we can do better

March 2009

NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight

We Can Do Better: 2009 Update

NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight

About NACCRRA

NACCRRA, the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, is our nation’s leading voice for child care. We work with more than 700 state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies nationwide. These agencies help ensure that families in 99 percent of all populated ZIP codes in the United States have access to high-quality, affordable child care. To achieve our mission, we lead projects that increase the quality and availability of child care professionals, undertake research, and advocate child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families. To learn more about NACCRRA and how you can join us in ensuring access to high-quality child care for all families, visit us at www.naccrra.org.

Acknowledgements NACCRRA deeply appreciates the State Child Care administrators and licensing staff who completed the survey about licensing regulations and offered information and comments.

Many NACCRRA staff contributed to this project. Dr. Beverly Schmalzried conducted the initial literature review; drafted the initial benchmarks; helped code, verify and analyze the data; and provided expertise and guidance in the development of the report. Mousumi Sarkar helped collect and analyze the data and assisted with the writing. Dr. Rosemary Kendall wrote the final report. Grace Reef provided policy guidance. Linda K. Smith provided review and general guidance. Ayanna Wiggins edited the report, and Patricia Sadiq completed the report’s layout and graphic design.

ii NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1

Child Care Center Oversight and Regulations 6Quality and Safety Are Important 7Child Care Oversight and Regulation 7

Child Care Oversight 7Child Care Regulations 8

Federal Funding For Child Care - CCDBG 8 NACCRRA’s State Score Card 8

Overall Combined Ranking Of State Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight 9

Ranking Of State Child Care Center Oversight 15

Ranking Of State Child Care Center Regulations 18

NACCRRA’s Scoring System 22

Rationales and Reality For NACCRRA’s Benchmarks 24NACCRRA’s Benchmarks On Oversight 24

NACCRRA’s Benchmarks On Regulations 28

Summary and Recommendations 40

Appendix A 44Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight In Individual States 46

Appendix B 150Methodology 151

References 152

iiiNACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight

List Of Figures And Tables

Table 1 1 Report Card 6

Table 2 1 - Ranking of States’ Combined Scores for Child Care Center Oversight and Regulation 11

Table 2 2 - Middle 32 States’ Combined Scores for Child Care Center Oversight and Regulation 11

Table 2 3 - Child Care Center Combined Scores for Oversight and Regulation - Alphabetical Listing of States 12

Table 2 4 - All Scores for Individual States 14

Table 3 1 - Ranking of States’ Scores for Child Care Center Oversight 16

Table 3 2 - Middle States for Child Care Center Oversight 16

Table 3 3 - Child Care Center Oversight - Alphabetical Listing of States 17

Table 4 1 - Ranking of States’ Scores for Child Care Center Regulation 20

Table 4 2 - Middle 32 States for Child Care Center Regulations 20

Table 4 3 - Child Care Center Regulation - Alphabetical Listing of States 21

Table 6 1 - Licensed Child Care Settings 25

Table 6 2 - Frequency of Monitoring Visits 25

Table 6 3 - Licensing Staff Caseload 26

Table 6 4 - Licensing Staff Qualification Requirement 27

Table 6 5 - Online Reports of Inspections and Complaints 28

Table 6 6 - NAEYC Staff-Child Ratio Requirements 28

iv NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight

Table 6 7 - States That Meet NAEYC Staff: Child Ratio Requirements for Specific Age Groupings 29

Table 6 8 – Number of Age Groupings that States Require to Meet NAEYC Requirements for Staff-Child Ratios 29

Table 6 9 - NAEYC Group Size Requirements 30

Table 6 10 - States That Meet NAEYC Group Size Requirements 30

Table 6 11 - Number of Age Groupings that States Require to Meet NAEYC Requirements for Maximum Group Size 31

Table 6 12 - Director Qualifications 32

Table 6 13 - Lead Teacher Qualifications 33

Table 6 14 - Pre-service/Orientation Training 33

Table 6 15 - Annual Training Hours Required 34

Table 6 16 - Background Check Items Required by States 35

Table 6 17 - Number of Domains That States Require Child Care Centers to Address 35

Table 6 18 - Domains That States Require Child Care Centers to Address 35

Table 6 19 - Health and Safety Practices Required by States 37

Table 6 20 - Number of Health and Safety Practices Required by States 38

Table 6 21 - State Requirements for Parent Involvement, Communication with Parents and/or Parental Access 38

Table 6 22 - Number of Required Parent Strategies: (Parent Involvement, Communication with Parents and/or Parental Access) 39

Table 7 1 – Report Card 40

1NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight

Executive Summary

In 2007, our report, We Can Do Better: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Standards and Oversight, concluded that states fell short in meeting basic requirements needed to protect the health and safety of children in child care centers and to promote children’s development and learning NACCRRA called attention to the fact that monitoring of the centers by state licensing offices was generally insufficient to guarantee that minimum regulations were being observed

How are states doing two years later? In this report, NACCRRA updates the scores and rankings of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense (DoD) based on their current child care center licensing regulations and oversight Consistent with NACCRRA’s previous report, both the District of Columbia and DoD are referred to as states for the purpose of this report Although states have made some progress, our children deserve more, much more

This report scores the states on selected aspects of regulations and oversight of child care centers in late 2008 These scores were used to develop three rankings for each state: child care center oversight, child care center regulations and overall rank combining both of these scores

Overall, some scores have shown modest improvement since the last report The average score has risen from 70 to 83 out of 150 possible points While the improved scores are encouraging, the overall picture is still alarming States were scored on basic elements of health and safety, and an overall score of 83 means states are still not providing regulations and oversight that provide adequate health, safety and learning opportunities A score of 83 converts to 55 percent or the equivalent of an F Using a standard grading scale, no state

earned an A One state (DoD) earned a B, and one state (District of Columbia) earned a C Two-thirds of the states (33 states) earned a failing grade, and 16 states (30 percent) only earned a D The following bulleted information details changes since the last report

Thirty-six states require orientation/pre-■■

service training that includes fire safety, other health and safety issues for child care center staff They also require at least one staff person to be on-site who has been trained in first-aid and CPR This is a significant improvement from six states in 2007

