Commerce City · Licensed family home
Melisa Sprague
- Full-size family home, licensed for up to 12 children.
- Shortlist has found no website for it yet.
What the state has found
The state lists 3 visits below. Shortlist has not read the reports behind them, so there is no share of visits that cited something to set beside other providers yet.
State record — Colorado Department of Early Childhood
- Last visit
- January 29, 2026
- On file
- 3 visits since March 2024 · 2 complaint investigations
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was March 1, 2026. Colorado Department of Early Childhood does not publish whether it was made.
- Most serious
- Colorado Department of Early Childhood does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.
Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood lists each program’s complaints on its Colorado Shines page, with the department’s verdict on each and a report behind it, going back about three years. Older complaints are released only on request. The department does not rank complaints by severity in either place.
Jan 2026 Supervisory visit 4 findings
Supervisory visit · January 29, 2026
2.335.N · Correction due January 29, 2026
Reviewed the pet file and there was no documentation of a current Rabies vaccine for the pet in the home.
Required correction: Obtain and maintain the required record. Correct immediately and submit compliance by 3/1/26 Correct by 01/29/2026
2.329.H.7 · Correction due January 29, 2026
In the sleeping room there were 3 pack and plays that did not have the bottom mat secured to the frame posing a potential hazard.
Required correction: Ensure that all sleeping equipment is sturdy and free from hazards. Correct immediately. ** Corrected at time of visit by securing the bottom mats to the frame and making safe. No response required. Correct by 01/29/2026
In the kitchen area there were sharp knives, peelers, grater and an apple corer in an unlocked drawer and accessible to children. On top of the water cooler there was hand sanitizer labeled "Keep out of reach" and was accessible
2.312.M · Correction due March 1, 2026
Reviewed the provider and equally qualified providers files. Found that both did not have documentation of a completed "Intro to Early Intervention in Special Education" course.
Required correction: Obtain and maintain the required training. Correct by 03/01/2026
Jan 2025 Supervisory visit 13 findings
Supervisory visit · January 30, 2025
2.316.B · Correction due March 2, 2025
Reviewed policies and observed a few policies that were missing. Provided provider with a list of missing policies.
Required correction: Obtain policies and procedures, correct by 3/2/25.. Correct by 03/02/2025
2.312.M · Correction due March 2, 2025
M. and A. to be missing the Introduction to Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education training.
Required correction: Obtain the Introduction to Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education training, correct by 3/2/25. Correct by 03/02/2025
2.320.A.10
Reviewed 11 child files and observed 7 children to be missing a media use permission form.
2.312.N · Correction due March 2, 2025
Melisa and A. to be missing the deparment approved Recognizing the Impact of Bias training.
Required correction: Obtain the deparment approved Recognizing the Impact of Bias training, correct by 3/2/25. Correct by 03/02/2025
2.312.P · Correction due March 2, 2025
Melisa and A. to be missing the department approved Injury Prevention for Homes training.
Required correction: Obtain the department approved Injury Prevention for Homes training, correct by 3/2/25. Correct by 03/02/2025
2.312.Q
Melisa and A. to be missing the department approved training Working with an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant training.
Required correction: Obtain the department approved training Working with an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant training,
2.316.A · Correction due January 30, 2025
Reviewed 11 child files and observed 2 children to be missing documentation parent/guardian has received policies and procedures.
Required correction: Obtain documentation parent/guardian has received policies and procedures, correct immediately 1/30/25. Correct by 01/30/2025
2.120.C.1.a · Correction due January 31, 2025
A. to be missing a child abuse and neglect check (TRAILS).
Required correction: All individuals requiring a background check must review Navigating the Background Check Investigation Unit's (BIU) Webpage powerpoint. Submit verification that staff member has reviewed the powerpoint within 24 hours. Submit documentation of (TRAILS) for staff member with written response to the Specialist. Correct by 01/31/2025
Reviewed 11 child files and observed 6 children to be missing an emergency medical authorization form.
2.320.A.9 · Correction due January 30, 2025
Reviewed 11 child files and observed 6 children to be missing field trip permission forms.
Required correction: Obtain field trip permission forms for children, correct immediately 1/30/25. Correct by 01/30/2025
2.321.A.5 · Correction due March 2, 2025
Reviewed 11 child files and observed 1 child to be missing a current health statements.
Required correction: Obtain current health statement for child, correct by 3/2/25. Correct by 03/02/2025
2.336.B.1 · Correction due January 30, 2025
Play food, manipulatives, and small legos to be accessible to children and pose a choking hazard.
Required correction: Materials must not be a choking hazard, correct immediately 1/30/25. *Corrected at time of inspection, provider removed the items making them inaccessible to children. No response is required. Correct by 01/30/2025
2.336.C.1 · Correction due January 30, 2025
A bottle of cleaner in a cabinet below the bathroom sink, cleaners below the kitchen sink in the playroom kitchen. All items labeled "keep out of the reach of children".
Required correction: Materials labeled "keep out of the reach of children" must be inaccessible to children, correct immediately 1/30/25. *Corrected at time of inspection, provider moved items to a locked area. No response is required. Correct by 01/30/2025
Jan 2024 Complaint Unfounded
Complaint · January 30, 2024
Aug 2023 Complaint Founded
Complaint · August 10, 2023
Founded · 7.707.91.J · General Indoor Requirements · Correction due August 29, 2023
Any provider's, employee's, substitute's, volunteer's, and/or visitor's animal(s) and/or fish that are dangerous, and/or pose a potential threat to a child's safety or health must be confined in a place away from the child care area and inaccessible to children. The provider's animals must be vaccinated as required by state law and local ordinance, and proof of vaccination must be available for review by the licensing specialist.
Required correction: Any provider’s, employee’s, substitute’s, volunteer’s, and/or visitor’s animal(s) and/or fish that are dangerous, and/or pose a potential threat to a child's safety or health must be confined in a place away from the child care area and inaccessible to children. The provider’s animals must be vaccinated as required by state law and local ordinance, and proof of vaccination must be available for review by the licensing specialist. Correct by 8/29/23. Document compliance to Specialist by 9/4/23.
State licensing record In the file’s Dataset sheet, filter License Number to 1604959.
Where this record comes from
The Department of Early Childhood keeps about three years of complaints on a program’s public page. Anything older is released only on request, as a single file covering the whole state. Shortlist asked for that file under the Colorado Open Records Act and renews it yearly; it is what this page shows for complaints older than the department’s own window.
The file this page is built from arrived on October 10, 2026 and covers complaints the department publishes today, and complaints back to January 2023 obtained by records request. The next request goes in October 2027.
The department publishes a report for each of these visits. Shortlist has not read those reports yet, so this page shows when the state came and not what it found.
Ask for this program’s record now
The department will also review one program’s complete file on request, which is more than either source above contains. Leave your email and Shortlist will ask for Melisa Sprague’s file specifically, instead of waiting for the next one.
Shortlist replaces people’s names in the state’s text with initials. This is done by rule, not by hand, so it can miss a name or shorten a word that isn’t one. The state’s report, linked on each row, has the original.
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
- Area
- Commerce City, 80022
- License
- 1604959, active
- Quality program
- Colorado Shines Level 1
Run Melisa Sprague? Correct or add anything here, free.
Add what is missingSources 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.
Details
- License — Checked July 2026 data.colorado.gov
- Quality program — Checked April 2026 data.colorado.gov
Full-size means licensed for 12 children, the most any Denver-area family home holds; 213 of Denver-area’s 574 licensed family homes are. Small is 4 to 6; mid-size is 7 to 11.