Portland Headstart Center
Licensed Center in Portland, Texas. License #855973- 9871, issued January 23, 2006.
- Address
- 518 Elm St, Portland, TX 78374
- Phone
- (361) 704-3165
- Licensed capacity
- 17 children
- Licensed for
- Toddler, Pre-Kindergarten, School
- Hours
- 07:30 AM-03:00 PM
- Days
- Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri
- Child care subsidies
- Not accepted
- Website
- cacost.org
Programs listed with the state: School Age Care, Meals Provided, Snacks Provided.
Openings
This program has not told us about its openings. We only publish what a program confirms itself, so there is nothing here yet. Ring them to ask.
Texas Rising Star
No Texas Rising Star rating
Texas Rising Star is voluntary, and a program joins it by applying. It is tied to accepting child care scholarships, so most programs that are not in it never applied rather than failed. Roughly three in five licensed programs in Texas have no rating.
This says nothing about the quality of this program. What the state has assessed about it is the inspection record below.
Where this is
A map of this address loads when you ask for it. Nothing is requested from the map host until then, so opening this page does not tell anyone which program you were reading about.
The pin is where the US Census geocoder placed this address. About one in eight is interpolated along a street rather than resolved to a building, so treat it as the right block rather than the right doorway. How we source this.
What inspectors checked
Texas HHSC records how many individual standards it evaluated in each area of the rules, and how many it found violated. Across 22 areas it checked 3,785 standards at Portland Headstart Center between November 29, 2021 and October 16, 2026 and recorded 13 violations. Those correspond to the citations listed above that were recorded from 2021 onward; anything older than that is in the citation list but not in these counts.
The 22 areas, one by one
| Area of the rules | Visits | Standards checked | Violated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope, administration, and communication | 3 | 358 | 2 |
| Record keeping | 3 | 326 | 1 |
| Personnel | 3 | 435 | 5 |
| Ratios and group sizes | 3 | 162 | 0 |
| Activities | 3 | 104 | 0 |
| Infants | 3 | 267 | 0 |
| Toddlers | 3 | 66 | 0 |
| Pre-kindergarten | 3 | 55 | 0 |
| School-age | 4 | 80 | 0 |
| Discipline | 4 | 80 | 0 |
| Naptime | 4 | 48 | 0 |
| Field trips | 3 | 33 | 0 |
| Get well care | 3 | 81 | 0 |
| Nighttime care | 3 | 39 | 0 |
| Nutrition and food care | 3 | 134 | 0 |
| Health practices | 3 | 338 | 0 |
| Safety practices | 3 | 222 | 0 |
| Physical facilities | 3 | 224 | 0 |
| Outdoor safety | 3 | 288 | 0 |
| Pools | 3 | 84 | 0 |
| Fire safety | 3 | 203 | 0 |
| Transportation | 3 | 132 | 0 |
The table adds up to 3,759 of those standards. The remaining 26, including 5 of the violations, were recorded under the state's own catch-all heading, “Individual Standards Evaluated”, which names no area. They are reported here rather than folded into an area above, because the state did not say which area they belong to and we are not going to decide for it.
A high number of standards checked is not a compliment and a low one is not a criticism: how many apply depends on a program's size, its ages served and what the inspector was there to look at. We publish the two counts the state published and do not turn them into a score. This data begins in 2021, which is later than the inspection history above it.
Ask about an opening
This goes to Portland Headstart Center and nobody else. They reply to you directly: we do not sit in the middle of it, and we never pass your details on or sell them.
Tell me about new inspections
One short message each time Texas HHSC records an inspection here, saying that it happened and linking to the record. We do not tell you what the inspector found: a finding without whether it was corrected is misleading, and that pair belongs on the page rather than split across an email.
We ask for nothing but the address, and we send a confirmation first. Your list is never shown to this program, never sold, and every message has a link to stop. An inspection is routine: programs are visited on a schedule and after a complaint, and a visit is not a finding.
State inspection record
HHSC records 12 visits to this operation since October 2017, most recently on October 16, 2026, and 13 citations.
One of those visits began with Portland Headstart Center reporting something to the state itself rather than HHSC finding it. We publish that because it is part of the record and the state records it separately, not because it is good or bad: a program with none may have had nothing to report. 3,674 of the 12,933 programs listed here have at least one.