Thirty-one states require child care ■■

programs to address all 10 of the health and safety elements This is an important change from 2007, when only nine states addressed all these elements

Eleven states now require five elements ■■

of the criminal records check Only two states required comprehensive background checks in 2007

Nine states have a licensing staff caseload ■■

of 50 child care programs to one (50:1) licensing staff or less This is up from five states in 2007

Sixteen states have a caseload for licensing ■■

staff of more than 140 child care programs to oversee In 2007, 21 states had caseloads of 140 or more child care programs

2 NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulations and Oversight

Nineteen states require that six ■■

developmental domains be addressed in program activities This is an improvement from 13 states in 2007

Four states do not require that any ■■

developmental domains be addressed in classroom activities In 2007, 10 states had no requirements at all with regard to developmental domains for children

Progress has been made, but much more is needed. We can do better

Only 12 states license both child care ■■

centers and all family child care homes

Only six states require monitoring ■■

visits of child care centers four or more times a year

Nine states do not even require an ■■

Associate’s degree for licensing staff

Only 17 states post reports on both ■■

regular monitoring and inspections due to complaints on the Internet In addition three states have posted information about routine inspections, and another three states have posted information about inspections from complaints

Only one state has maximum group size ■■

requirements in compliance with NAEYC standards and has staff-child ratios in compliance with NAEYC standards for all seven targeted age groups

Twenty-two states do not require ■■

NAEYC group size recommendations for any of the seven targeted age groups

In 18 states, the minimum requirements ■■

for child care center directors does not include college credits or courses

Twenty states do not require child care ■■

providers to have a high school degree

Twenty-five states require child care ■■

center staff to have fewer than 15 hours of annual training

Only 26 states require a federal ■■

fingerprint check, without which background checks are of limited value

Three states allow or do not explicitly ■■

prohibit corporal punishment

Eight states do not require resilient ■■

materials under and around outdoor playground equipment

Eleven states do not require that infants ■■

be placed on their backs to sleep in order to reduce the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Only 24 states require centers to ■■

encourage parents to be involved in the child care center program

Two states do not require parents to have ■■

access to a child care center while their child is in the center


Ranking of Combined Child Care Center Oversight and Regulation Scores

Top 10 Bottom 10

State Score Rank State Score Rank

Department of Defense 131 1 New Mexico 69 43

District of Columbia 111 2 Arkansas 66 44

Oklahoma 106 3 Iowa 66 44

Tennessee 106 3 Missouri 66 44

Maryland 104 5 Kansas 64 47

Rhode Island 104 5 California 62 48

New York 100 7 Georgia 53 49

Illinois 98 8 Nebraska 49 50

Florida 97 9 Louisiana 46 51

Washington 97 9 Idaho 15 52

Total possible score is 150

Ranking Of Child Care Center Oversight Scores

Top 10 Bottom 10


Department of Defense 45 1 Nebraska 19 41

Oklahoma 45 1 Rhode Island 19 41

Florida 42 3 Wisconsin 19 41

North Carolina 40 4 California 16 44

New York 39 5 Vermont 16 44

South Carolina 39 5 Iowa 15 46

Arkansas 37 7 New Mexico 15 46

Tennessee 37 7 Minnesota 14 48

Texas 36 9 Connecticut 13 49

Washington 36 9 New Jersey 7 50

Maine 7 50

Idaho 2 52


Ranking of Child Care Center Oversight and Regulations

The following table shows the top 10 states and the bottom 10 states for combined oversight and regulation scores:

Ranking of Child Care Center Oversight

The following table shows the top 10 and bottom 10 states for oversight:


Ranking Of Child Care Center Regulation Score

Top 10 Bottom 10


Department of Defense 86 1 Missouri 42 42

Rhode Island 85 2 Wyoming 42 42

District of Columbia 79 3 Alabama 41 45

New Jersey 78 4 Kansas 41 45

Vermont 78 4 South Carolina 37 47


Wisconsin 73 6 Arkansas 29 49

Delaware 71 8 Georgia 29 49

Maryland 70 9 Louisiana 17 51

Massachusetts 70 9 Idaho 13 52


Conclusion

Basic regulations and the ability of states to enforce them are the foundation on which we as a nation can better protect and improve the lives of our children The benchmarks selected by NACCRRA represent the most basic, minimal criteria possible Yet, the average score is 83 out of 150, which is 53 percent of all points available - a failing grade by anyone’s standards

According to the most recent estimates from the U S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), over $12 billion in public funds are spent on child care each year Most of this funding is through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the primary federal funding stream to states for child care In addition, states transfer funds to CCDBG from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program or spend directly on child care from TANF Congress has given states wide latitude to establish regulations and hold programs

accountable, especially those programs receiving federal subsidies to serve children in families with low incomes

Given the large federal investment in child care and the states’ failure to protect the safety and well-being of children, Congress must be more aggressive in holding states accountable Congress must ensure that children are safe and that child care providers promote healthy child development This means that Congress has a role in strengthening the regulations for child care centers—especially those subsidized through the CCDBG There should be accountability for how federal money is spent It is questionable whether states are currently meeting the minimum requirements in the current law, but even these requirements do not protect children NACCRRA supports state flexibility, but there needs to be a floor to ensure that children are protected The current practice of no or limited requirements endangers children, and states have not shown in the 18 years of CCDBG funding that

Ranking of Child Care Center Regulations

The following table shows the top 10 bottom and 10 states for regulation:


they can put into place the requirements that parents expect and assume NACCRRA urges Congress to require higher minimum standards for child care centers receiving federal dollars NACCRRA recommends that Congress set minimum protections for children and strengthen the CCDBG law to:

Require background checks, based ■■

on fingerprints, for all child care center employees

Require states to establish minimum ■■

health and safety regulations and enforce them through quarterly unannounced inspections of licensed child care programs (the same standard Congress requires of the military child care system)

Require states to post inspection findings ■■

on the Internet for easy parent access so parents can make informed choices when choosing child care

