison, the median full-time price at licensed centers in Santa Barbara County, which includes Santa Barbara, was $1,099 a month for preschoolers (about $1,390 today) in the state’s 2021 Regional Market Rate Survey.
Who runs Bright Start The Early Years?
The licensee is Kangaroo Pouch INC., The, and the administrator listed with the state is Marcela Caceres.
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Citations are quoted from California Department of Social Services inspection and complaint reports. Type A citations are the state’s most serious category (an immediate risk to children’s health, safety or personal rights); Type B citations are a potential risk. A citation is a finding about one rule, not a judgment about a center overall. Complaint allegations appear here only when the state substantiated them.
To read the full state reports, search facility number 426203415 on the California Care Facility Search. Data refreshed Oct 3, 2026.