State Licensing Regulations

Federal law requires that states have policies in place to protect the health and safety of children in child care in three areas:

• the prevention and control of infectious diseases,
• building and physical premise safety, and
• health and safety training appropriate to the program setting.

Because these federal requirements are general, the standards that states set for licensing child care centers and family child care homes vary greatly. The rules on who must obtain a license, what training they need to have, how many children they can care for, and what kind of environment they must provide differ state by state. On this page you will find information about what different standards mean, as well as tables that show how your state's child care rules compare with the rest of the country.

We Can Do Better: NACCRRA's Ranking of State Child Care Center Standards and Oversight

NACCRRA reviewed state child care center policies and regulations and ranked the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) based on a set of 15 key benchmarks. The results are shown on state scorecards and underscore the need to improve child care regulations across the nation.

Background: Child Care Standards and Oversight (73 KB)
One Page Summary (64 KB)
Press Release (94 KB)
Introduction (556 KB)
Scorecards (201 KB)
Conclusion (315 KB)
State by State Profiles (Link)
References (33 KB)

Licensing

Nationally, there are over 335,000 licensed child care facilities. The drop down list of tables below show, state by state, the types and numbers of licensed facilities, how many children must be present before a license is required, and the distinction between a small family child care home and a large family child care home.

Licensed Centers and Family Child Care Homes (Link)
Licensed Slots (28 KB)
Licensing Threshold for Family Child Care Homes (Link)

Child/Staff Ratios

Child care centers and homes are required by states to maintain specific ratios of teachers to children. Most states also place a cap on the maximum number of children in a classroom, known as the group size. The drop down list below offers state-by-state breakdowns of these requirements.

Child/Staff Ratios for Child Care Centers (Link)
State Definitions & Ratios-Family Child Care (Link)

Background Checks

Most parents assume that background checks are required for licensed child care providers, but this is not always the case. The drop down list of tables below has a breakdown of state background check requirements including fingerprint checks, the child abuse registry, and the sex offender registry. You can also select to view a one page summary of NACCRRA’s background check recommendations.

State Background Check Requirements-Center Staff (Link)
NACCRRA's Background Check Recommendations (Link)
PowerPoint from NACCRRA’s E-Meeting on Background Checks (99 KB)

Training

Many states require child care providers to complete some kind of orientation or health and safety training within a certain time period after beginning work, but true pre-service qualification requirements are sparse. For example, 28 states require only a high school diploma or GED for teachers in a child care center classroom. Using the drop down list below, you can view the pre-service and ongoing training requirements for center teachers, center directors, and family child care providers in your state as well as NACCRRA’s recent report on Child Care Resource & Referral Training.

Pre-service & Ongoing Training - Center Staff (Link)
Pre-service & Ongoing Training - Center Directors (Link)
Pre-service & Ongoing Training - FCC Providers (Link)
NACCRRA's Training Recommendations (61 KB)
NACCRRA's 12 Point Plan (90 KB)
Training E-Meeting Presentation (273 KB)

Inspections

Congress requires the Department of Defense to conduct quarterly inspections of its child care facilities, but there is no similar federal requirement for civilian child care. Only three states conduct inspections quarterly, and eight states do not even conduct inspections annually. The drop down list of tables below show the frequency of licensing inspections for centers and family child care homes, as well as the availability of inspection results to parents.

Frequency of Licensing Inspections-Centers & FCC Homes (28 KB)
Availability of Inspection Reports (23 KB)

NACCRRA Activity

NACCRRA is always working to encourage states to strengthen their licensing regulations for child care centers and family child care homes. In the drop down list below, you will find testimony and letters on recent licensing issues from NACCRRA’s Executive Director, Linda Smith.

Linda Smith Testifies on Parent Notification in Oklahoma (73 KB)
Linda Smith's letter to VA Governor on background checks (107 KB)