Require all child care staff to have at ■■

least 40 hours of pre-service training (including CPR, first-aid and other basic safety and health training in addition to child development) Require all child care staff to complete 24 hours of ongoing annual training

Authorize HHS to withhold funding ■■

from states that do not require minimum protections for children and that do not conduct regular unannounced inspections of child care settings

Recommendations to states:

States have made progress in regulating child care centers in some areas since NACCRRA issued the last report in 2007, but much more is needed NACCRRA recommends all child

care centers and family child care homes caring for one or more unrelated children on a regular basis for a fee be licensed and inspected Staff should have background checks and receive training The following changes to regulations and oversight will make child care centers safer, healthier and more educationally appropriate for young children In addition to the above, states should:

Ensure adequate oversight by reducing ■■

licensing caseloads to a ratio of no more than 50:1 to improve accountability for meeting state regulations Require licensing staff to have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education or a related field

Require child care center directors to ■■

have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education in order to promote program quality

Require lead teachers in each classroom ■■

to have a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education or to be enrolled in a program to receive such a credential

Require all child care center staff to ■■

complete a minimum of 40 hours of pre-service training in child development and guidance and other basic health and safety practices prior to working alone with children Require all child care center staff to complete at least 24 hours of on-going annual training that will lead to a CDA credential

Require state child care center licensing ■■

regulations to include 10 basic health and safety standards


Child Care Center Oversight And Regulations

In 2007, our report, We Can Do Better: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Standards and Oversight, concluded that states fell short in meeting basic requirements needed to protect the health and safety of children in child care centers and promote children’s development and learning NACCRRA called attention to the fact that monitoring of the centers by state licensing offices was generally insufficient to guarantee that minimum standards were being observed

That 2007 report was based on 15 basic criteria related to child care center regulations and oversight NACCRRA scored every state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense (DoD) on how well they met those criteria Out of a possible 150 points, the average state score was only 70 points DoD ranked first in both regulations and oversight with a total score of 117 in the 2007 report

How are the states doing two years later? In this report, NACCRRA updates the scores and rankings of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and DoD based on their current child care center regulations and oversight system Consistent with NACCRRA’s previous report, both the District of Columbia and DoD are referred to as states for the purpose of this report NACCRRA included DoD in the scoring because DoD has its own set of licensing regulations and oversight system, and this system has been held up by prior Administrations and Congress as a model for states and communities to follow

Many states have heard and are responding to the information we provided in our 2007 report Almost four-fifths of the states (40

states) have changed licensing requirements since the data were gathered for that report However, when we examine child care center regulations for individual states and the country as a whole, we find that there are still not the child care regulations or oversight in place to make sure all young children are safe, healthy and learning The average score has risen from 70 to 83 out of a possible 150 points

While the improved scores are encouraging, the overall picture is still alarming States were scored on basic elements of health and safety, and an overall score of 83 means states are still not providing regulations and oversight that provide adequate health, safety and learning opportunities A score of 83 converts to 55 percent or the equivalent of an F Using a standard grading scale, no state earned an A. One state (DoD) earned a B, and one state (District of Columbia) earned a C. Two-thirds of the states (33 states) earned a failing grade, and 30 percent (16 states) only earned a D

The following report card (Table 1 1) shows how the states scored overall

Table 1.1

Report Card

Percent of Points Earned on Oversight and Regulations

GradeNumber of

States

91 to 100 percent A 0

81 to 90 percent B 1

71 to 80 percent C 1

61 to 70 percent D 16

10 to 60 percent F 33

Our children deserve more Progress is being made, but much more is needed We can do better


Quality and Safety Are Important

Each week, about 11 3 million children under age 5 spend some time in a child care setting (U S Census Bureau, 2008) The percent of children in child care centers varies depending on the age of the child Twelve percent of children younger than 1-year-old spend time in child care centers, compared to 69 percent of 4-year-olds (NCES, 2007)

When parents choose a child care center, their primary concern is safety for their child Then they look for an environment that promotes learning and is affordable (NACCRRA, 2009) Parents recognize that young children cannot be responsible for their own safety and that children are too young to tell their parents about their daily experiences Parents, therefore, expect a child care system that requires child care programs to provide a safe environment and constant supervision in order to protect children from accidents and illness Likewise, parents expect their children will be offered appropriate early learning opportunities They recognize a positive early learning environment can have a life-long positive impact on their children’s growth and development, school readiness and economic future

Unfortunately, the regulations and oversight for child care centers vary widely across the states and often are not sufficient to ensure even minimum-quality care A National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study found that only about 9 percent of child care arrangements in the United States provided very high-quality child care In more than 82 percent of the settings, care was less than high-quality – to the detriment of the children In 8 percent of child care arrangements, children experienced very low-quality child care (National Early Child Care Research Network, 2005) In addition, a NACCRRA study (2009) found that states set the bar at different levels for different types of early learning programs, and young children experience unequal opportunities depending on which type of state-regulated program they attend In most states, child care center licensing regulations

do not provide the impetus for the high-quality, center-based care that state-funded prekindergarten programs mandate This is significant because the majority of preschool-age children are in child care settings

Child Care Oversight and Regulation

Most parents (81 percent) think that governmental oversight is in place to protect the health and safety of their children and that state licensing regulations require child care programs to offer activities that will help their child grow and learn (NACCRRA, 2009) Unfortunately, the reality is very different Although some form of child care is regulated in all states, there is a wide variation in the minimum standards that states set for child care centers Only 12 states license both child care centers and all family child care homes

Although there are no federal regulations to govern child care, nationally recognized standards have been developed The safety standards for the score card were chosen based on a review of the 13 Indicators of Quality Child Care: Research Update prepared by Dr Richard Fiene for the U S Department of Health and Human Services (Fiene, 2002) In addition, Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, Second Edition, provides information to help states develop child care standards States have also used other resources, such as the accreditation criteria developed by national organizations, to help define standards for quality child care centers

