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Little Cardinal Leadership Academy

110 E Polk Ave, Lake Wales FL, 33853

13Elevated Risk
(0)Yelp(0)
VPKSchool ReadinessCenter-basedFood ServedFull Day
  • Ages6 wks – 5 yrs
  • HoursContact for hours
  • Capacity45 children

Overview

About Us

Little Cardinal Leadership Academy is a licensed child care center with a mid-sized DCF-licensed capacity of 45 children in Lake Wales, Florida. The provider has held an active DCF license in Polk County for 14 years.

Programs on record for this provider include Florida's free Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) and Florida School Readiness subsidies. Use the licensing, inspection, and parent-review sections below to review the full record before contacting Little Cardinal Leadership Academy.

Florida DCF

Safety & Licensing

Florida DCF License

C10PO0748

ExpiresMay 31, 2027

Inspection History

0 clean inspections · 8 with findings in the last 8

  1. FindingMay '24

    May 9, 2024

    43-10: The facility did not maintain documentation that the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of each child were provided information regarding the potential for distracted adults to fail to drop off a child an…

  2. FindingSep '24

    Sep 23, 2024

    12-19: Indoor and outdoor play areas were not inspected daily for basic health and safety and/or any problems were not corrected before the play area is used by children and/or daily inspection logs were not… | 32-04: Inspections were not conducted and documented monthly of all supports, above and below the ground, all connectors, and moving parts. CCF Handbook, Section 3.12, B Sanitation and Equipment [SR] Comment… | 33-08: Documentation of in-service training was not recorded on CF-FSP Form 5268, Child Care In-service Training Record. CCF Handbook, Section 4.2.7, B [SR] Comments At the time of the inspection, the licens… | 45-09: The facility failed to maintain a current Employee/Contractor Roster for all child care personnel in the Clearinghouse. CCF Handbook, Section 5.1, K Record Keeping [SR] Comments At the time of the ins…

  3. FindingJan '25

    Jan 21, 2025

    33-03: The facility did not have documentation to show child care personnel had begun the introductory training within 90 days of employment in the child care industry. CCF Handbook, Section 4.1 (Section 2.1… | 33-13: Child care personnel did not complete preservice training requirements prior to unsupervised contact with or care of children or, if supervised, within 90 days of beginning employment or service with … | 35-12: The facility does not have documentation for all child care personnel on required annual refresher education of the facilitys exposure plan. CCF Handbook, Section 6 (Section 2.1 Health and Safety, Pag… | 45-01: A complete CF-FSP Form 5131, Background Screening and Personnel File Requirements, was not on file for all employees. CCF Handbook, Section 7.4.1, A (Section 2.1 Health and Safety, Page 3) Record Keep… | 45-04: An employment history verification was not docume

  4. FindingFeb '25

    Feb 25, 2025

    33-03: The facility did not have documentation to show child care personnel had begun the introductory training within 90 days of employment in the child care industry. CCF Handbook, Section 4.1 (Section 2.1… | 33-13: Child care personnel did not complete preservice training requirements prior to unsupervised contact with or care of children or, if supervised, within 90 days of beginning employment or service with … | 35-12: The facility does not have documentation for all child care personnel on required annual refresher education of the facilitys exposure plan. CCF Handbook, Section 6 (Section 2.1 Health and Safety, Pag… | 45-01: A complete CF-FSP Form 5131, Background Screening and Personnel File Requirements, was not on file for all employees. CCF Handbook, Section 7.4.1, A (Section 2.1 Health and Safety, Page 3) Record Keep… | 45-04: An employment history verification was not docume

  5. FindingMay '25

    May 6, 2025

    12-01: Areas of the facility were found to be in need of cleaning. CCF Handbook, Section 3.1, A (Section 2.1 Health and Safety, Page 3) Physical Environment [SR] Comments At the time of the inspection, the s… | 44-04: The personnel/ volunteer (ten hours or more per month) record did not include a CF-FSP 5337 Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Requirements form signed annually. CCF Handbook, Section 7.4, C (Section 2…

  6. FindingSep '25

    Sep 5, 2025

    12-19: Indoor and outdoor play areas were not inspected daily for basic health and safety and/or any problems were not corrected before the play area is used by children and/or daily inspection logs were not… | 28-02: Bottles and/or sippy cups brought from home were not labeled with childs first and last name. CCF Handbook, Section 3.9.5, B Food and Nutrition [SR] Comments At the time of inspection, Licensing Speci… | 33-08: Documentation of in-service training was not recorded on CF-FSP Form 5268, Child Care In-service Training Record. CCF Handbook, Section 4.2.7, B [SR] Comments At the time of inspection, Licensing Spec… | 45-09: The facility failed to maintain a current Employee/Contractor Roster for all child care personnel in the Clearinghouse. CCF Handbook, Section 5.1, K Record Keeping [SR] Comments At the time of inspect…

  7. FindingJan '26

    Jan 9, 2026

    33-06: The facility did not have documentation to show completion of a Department approved five-hour early literacy and language development course for child care personnel within 12 months of date of employ…

  8. FindingApr '26

    Apr 28, 2026

    23-02: The facility did not have a current and approved annual fire safety inspection by the local fire authority. CCF Handbook, Section 3.8.2, A (Section 2.1 - Health and Safety, Page 3) Physical Environmen… | 44-04: The personnel/ volunteer (ten hours or more per month) record did not include a CF-FSP 5337 Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Requirements form signed annually. CCF Handbook, Section 7.4, C (Section 2…

Findings are summarized from the official Florida DCF inspection report. Click a finding pill to expand the summary. Fresh violations may show “Summary pending” while business profiles are being updated.

Verified Credentials

  • Level 2 Background Checks
  • CPR / First Aid Certified Staff
  • Secure Entry System
  • Continuous Video Monitoring (facilities only)

Minimums required by Florida DCF licensing for every Licensed Child Care Facility. Individual center audits may cover more than the list above.

What the record says

Provider highlights

Drawn from Florida DCF licensing flags. Parent-review summaries will appear here once enough reviews have been collected.

Signals of care

Strengths

  • Programs: Offers Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK)
  • Affordability: Accepts School Readiness funding

Points to verify

Consider before choosing

Not enough signal recorded yet.