- 2High
- 4Medium High
- 4Medium
- 3Medium Low
Every citation below records a correction.
Citations
Showing all 13. Indented text is the inspector's own, reproduced verbatim.
- Medium October 21, 2025 Correction verified November 19, 2025
746.801(3): Required Records Maintained and Made Available - Personnel and Training Records
One out of the three staff records monitored did not have their current training year of trainings available for review.
- High October 21, 2025 Correction verified November 19, 2025
746.1205(a)(4): Supervision ensures each child?s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child?s on going activity
A child was found unsupervised in the adult bathroom located behind two closed doors.
- Medium October 21, 2025 Correction verified November 19, 2025
746.503: Provide Parents With Copy of Policies
One out of the four children's records monitored did not have signed information to show the parents received the operation policies at enrollment.
- Medium High November 17, 2022 Corrected at inspection
746.1011: Director Presence Routine During Operating Hours
For several weeks, there was not a director present at the operation. The director on file became the new director at another operation. Paperwork for the prospective director was sent on October 27, 2022 to the operations licensing inspector for evaluation of her credentials to becoming the operations new Director. This will be rectified by the Director on file being present at the operation until the perspective staff has received her Director's Certificate from Child Care Regulation.
- Medium Low November 17, 2022 Corrected at inspection
746.401(9): Posting Requirements - List entitled "Current Employees"--sized at least 81/2 X 11 inches, printed legibly, include employee first and last name
The Staff List that was posted was not current. This was corrected when a current staff list was developed and posted.
- Medium High December 14, 2021 Correction verified January 5, 2022
746.1011: Director Presence Routine During Operating Hours
The director was not present during the follow up inspection. This is a re-cite.
- Medium Low December 14, 2021 Correction verified January 5, 2022
746.401(9): Posting Requirements - List entitled "Current Employees"--sized at least 81/2 X 11 inches, printed legibly, include employee first and last name
The operation did not have a current employee list at the operation. This is a re-cite.
- Medium December 14, 2021 Correction verified December 17, 2021
746.1309(a): Documented Annual Training Area - 24 Hours Required
One out of two staff records read did not have the required 24 hours of annual training. The staff member was missing 4 1/2 hours of training and did not have training in emergency preparedness, building and premises safety, and medication administration. The corrections have not been submitted to Licensing within a timely manner. This is a re-cite.
- High November 29, 2021 Correction verified December 14, 2021
746.1203(4): Responsibilities of Caregivers- Supervision of Children
Inspector observed one classroom unsupervised while children were napping.
- Medium High November 29, 2021 Correction verified December 14, 2021
746.1203(6): Responsibilities of Caregivers - Free of other activities
Inspector observed one caregiver on their cell phone while children were napping.
- Medium High November 29, 2021 Correction verified December 14, 2021
746.1011: Director Presence Routine During Operating Hours
Inspector observed sign in and out sheets at the operation to provide that the director is not adequately present during hours of operation.
- Medium November 29, 2021 Correction verified December 14, 2021
746.1309(a): Documented Annual Training Area - 24 Hours Required
One out of two staff records read did not have the required 24 hours of annual training. The staff member was missing 4 1/2 hours of training and did not have training in emergency preparedness, building and premises safety, and medication administration.
- Medium Low November 29, 2021 Correction verified December 14, 2021
746.401(9): Posting Requirements - List entitled "Current Employees"--sized at least 81/2 X 11 inches, printed legibly, include employee first and last name
The operation did not have a current employee list at the operation.
Do you have a child enrolled here?
If Portland Headstart Center confirms you are enrolled, you can tell us what you actually pay. We publish price ranges by city and age so other families know what to expect, and the only reliable source for that is people paying it.
There are no reviews on this site and we are not adding them. We publish the state's inspection record and facts families confirm, not opinions. Your address is never shown publicly; it goes to the program so they can confirm you, and nowhere else.
About this record
Every figure on this page comes from the Texas HHSC Child Care Regulation open data published at data.texas.gov, reproduced as the state recorded it. We do not grade, score or rank programs. A citation is a finding by a state inspector on a given day; it is not a judgment about a program today, and the correction status beside each one is part of the record. This page reflects data retrieved on November 8, 2026. Full methodology.
Operate this program? Write to corrections@childcaretx.com and we will publish your response beside any record here.