Child care oversight XLicensing regulations are ineffective unless there are oversight systems in place to make sure regulations are observed and consequences are applied for non-compliance Criteria for assessing oversight include the types of child care settings that are licensed, the frequency of monitoring visits, the caseloads for licensing staff, the educational qualifications of licensing staff and whether inspection and


complaint reports are easily available to parents and the public on the Internet

Child care regulations XStates must regulate child care settings in order to keep children healthy and safe In addition, brain development and literacy research have highlighted the importance of programs offering early learning opportunities There is considerable variation among states in what they include in their child care center regulations; however, these regulations generally include requirements related to minimum staff-child ratios and group size, educational qualifications and training requirements for directors and lead teachers, criminal background checks, health and safety requirements, and parental involvement

Federal Funding for Child Care—CCDBG

Over $12 billion in public funds are spent on child care every year The primary non-parental source of funding for child care is the federal government through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) The funds are used primarily for child care subsidies for working families earning low incomes A minimum of 4 percent is required by law to be used for activities to improve the overall quality of child care for all children within a community

Under current CCDBG law, all states are required to have in place minimum health and safety regulations for child care Requirements must address the prevention and control of infectious diseases (including immunizations), building and physical premises safety, and minimum health and safety training However, as this report illustrates, states have not necessarily complied with this requirement

The reauthorization of CCDBG in the 111th Congress provides an opportunity to establish requirements to ensure public funding is tied to greater accountability for the quality of child care regulations and monitoring efforts as reflected in the items in NACCRRA’s state score card

NACCRRA’s State Score Card

Parents, child care programs and state and federal policymakers share responsibility for the safety and well-being of children while they are in child care settings Together, they need reliable information about the current state of child care oversight and regulations in order to make responsible decisions

NACCRRA is providing that information through an update of the state score cards that were originally developed for the 2007 report, We Can Do Better: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Standards and Oversight This new report scores the states on aspects of their current regulations and oversight of their child care center regulations These scores were used to develop three rankings for each state: child care center oversight, child care center regulations and an overall rank combining both of these scores Appendix B has information about the methodology used to update and verify current state regulations

A companion report, Leaving Children to Chance: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Standards and Oversight of Small Family Child Care Homes (2008), scored and ranked states on their oversight and regulations of family child care homes

Chapter 2 presents information about how each state scored and their rank when scores for both child care center oversight and child care center regulations are included Chapter 3 shows state scores and ranks for child care center oversight, and Chapter 4 gives state scores and ranks for child care center regulations Chapter 5 has information about NACCRRA’s scoring system Chapter 6 describes the rationale for the different elements in NACCRRA’s scoring system It also provides information about how states measure up against the benchmarks A summary and recommendations are included in Chapter 7 Appendix A has information about individual state scores, rankings, strengths, weaknesses and related recommendations


There has been only a modest improvement in state regulations affecting child care centers since our report in 2007 Scores were based on information provided by the states and available in state child care center licensing regulations, criminal history regulations, fire regulations and health regulations Out of 150 possible points, the average overall score of the states two years ago was 70 The average score for this report is 83 (or 55 percent), which means states are still failing to provide regulations and oversight needed to give our children adequate health, safety and learning opportunities

Once again, the DoD child care system is ranked first with 131 points for combined child care center regulations and oversight DoD also scored the highest in oversight of child care centers and child care center regulations The other states within the top 10 overall scored from 97 to 110 points The 10 weakest overall scored from 15 to 69 points

No state other than DoD is on the top 10 list for both regulations and oversight, although Tennessee comes close with a ranking of seven on oversight and 11 on regulations This inconsistency is a concern because states need both strong regulations and a strong oversight system Even the best regulations need adequate oversight to evaluate how well the regulations are being followed

Seven states (DoD, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Washington) remain on the list of the top 10 states for child care center oversight and regulations from 2007 Three states (District of Columbia, Florida and Rhode Island) are new to the list in 2009 Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and Vermont are no longer in the top 10

California, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska and New Mexico were ranked among the 10 states with the weakest oversight and regulations in both 2007 and 2009 Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Georgia fell into this list in 2009 Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire and Utah moved off the list of 10 states with the overall weakest oversight and regulations in 2009

Overall Combined Ranking Of State Child Care Center Regulations And Oversight


NACCRRA’S Benchmarks

NACCRRA used 15 benchmarks in this report Five benchmarks relate to child care center oversight, and 10 benchmarks cover child care center regulations

Oversight

1. All child care centers and family ■X

child care homes are licensed.

2. Monitoring visits of centers are ■X

conducted four times a year by licensing, health and fire personnel.

3. Programs to licensing staff ratio ■X

does not exceed 50:1.

4. Licensing staff have a Bachelor’s ■X

degree in early childhood education or a related field.

5. Reports of routine inspections ■X

and complaint inspections are available to parents on the Internet.

Regulations

1. Staff-child ratios are in ■X

compliance with National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards (NAEYC, 2007).

2. Group sizes are in compliance ■X

with NAEYC standards (NAEYC, 2007).

3. Center directors are required ■X

to have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

4. The lead teacher in the classroom ■X

is required to have a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education (ECE) or related field.

5. Center staff are required to have ■X

orientation training and training in fire safety and other health and safety issues. At least one staff on duty in centers must be first-aid and CPR certified.

6. All lead teachers are required to ■X

have 24 hours or more of annual training.

7. Required background checks ■X

include state and federal checks of criminal history records using fingerprints. child abuse registries and sex offender registries.

8. Programs are required to offer ■X

activities which address six developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural).

9. Licensing regulations address ■X

10 basic health and safety standards:

Immunizations 1.

Guidance and discipline 2.

Diapering and handwashing3.

Fire drills 4.

Medication administration 5.

Incident reporting 6.

Placing infants on their backs 7. to sleep to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Hazardous materials 8.

Playground surfaces under 9. outdoor equipment

Emergency preparedness.10.

10. Programs encourage parent ■X

involvement and daily or ongoing communication with parents and allow parental visits at any time their child is present.


