Chicago · Licensed family home

Merkerson, Octavia

What the state has found

The state cited rules at all 6 of its licensing inspections since March 2016.

Of the 327 Chicago-area family homes with 6 licensing inspections, 43% had rules cited at all 6, as this home did.

Licensing inspections

Jan 16, 20263 citations

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(m)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(g)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(11)

Jan 13, 20254 citations

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(29)

  • Nutrition and Meals

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.17(a)

  • Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(t)(2)

  • Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.12(j)

Feb 3, 20214 citations

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(2)

  • Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(t)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(20)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(e)

Jan 6, 20207 citations

  • Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(m)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(f)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(22)(d)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(g)

3 more from this inspection

  • Health, Medical Care and Safety

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.14(f)

  • Children Under 30 Months of Age

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.22(g)(1)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(20)

Feb 19, 20195 citations

  • Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(o)

  • Activity Requirements

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.16(c)(2)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(4)

  • Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(p)

1 more from this inspection

  • Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(t)

Mar 29, 20164 citations

  • Provisions Pertaining to the License

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.6(i)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(1)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(26)

  • General Requirements for Day Care Homes

    89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(32)

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit
January 16, 2026
On file
6 visits since March 2016 — all of them cited findings
Fixed?
The latest correction deadline was January 23, 2026. 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.

Jan 2026 Monitoring visit 3 findings

Monitoring visit · January 16, 2026

General Requirements for Day Care Homes

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(11) through (m) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(11) · 406.8(g) · 406.8(m)

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 524450 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jan 2025 Monitoring visit 4 findings

Monitoring visit · January 13, 2025

General Requirements for Day Care Homes

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(29) · Violation corrected

Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(t)(2) · Violation corrected

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.12(j) · Violation substantiated

Nutrition and Meals

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.17(a) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 524450 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Feb 2021 Monitoring visit 4 findings

Monitoring visit · February 3, 2021

General Requirements for Day Care Homes

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(2) through (e) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(2) · 406.8(a)(20) · 406.8(e)

Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(t) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 524450 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jan 2020 Monitoring visit 7 findings

Monitoring visit · January 6, 2020

General Requirements for Day Care Homes

4 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(20) through (g) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(20) · 406.8(a)(22)(d) · 406.8(f) · 406.8(g)

Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(m) · Violation corrected

Health, Medical Care and Safety

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.14(f) · Violation corrected

Children Under 30 Months of Age

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.22(g)(1) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 524450 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Feb 2019 Monitoring visit 5 findings

Monitoring visit · February 19, 2019

Characteristics and Qualifications of the Day Care Family

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(o) through (t) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.9(o) · 406.9(p) · 406.9(t)

General Requirements for Day Care Homes

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(4) · Violation corrected

Activity Requirements

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.16(c)(2) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 524450 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Mar 2016 Monitoring visit 4 findings

Monitoring visit · March 29, 2016

General Requirements for Day Care Homes

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(1) through (32) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.8(a)(1) · 406.8(a)(26) · 406.8(a)(32)

Provisions Pertaining to the License

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406.6(i) · Violation corrected on site

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 524450 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

7739340369

Address
2921 W 71st St
License
license issued (il)

Run Merkerson, Octavia? Correct or add anything here, free.

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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 July 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 "MERKERSON, OCTAVIA" under Provider Name and 60629 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 524450).