Licensing Standards for DayCare Centers

Section 418.15
Supervision of Children

(a) Day care centers must employ or have available such staff and professional services as will promote the physical, intellectual, social, cultural and emotional well-being of children therein.

(b) Workloads and assignments must be such as to enable the staff members to fulfill their respective responsibilities.

(c) The day care center must provide staff supervision.

(d) When the day care center is in operation, there must be a person designated as the director to supervise and direct activities. There must be a competent staff member available at all times designated as a substitute for the director when the director is away from the premises.

(e) No child can be released from the day care center to any person other than his or her parent, person currently designated in writing by such parent to receive the child or other person authorized by law to take custody of a child. No child can be released from the day care center unsupervised except upon written instruction of the child's parent. Such instruction must be acceptable to the day care center and should take into consideration such factors as the child's age and maturity, proximity to his or her home and safety of the neighborhood.

(f) Children cannot be left without competent direct supervision at any time. A second person must be immediately available to assist in supervision at all times. Only a person who is either 18 years of age or a high school graduate may be left in full charge of children at any time or counted in meeting the required staff/child ratios.

(g) When a day care center is in operation, an adequate number of qualified staff must be on duty to insure the health and safety of the children in care. A qualified substitute must be provided for an absent staff member.

(h) The minimum ratios of staff to children are as follows:

Minimum Staff/Child Ratios Based on Group Size

AGE OF CHILDREN	GROUP SIZE (*)
	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	21	24	30
6 weeks to 18 months	1:4	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
18 months to 36 months	1:5	1:5	1:4	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
3 years	1:7	1:7	1:7	1:7	1:6	1:6	x	x	x	x
4 years	1:8	1:8	1:8	1:8	1:8	1:7	1:7	1:7	x	x
5 years	1:9	1:9	1:9	1:9	1:9	1:9	1.8	1:8	1:8	x
6 through 9 years	1:10	1:10	1:10	1:10	1:10	1:10	1:10	x	x	x
10 through 12 years	1:15	1:15	1:15	1:15	1:15	1:15	1:15	1:15	1:15	1:15

(*) This term refers to the number of children cared for together as a unit. Group size is used to determine the minimum staff/child ratio based upon the age of the children in the group.

(i) The staff/child ratios set forth in subdivision (h) of this section are based upon the number of children in care at the day care center. If absenteeism is 10 percent of the registered capacity, the day care center may over-enroll up to that 10 percent but may never have more children present at any one time than the maximum capacity allowed by the license.

(j) Children under three years of age may not participate in mixed age groups. For children over three years of age who are cared for in mixed age groups, the staff/child ratio used must be that ratio applicable to the youngest child in the group.

(k) The person responsible for developing, directing and supervising the daily activity programs for children must provide such services on a full-time basis in a program with 45 or more enrolled children and on a half-time basis in a program with fewer than 45 enrolled children.

(l) A person hired by the center or employed by an individual, corporation, partnership or association which provides goods or services to the center may have contact with children in care at the center prior to the center Is obtaining the result of an inquiry to the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment only as provided in subdivision (c) of section 418.6 of this Part.

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