Table 2.1Ranking of States’ Combined Scores for

Child Care Center Oversight and RegulationTop 10 Bottom 10


Department of Defense 131 1 New Mexico 69 43

District of Columbia 111 2 Arkansas 66 44

Oklahoma 106 3 Iowa 66 44

Tennessee 106 3 Missouri 66 44

Maryland 104 5 Kansas 64 47

Rhode Island 104 5 California 62 48

New York 100 7 Georgia 53 49


Florida 97 9 Louisiana 46 51

Washington 97 9 Idaho 15 52


Table 2.2Middle 32 States’ Combined Scores for

Child Care Center Oversight and RegulationState Score Rank State Score Rank

Massachusetts 96 11 New Jersey 85 28

Texas 95 12 Minnesota 82 29

Delaware 94 13 Connecticut 81 30

North Carolina 94 13 Nevada 81 30

Vermont 94 13 South Dakota 81 30

Michigan 92 16 Alaska 80 33

Pennsylvania 92 16 Ohio 80 33

Wisconsin 92 16 South Carolina 76 35

North Dakota 91 19 Kentucky 75 36

Utah 91 19 Mississippi 75 36

Hawaii 89 21 Maine 73 38

Indiana 89 21 Montana 73 38

Virginia 88 23 Wyoming 73 38

Arizona 87 24 Colorado 72 41

Oregon 87 24 Alabama 70 42

West Virginia 87 24Total possible score is 150

New Hampshire 86 27


Table 2.3Child Care Center Combined Scores for

Oversight and Regulation-Alphabetical Listing of StatesState Score Rank State Score Rank

Alabama 70 42 Montana 73 38

Alaska 80 33 Nebraska 49 50

Arizona 87 24 Nevada 81 30

Arkansas 66 44 New Hampshire 86 27

California 62 48 New Jersey 85 28

Colorado 72 41 New Mexico 69 43

Connecticut 81 30 New York 100 7

Delaware 94 13 North Carolina 94 13

Department of Defense 131 1 North Dakota 91 19

District of Columbia 111 2 Ohio 80 33

Florida 97 9 Oklahoma 106 3

Georgia 53 49 Oregon 87 24

Hawaii 89 21 Pennsylvania 92 16

Idaho 15 52 Rhode Island 104 5

Illinois 98 8 South Carolina 76 35

Indiana 89 21 South Dakota 81 30

Iowa 66 44 Tennessee 106 3

Kansas 64 47 Texas 95 12

Kentucky 75 36 Utah 91 19

Louisiana 46 51 Vermont 94 13

Maine 73 38 Virginia 88 23

Maryland 104 5 Washington 97 9

Massachusetts 96 11 West Virginia 87 24

Michigan 92 16 Wisconsin 92 16

Minnesota 82 29 Wyoming 73 38

Mississippi 75 36Total possible score is 150

Missouri 66 44


Regulation and Effective Oversight are Critical

States need both regulations that mandate high-quality child care and oversight systems that guarantee regulations are observed and consequences are applied for non-compliance If either is weak, the other is ineffective Regulation without oversight is hollow

In seven states (Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin), the disparity in ranking between regulations and oversight is more than 30 points These states rank high on standards but have very poor oversight Rhode Island, New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin rank in the top 10 on regulations (2, 4, 4, and 6 respectively), but are near the bottom when it comes to oversight (41, 50, 44 and 41 respectively)

Delaware, Illinois, North Dakota and Oregon also rank relatively high on regulations compared to their oversight ranking, with a disparity of more than 20 points Delaware and Illinois are in the top 10 on regulations (8 and 6 respectively), but rank only in the middle (23 and 25 respectively) when it comes to oversight

On the other hand, Arkansas, Louisiana and South Carolina rank relatively high on oversight but have poor regulations, with a disparity of more than 30 points South Carolina and Arkansas rank in the top 10 on oversight (5 and 7 respectively) but are near the bottom when it comes to regulations (47 and 49 respectively)

Eight other states (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wyoming) also have relatively high oversight ranking compared to their ranking for regulations Oklahoma, for example, ranks 1 on oversight but 20 on regulations; North Carolina ranks 4 on oversight and 31 on regulations

The discrepancy in scores and ranking for individual states is revealed in Table 2 4, which shows the overall score and rank, the oversight score and rank and the regulation score and rank for each state


Table 2.4All Scores for Individual States

StateOverall Score

Oversight Score

Regulations Score

StateOverall Score

Oversight Score

Regulations Score

Alabama 70 29 41 Missouri 66 24 42

Alaska 80 22 58 Montana 73 27 46

Arizona 87 35 52 Nebraska 49 19 30

Arkansas 66 37 29 Nevada 81 27 54

California 62 16 46 New Hampshire 86 29 57

Colorado 72 27 45 New Jersey 85 7 78

Connecticut 81 13 68 New Mexico 69 15 54

Delaware 94 23 71 New York 100 39 61

Department of Defense 131 45 86 North Carolina 94 40 54

District of Columbia 111 32 79 North Dakota 91 23 68

Florida 97 42 55 Ohio 80 32 48

Georgia 53 24 29 Oklahoma 106 45 61

Hawaii 89 27 62 Oregon 87 22 65

Idaho 15 2 13 Pennsylvania 92 25 67

Illinois 98 25 73 Rhode Island 104 19 85

Indiana 89 25 64 South Carolina 76 39 37

Iowa 66 15 51 South Dakota 81 29 52

Kansas 64 23 41 Tennessee 106 37 69

Kentucky 75 24 51 Texas 95 36 59

Louisiana 46 29 17 Utah 91 27 64

Maine 73 7 66 Vermont 94 16 78

Maryland 104 34 70 Virginia 88 32 56

Massachusetts 96 26 70 Washington 97 36 61

Michigan 92 33 59 West Virginia 87 26 61

Minnesota 82 14 68 Wisconsin 92 19 73

Mississippi 75 23 52 Wyoming 73 31 42

Total possible score 150 50 100 Total possible score 150 50 100


Effective oversight is essential for state regulations to be meaningful The average score for child care center oversight in 2009 was only 26 4 out of a possible 50 points

Oklahoma and DoD were tied for the highest ranking in state child care center oversight with 45 points. The Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Act, passed in 2008, is an example of recent legislation that strengthens oversight by improving inspection reporting and making a database of online inspection reports available to parents This legislation was prompted by the tragic death of a child in a licensed family child care home

Seven states (DoD, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington) remain on the list of the top 10 states for child care center oversight from 2007 Three states (Arkansas, New York and Texas) are new to the list in 2009 Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Virginia are no longer on the top 10 list Scores of the top 10 states ranged from 36 to 45 points Scores for the bottom 10 states ranged from two to 19 points

NACCRRA’s Benchmarks for Child Care Center Oversight




conducted four times a year by licensing, health, and fire personnel.

