About 1 in 5 infant daycares in Texas and California has been cited for unsafe sleep since 2021

Key findings

• Texas inspectors cited 1,429 licensed centers 2,150 times under the state’s safe sleeping rules since October 2021, about 21% of centers licensed for infants. 73% of the citations are rated high-risk.

• The most common Texas problem is a baby asleep in a bouncer, swing, car seat or other device (661 citations); where inspectors named the device, it was most often a bouncer (206) or a swing (159).

• The Texas rate is falling: safe-sleep citations found at inspections fell from 3.1 per 100 inspections of infant centers in 2022 to 1.9 in 2025.

• California cited 552 licensed centers 802 times under its infant sleep rules since February 2021, about 22% of licensed infant centers. Most often, sleeping babies weren’t checked every 15 minutes or the checks weren’t logged (409 citations).

• The states disagree on swaddling. California bans it in child care and has cited 61 centers under that rule (including 32 citations that mention sleep sacks); Texas allows it with a health care professional’s form and has cited 142 centers for swaddling without one.

• In the past 12 months: 400 citations at 345 Texas centers; 174 citations at 136 California centers.

Texas

Since October 2021, Texas inspectors cited 1,429 licensed centers 2,150 times under its seven safe sleeping rules, 73% of them rated high-risk. That is about 21% of the 6,715 centers licensed for infants; 5% were cited in the past 12 months.

Where inspectors’ notes named the device a sleeping baby was found in, it was most often a bouncer (206), a swing (159), a rocker (33) or a car seat or infant seat (18). 259 of the 661 notes didn’t name it.

Safe-sleep citations found per 100 inspections of centers licensed for infants, by year

The rate fell from 3.1 per 100 inspections of infant centers in 2022 to 1.9 in 2025. Partial years are marked.

Largest counties

Counties with at least 100 centers licensed for infants, highest rate first. The rate counts safe-sleep citations found at inspections per 100 inspections; statewide: 2.4. Every county is in the download below.

California

Since February 2021, California inspectors cited 552 licensed centers 802 times under its infant sleep rules, 18% of them rated Type A. That is about 22% of the 1,979 licensed infant centers; 5% were cited in the past 12 months.

Safe-sleep citations found per 100 inspections of licensed infant centers, by year

The rate fell from 9.4 per 100 inspections of infant centers in 2022 to 6.9 in 2025. Partial years are marked.

Largest counties

Counties with at least 60 licensed infant centers, highest rate first. The rate counts safe-sleep citations found at inspections per 100 inspections; statewide: 7.6. Every county is in the download below.

What this does and doesn’t show

• Texas: the seven rules Texas itself classifies as safe sleeping standards (26 TAC §746.309(b): §746.2409, 2411, 2415, 2426, 2427, 2428 and 2429), covering cribs and play yards, banned equipment, restrictive devices, sleep position, swaddling and covering a baby’s head. A citation under any of them requires the center to notify every family in writing within five days.
• California: the Title 22 infant sleep rules: §101429(a)(2) (watching sleeping babies and 15-minute checks), §101430(a)(3) (back to sleep, the LIC 9227 sleeping plan, swaddling, covered heads, moving a sleeping baby to a crib) and §101439.1 (cribs and sleeping equipment), including citations where the state’s record shortens the section number, such as 101430(C).
• Counts are citations, not injuries or incidents. A citation means an inspector found a rule broken, most often during a routine inspection; 18% of the Texas citations were corrected during the visit.
• Don’t compare the two states. Their rules differ, and Texas inspects every center at least once a year while California’s minimum is once every three years.
• Counts cover centers licensed today; citations at centers that have since closed aren’t included.
• Rates per 100 inspections count the safe-sleep citations found at routine inspections, divided by the number of inspections. Citations from complaint investigations and other visits are in the totals but not the rates.
• Shares use centers licensed to care for infants (Texas) and licensed infant centers (California). A few other California license types also care for infants; their citations are in the totals but not the shares.
• Device counts come from inspectors’ notes, which don’t always name the device.
• Records counted: Texas from Oct 18, 2021 through Oct 15, 2026; California from Feb 8, 2021 through Oct 9, 2026. Updated daily.

For parents

What the rules require, how they differ between Texas and California, and what to ask before your baby starts: Safe sleep at daycare →. To check one center, open its page: every licensed center has one, listing each citation in the state’s words.