California Code § 101212(d)(1)(C): Incident Reporting

📋Type A Violation🏢Affects: Child Care Centers

What Is California Code § 101212(d)(1)(C): Incident Reporting?

California Code § 101212(d)(1)(C)

Any unusual incident or child absence that threatens the physical or emotional health or safety of any child.

💡Insider's Tips

Inspectors review your incident reports and compare them against what parents and staff describe during interviews. If a parent mentions their child came home with a bruise and you have no incident report on file, that's a problem. The standard for 'unusual' is lower than most providers think: a child who bites another child hard enough to leave a mark, a kid who bolts for the door during pickup, or a child who hasn't been picked up an hour past closing all qualify. File the report within 24 hours even if the situation resolved itself. Inspectors look at your reporting pattern over time. A facility with zero incident reports in six months doesn't look careful, it looks like you're not documenting.

18
facilities cited recently
That's 1 in 2500 facilities
11
counties affected
31
most common citation
📉
Decreasing
Last 90 days vs. previous 90 days
18 facilities (was 25)7 facilities

Source: California CCLD inspection records | Data: last 90 days as of Feb 16, 2026

How to Avoid Incident Reporting Citations

✓ Prevention Checklist

❌ Common Mistakes

  • Waiting to see if an incident 'becomes serious' before reporting it. Providers want to avoid paperwork for minor events, but a child who wandered out of sight for 30 seconds is reportable even if found immediately. Inspectors cite the failure to report, not just the incident itself.
  • Confusing internal documentation with required reporting to CCLD. Providers write up an incident in their own log and assume that satisfies the regulation. CCLD requires reports submitted through their specific channels within mandated timeframes.
  • Not reporting unexplained injuries discovered on a child at arrival. Providers assume injuries that happened at home aren't their responsibility, but the regulation requires documenting concerning observations and notifying appropriate parties.
  • Under-reporting emotional safety threats like persistent bullying or a child showing signs of abuse at home. Providers focus on physical incidents and overlook that emotional health threats are explicitly included in this regulation.
  • Failing to report a child's unexplained absence when attempts to contact the family are unsuccessful. Providers assume the family is just running late or on vacation, but an unreachable family combined with an absent child meets the reporting threshold.

What's Being Cited in Each Region Over the Past 90 Days

Based on facility inspection reports filed with California's Community Care Licensing Division, here's how this citation appears across different regions in the past 90 days.

Los Angeles County

5 citations

San Bernardino County

3 citations

Riverside County

2 citations

Kern County

1 citations

Marin County

1 citations

Fresno County

1 citations

Orange County

1 citations

Solano County

1 citations

Alameda County

1 citations

Ventura County

1 citations

Data updated weekly from CCLD public records. Last update: 2/16/2026

See California Code § 101212(d)(1)(C): Incident Reporting Citations in Your County

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Incident Reporting?
California Code 101212(d)(1)(C) requires you to report any unusual incident or child absence that threatens the physical or emotional health or safety of any child in your care. This includes situations most providers wouldn't initially consider reportable, like a child who wandered out of sight for 30 seconds, an unexplained bruise discovered at drop-off, or persistent bullying between children. For your facility, the reporting threshold is deliberately low because CCLD reviews your reporting pattern over time to assess how well you're documenting what actually happens.
How common is the Incident Reporting citation?
According to California CCLD inspection records as of February 08, 2026, 19 facilities have been cited for this violation in the past 90 days across 12 California counties. That's roughly 1 in 2,105 inspected facilities. Los Angeles accounts for 6 of the 19 citations, more than any other county. Riverside and San Bernardino follow with 2 each. The concentration in Los Angeles suggests higher enforcement scrutiny in densely populated licensing regions.
What triggers this citation during an inspection?
Inspectors compare your incident reports against what parents and staff describe in interviews. Based on CCLD inspection patterns, the most common trigger is a parent mentioning something (a bruise, a bite mark, a child saying they got lost) that has no matching report in your files. A facility with zero incident reports over six months doesn't look safe to inspectors, it looks like you're not documenting. Failing to report within 24 hours, even when the situation resolved quickly, is another frequent write-up.
How can I prevent this citation?
Train staff that the threshold for "unusual" is lower than they think: a bite that leaves a mark, a child running for the exit, a family unreachable at pickup time. Keep blank incident report forms in every classroom so documentation happens immediately, not hours later from memory. File every report within 24 hours through CCLD's required channels, not just in your internal log. Review your reports monthly to confirm you're capturing a realistic picture of daily operations.
What should I do if I receive this citation?
File any overdue incident reports immediately for the events that triggered the citation. Retrain all staff within one week on what qualifies as a reportable incident, using specific examples from this regulation. Create a simple decision guide posted in each room: "When in doubt, report it." Implement a daily check where the closing staff member reviews whether any incident from that day needs to be reported. For complex situations, consider consulting a licensed childcare compliance specialist.

Related Violations

This information is educational and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed childcare compliance consultant for guidance specific to your facility. Citation data is sourced from California Community Care Licensing Division public records and is refreshed regularly.