3. Programs to licensing ■X

staff ratio does not exceed 50:1.



5. Reports of routine inspections ■X

and complaint inspections are available to parents online.

Ranking Of State Child Care Center Oversight


Table 3.1Ranking of States’ Scores for Child Care Center Oversight

Top 10 Bottom 10


Department of Defense 45 1 Nebraska 19 41

Oklahoma 45 1 Rhode Island 19 41

Florida 42 3 Wisconsin 19 41

North Carolina 40 4 California 16 44

New York 39 5 Vermont 16 44

South Carolina 39 5 Iowa 15 46

Arkansas 37 7 New Mexico 15 46

Tennessee 37 7 Minnesota 14 48

Texas 36 9 Connecticut 13 49

Washington 36 9 New Jersey 7 50

Maine 7 50

Idaho 2 52


Table 3.2Middle States for Child Care Center Oversight


Arizona 35 11 Massachusetts 26 27

Maryland 34 12 West Virginia 26 27

Michigan 33 13 Illinois 25 29

District of Columbia 32 14 Indiana 25 29

Ohio 32 14 Pennsylvania 25 29

Virginia 32 14 Georgia 24 32

Wyoming 31 17 Kentucky 24 32

Alabama 29 18 Missouri 24 32

Louisiana 29 18 Delaware 23 35

New Hampshire 29 18 Kansas 23 35

South Dakota 29 18 Mississippi 23 35

Colorado 27 22 North Dakota 23 35

Hawaii 27 22 Alaska 22 39

Montana 27 22 Oregon 22 39

Nevada 27 22Total possible score is 50

Utah 27 22


Table 3.3Child Care Center Oversight-Alphabetical Listing of States




























Missouri 24 32


The average score for child care center regulations was only 56 2 out of a possible 100 points Regulations are the basic standards or policies in place to protect children and promote healthy development

Seven states (DoD, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin) remain on the list of the top 10 states for child care center regulations from 2007 Three states (Delaware, District of Columbia and Massachusetts) are new to the list in 2009 Minnesota, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania are no longer in the top 10

The District of Columbia ranked second overall and third in regulations in this report after it made significant changes to its regulations These changes affected staff-child ratios, group size, staff training requirements, criminal records checks, health and safety standards, parent involvement, licensing staff-program ratios and educational requirements for licensing staff

The scores for the top 10 states for child care center regulations ranged from 86 to 70 points Scores for the bottom 10 states ranged from 13 to 42 points

NACCRRA’s Benchmarks for Child Care Center Regulations


compliance with National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards (NAEYC, 2007).



3. Center directors are required to ■X

have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education or related field.

4. The lead teacher in the ■X

classroom is required to have a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education or related field.



6. All lead teachers are required ■X

to have 24 hours or more of annual training.


include state and federal checks of criminal history records using fingerprints, child abuse registries and sex offender registries.


activities which address six developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural).

Ranking Of State Child Care Center Regulations




Immunizations 1.



Fire drills 4.






Emergency preparedness10.


involvement and daily or ongoing communication with parents and allow parental visits at any time their child is present.


Table 4.2Middle 32 States for Child Care Center Regulations


Tennessee 69 11 New Hampshire 57 28

Connecticut 68 12 Virginia 56 29

Minnesota 68 12 Florida 55 30

North Dakota 68 12 Nevada 54 31

Pennsylvania 67 15 New Mexico 54 31

Maine 66 16 North Carolina 54 31

Oregon 65 17 Arizona 52 34

Indiana 64 18 Mississippi 52 34

Utah 64 18 South Dakota 52 34

Hawaii 62 20 Iowa 51 37

New York 61 21 Kentucky 51 37

Oklahoma 61 21 Ohio 48 39

Washington 61 21 California 46 40

West Virginia 61 21 Montana 46 40

Michigan 59 25 Colorado 45 42

Texas 59 25Total possible score is 100

Alaska 58 27

Table 4.1Ranking of States’ Scores for Child Care Center Regulations

Top 10 Bottom 10


Department of Defense 86 1 Missouri 42 42

Rhode Island 85 2 Wyoming 42 42

District of Columbia 79 3 Alabama 41 45

New Jersey 78 4 Kansas 41 45

Vermont 78 4 South Carolina 37 47


Wisconsin 73 6 Arkansas 29 49

Delaware 71 8 Georgia 29 49

Maryland 70 9 Louisiana 17 51

Massachusetts 70 9 Idaho 13 52



Table 4.3Child Care Center Regulations-Alphabetical Listing of States




























Missouri 42 43


NACCRRA established 15 benchmarks for centers. Five of the benchmarks related to the state’s oversight system and 10 were related to the state’s child care center regulations The decision about which benchmarks to include in the state scoring was based on research that included nationally recognized resources The safety standards for the score card were chosen based on research by Dr Richard Fiene as reflected in 13 Indicators of Quality Child Care: Research Update, prepared for the U S Department of Health and Human Services (Fiene, 2002) Other sources included Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, 2nd edition (AAP et al , 2002) and NAEYC accreditation criteria Additional information about the research related to each criterion can be found in NACCRRA’s reports, We Can Do Better (2007) and Leaving Children to Chance (2008)

If states met an individual benchmark fully, they received a maximum score of 10 points for that item States received a lower score if they met only part of the criterion With 10 points for each of the 10 benchmarks for child care centers, the maximum score for center regulations was 100 points With 10 points for each of the five elements of the child care center oversight system, the maximum score for licensing oversight was 50 points States could receive a maximum of 150 points The final scores were used for three sets of rankings: child care oversight, child care center regulations, and an overall rank combining both of these scores

The oversight benchmarks were:




conducted four times a year by licensing, health and fire personnel.

