Joliet · Licensed center

Mary Sears Children's Academy

Medium center, licensed for 116 children.
Shortlist has found no website for it yet.

What the state has found

The state cited rules at 7 of its 10 licensing inspections since July 2010.

Of the 860 Chicago-area centers with 10 or more licensing inspections, 78% had rules cited at some but not all of them, as this center did. 22% had rules cited at all of them.

Licensing inspections

Aug 8, 20251 citation

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)

Jan 16, 2025No rules cited

Jul 18, 2024No rules cited

Aug 30, 2023No rules cited

Jul 30, 201911 citations

Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(5)
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)

7 more from this inspection

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Provisions Pertaining to the License
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.60(g)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(7)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

Jul 10, 20188 citations

Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(b)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6)
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(6)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(f)

4 more from this inspection

Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4)
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(5)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

Aug 22, 201715 citations

Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2)
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(5)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)

11 more from this inspection

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(7)
Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(6)
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(b)
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(e)
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(3)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

Aug 10, 201610 citations

Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(1)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5)
Background Checks for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)

6 more from this inspection

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Qualifications for Early Childhood Assistants and School-age Assistants
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.150(c)
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(3)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(7)

Feb 20, 20155 citations

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)
Napping and Sleeping
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(j)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Daily Arrival and Departure of Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(d)

1 more from this inspection

Qualifications for Early Childhood Teachers and School-age Workers
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.140(h)

Jul 21, 20105 citations

Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(h)
Napping and Sleeping
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(j)
Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(i)(1)
Nutrition and Meal Service
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(i)

1 more from this inspection

Daily Arrival and Departure of Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(d)

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit: August 8, 2025
On file: 10 visits since July 2010 — 3 cited nothing
Fixed?: The latest correction deadline was September 7, 2025. Illinois DCFS does not publish whether it was made.
Most serious: Illinois DCFS does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.

Illinois DCFS cites each subsection of a rule separately, so one audit of a filing cabinet can produce ten citations. It publishes the rule’s title and a correction deadline, but no description of what was observed.

Aug 2025 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · August 8, 2025

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 490392 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jan 2025 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Jul 2024 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Aug 2023 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Jul 2019 Monitoring visit 11 findings

Monitoring visit · July 30, 2019

General Requirements for Personnel

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) through (7) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(c)(6) · 407.100(c)(7)

Personnel Records

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (4) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)

Provisions Pertaining to the License

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.60(g) · Violation corrected

Staffing Structure

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(5) · Violation corrected

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) · Violation corrected

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 490392 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jul 2018 Monitoring visit 8 findings

Monitoring visit · July 10, 2018

Health Requirements for Children

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) through (6) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) · 407.310(a)(6)

Organization and Administration

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(b) · Violation corrected

Staffing Structure

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(5) · Violation corrected

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6) · Violation corrected

Background Checks for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(f) · Violation corrected

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 490392 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2017 Monitoring visit 15 findings

Monitoring visit · August 22, 2017

General Requirements for Personnel

4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) through (7) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(c)(6) · 407.100(c)(7)

Personnel Records

4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (6) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(a)(6)

Staffing Structure

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2) through (5) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2) · 407.90(a)(3) · 407.90(a)(5)

Organization and Administration

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(b) through (e) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(b) · 407.70(e)

Background Checks for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 490392 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2016 Monitoring visit 10 findings

Monitoring visit · August 10, 2016

General Requirements for Personnel

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) through (7) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · 407.100(c)(6) · 407.100(c)(7)

Personnel Records

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (4) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)

Staffing Structure

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(1) through (3) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(1) · 407.90(a)(3)

Background Checks for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected

Qualifications for Early Childhood Assistants and School-age Assistants

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.150(c) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 490392 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Feb 2015 Monitoring visit 5 findings

Monitoring visit · February 20, 2015

Personnel Records

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) through (3) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a) · 407.120(a)(3)

Qualifications for Early Childhood Teachers and School-age Workers

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.140(h) · Violation corrected

Daily Arrival and Departure of Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(d) · Violation corrected

Napping and Sleeping

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(j) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 490392 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jul 2010 Monitoring visit 5 findings

Monitoring visit · July 21, 2010

Health Requirements for Children

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(h) through (i)(1) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(h) · 407.310(i)(1)

Daily Arrival and Departure of Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260(d) · Violation corrected

Nutrition and Meal Service

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.330(i) · Violation corrected

Napping and Sleeping

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(j) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 490392 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Openings, child care subsidies, cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, and sick and biting policies aren’t on this page.

Details

8157257633

Address: 300 Caterpillar Dr
License: license issued (il)

Run Mary Sears Children's Academy? Correct or add anything here, free.

Add what is missing

Sources and dates

Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.

All checked August 2026.

State record

From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked October 10, 2026.

Details

Phone, Address, License sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "MARY SEARS CHILDREN'S ACADEMY" under Provider Name and 60436 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 490392).

Medium means the middle half of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 49 to 118 children. Small is 8 to 48; large is 119 to 487.