3. Programs to licensing staff ratio ■X

does not exceed 50:1.



5. Online inspection and complaint ■X

reports are available to parents.

The regulation benchmarks were:


compliance with NAEYC standards (NAEYC, 2007).



3. Center directors are required to ■X

have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

4. The lead teacher in the classroom ■X

is required to have a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education or related field.



NACCRRA’s Scoring System


6. All lead teachers are required to ■X

have 24 hours or more of annual training.


include state and federal checks of criminal history records using fingerprints, child abuse registries and sex offender registries.


activities that address six developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural).



Immunizations 1.



Fire drills 4.






Emergency preparedness.10.


involvement, require daily or ongoing communication with parents and allow parental visits at any time their child is present.


The following section describes the rationale for each of the NACCRRA benchmarks and describes the reality of how well states are meeting each benchmark

NACCRRA’s Benchmarks on Oversight

The best policies are ineffective if they are not implemented. Monitoring ensures that centers comply with state child care laws and that children are safe, in healthy environments and receiving appropriate early learning opportunities NACCRRA has established the following five benchmarks for state child care licensing systems

1. NACCRRA Benchmark: Child care ■X

centers and family child care homes caring for one or more unrelated children on a regular basis for a fee are required to be licensed.

Child care licensing regulations are set by individual states and define the minimum acceptable health, safety and program standards for legal operation of a child care program Licensing is a baseline below which it is illegal to operate; thus, it is not an indicator of high-quality care There are two types of licensed child care: child care centers and family child care homes However, some states choose to not regulate all child care settings

When states categorically exempt centers sponsored by churches or family child care providers who serve fewer than four children, children are less protected and the whole regulation system is weakened Along with NACCRRA’s recommendation (2007), NAEYC accreditation standards (NAEYC, 1997), the National Association for Regulatory

Administration (NARA) and the National Child Care Association (NCCA) (NARA & NCCA, no date) and Caring for Our Children also recommend licensing every child care setting

Eighty-one percent of parents responding to a NACCRRA national survey assumed all child care programs are licensed by the state (NACCRRA, 2009)

RealityChildren are routinely being cared for in child care settings that are not required to meet minimum licensing regulations

Only 12 states license most child care ■■

centers and all family child care homes

Idaho, Louisiana and New Jersey only ■■

regulate child care centers This means children in family child care home settings are not subject to child care regulations or oversight

Rationales and Reality for NACCRRA’s Benchmarks


Table 6 1 has information about the number and percent of states that require specific types of child care settings to be licensed

Table 6.1Licensed Child Care Settings

Types of Child Care Settings that are Licensed

Number of States

Percent of States

Centers only 3 6%

Centers. Family child care homes with 4 or more children

28 54%

Centers. Family child care homes with 3 or more children

7 13%

Centers. Family child care homes with 2 or more children.

2 4%

Centers and family child care homes with 1 or more children.

12 23%

Total 52 100%

2. NACCRRA Benchmark: Child care ■X

centers are inspected at least four times a year.

Licensing inspections measure child care practices against state licensing requirements

They are a means of ensuring that children are cared for in settings that meet minimum health and safety requirements Programs that are inspected more frequently are more likely to adhere to required regulations (Gormley, 1995) Frequent, unannounced inspections prevent providers from covering up violations, especially when there is a history of violations and/or sanctions or complaints Inspecting child care settings is also associated with lower rates of accidents requiring medical attention (Fiene, 2002)

There is strong support among parents for requiring inspections of child care programs, including family child care homes, before they begin caring for children In fact, in a national survey conduct by NACCRRA (2009), there was strong support among parents (95 percent) for requiring inspections of child care programs, including family child care homes, before they begin caring for children

RealityIn most states, child care centers are not inspected frequently enough States cannot confidently say to parents that licensing regulations are being followed and that children are in safe and healthy environments

Six states (DoD, Florida, North Carolina, ■■

Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming) require monitoring visits four or more times a year This is up from four states in 2007

An additional 21 states require ■■

monitoring visits two times a year or more

Twenty-five states conduct monitoring ■■

inspections only once a year or less frequently

For some states, monitoring is so ■■

infrequent it is almost meaningless Georgia does not require monitoring

Table 6 2 has information about the frequency of monitoring visits of child care centers in individual states

Table 6.2Frequency of Monitoring Visits

Number of Monitoring Visits Required

Number of States

Percent of States

Four or more times a year

6 12%

Three times a year 8 15%

Twice a year 13 25%

Once a year 17 33%

Less than once a year 8 15%

Total 52 100%

Note: In this report, states were given credit for inspection visits by licensing, health and fire departments.


3. NACCRRA Benchmark: Licensing ■X

staff are responsible for monitoring no more than 50 child care programs per person.

A manageable caseload for licensing staff protects children from unhealthy and unsafe care A caseload of no more than 50 child care programs per licensing staff allows staff to more effectively monitor programs NARA, NACCRRA (2007) and NAEYC (2007) recommend licensing staff should be responsible for no more than 50 child care programs

RealityThere is progress in this area Caseloads have been reduced in some states since the last report However, there are vast discrepancies In many states, the caseload is too large to allow licensing staff to conduct frequent and meaningful inspections

The average caseload is 114, which is ■■

more than double the recommended load

Nine states (Alaska, DoD, Hawaii, ■■

Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah) have a caseload of 50:1 or less This is up from five states in 2007

Twenty-two states have caseloads of 70 ■■

programs or fewer to one staff member

Twenty-one states have caseloads of ■■

101 or more programs to one licensing staff member

Sixteen states have a caseload of more ■■

than 140 child care programs per licensing staff In 2007, 21 states had caseloads of 140 or more

In Connecticut, Michigan, Rhode Island ■■

and Vermont, caseloads exceed 220

In Wisconsin, the caseload exceeds ■■

330 programs, and in Iowa the caseload is almost 600 (591)

Table 6 3 has information about the number of programs that licensing staff are responsible for monitoring in individual states

Table 6.3Licensing Staff Caseload

Program:Licensing Staff Ratio

Number of States

Percent of States

141:1 or more 16 31%

131 to 140:1 1 2%

121 to 130:1 1 2%

111 to 120:1 1 2%

101 to 110:1 2 4%

91 to 100:1 5 10%

81 to 90:1 0 0%

71 to 80:1 4 8%

61 to 70:1 9 17%

51 to 60:1 4 8%

50:1 or less 9 17%

Total 52 100%

4. NACCRRA Benchmark: Licensing ■X

staff have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education, child development or a related field.

Licensing staff are responsible for understanding state child care licensing regulations and assessing whether child care programs and providers are observing the regulations This position requires someone with a strong educational background in child development, early childhood education and effective communication skills

RealityThere has been little change in the educational qualifications of licensing staff since the last report While an Associate or Bachelor’s degree is required in 46 states, only 16 states require a Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field

Nine states (Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, ■■

Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia and Wisconsin) do not even require licensing staff to have an Associate’s degree


Only 16 states require a Bachelor’s degree ■■

in early childhood education or a related field

Twenty-five states require a Bachelor’s ■■

degree, but accept a degree in any field

Table 6 4 has information about the level of education that is required for licensing staff in individual states

Table 6.4

Licensing Staff Qualification Requirement

Level of Education RequiredNumber

of States Percent

of States

Less than Associate’s degree

9 17%

Associate’s degree in related field, college-level certification or certification in related field

2 4%

Bachelor’s degree, but not in related field

25 48%

Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or related field

16 31%

Total 52 100%

5. NACCRRA Benchmark: Both child ■X

care licensing reports and complaint reports are available online for parents and the public to review.

In the United States, the child care approach is based on parent choice, but in many states it is difficult for parents to get sufficient information about the safety and quality of child care programs Posting licensing inspection reports and reports of verified violations provides parents with important information they need in order to make good choices about their child’s care

Centers and licensing staff are more accountable when inspection and complaint reports are available on the Internet Research from Florida (Witte & Querait, 2004) showed the following benefits of posting inspection and complaint reports online in a user-friendly and easily accessible format:

Programs were inspected more frequently ■■

Inspectors were more likely to provide ■■

varied reviews of programs

The quality of child care, especially ■■

care received by low-income children, increased after inspections were made available on the Internet

RealityIn the past, parents have had difficulty obtaining licensing information The result was that some parents unknowingly put their children in unsafe and unhealthy situations Publicity about tragic accidents in child care and recent changes in technology have resulted in states making more information available to parents on the Internet More states are now making inspection and complaint reports available online, thereby providing important information to parents about child care programs But, most states still do not provide this vital information

In 28 states, parents do not have access ■■

to either inspection or complaint reports online

Four states (DoD, Louisiana, ■■

Maryland and Tennessee) only post inspection reports

Three states (Oregon, Vermont ■■

and Washington) only post verified complaints

Seventeen states (Arizona, Arkansas, ■■

Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin) have both inspection and complaint reports available online


Table 6 5 has information about the number and percent of states that make licensing inspections or complaint reports or both available on the Internet

Table 6.5

Online Reports of Inspections and Complaints

Availability of Online Inspection and Complaint Reports

Number of States

Percent of States

Neither inspection nor complaint reports are available online

28 54%

Inspection reports only 4 8%

Complaint reports only 3 6%

Both inspection and complaint reports are available online

17 33%

Total 52 100%

NACCRRA’s Benchmarks on Regulations

1. NACCRRA Benchmark: Staff-child ■X

ratios are in compliance with National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation requirements (NAEYC, 2007)

Low staff-child ratios are associated with higher quality early childhood programs and are an important predictor of caregiver behavior, especially for caregivers of infants and toddlers In addition to helping to create an environment where children feel emotionally secure, low ratios also ensure children’s health and safety because caregivers are better able to monitor and promote healthy practices and behaviors (Fiene, 2002; The Governor’s Working Group on Early Childhood Initiatives, 2007) Table 6 6 shows NAEYC’s requirements for staff-child ratios in centers

Table 6.6

NAEYC Staff-Child Ratio Requirements

Age of Child Staff-Child Ratio

Birth to 15 months 1:3 to 1:4

12 to 28 months 1:3 to 1:4

21 to 36 months 1:4 to 1:6

2 to 3 years 1:6 to 1:9

4 years 1:8 to 1:10

5 years 1:8 to 1:10

RealityThere is considerable variance among the states in the staff-child ratios they require for child care centers More states comply with NAEYC staff-child ratios for infants and toddlers than for any other age groups Children in older age groups are more likely to be in classrooms where there are too many children for each teacher and assistant

Thirty-six states meet NAEYC staff- ■■

child ratios for infants (6 months and 9 months)

Fifteen states (California, Connecticut, ■■

District of Columbia, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin) meet recommended ratios for 18-month-olds

Only 19 states meet recommended ratios ■■

for 4-year-olds

3-year-olds and 5-year-olds are ■■

least likely to be in classrooms with recommended ratios Only nine states (District of Columbia, Iowa, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Tennessee) meet recommended ratios for 3-year-olds Nine states (Connecticut, District of Columbia, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington) meet recommended ratios for 5-year-olds


Table 6 7 provides information about the staff-child ratios recommended by NAEYC for children at specific ages and the number and percent of states that meet NAEYC requirements

Table 6.7

States That Meet NAEYC Staff-Child Ratio Requirements

for Specific Age Groupings

Age of Child

Number of States

Meeting Requirement

Percent of States

Meeting Requirement

6 months 37 71%

9 months 36 69%

18 months 15 29%

27 months 19 37%

3 years 9 17%

4 years 19 37%

5 years 9 17%

Does not meet staff-child ratio requirements for any age group

13 25%

Some states meet NAEYC recommendations for staff-child ratios for one age group but not for other age groups

The District of Columbia is the only state ■■

that meets NAEYC recommended staff-child ratios for all seven age groups

Thirty-four states meet NAEYC ■■

recommended staff-child ratios for three or fewer age groups

Thirteen states (Alabama, Arizona, ■■

Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina) do not meet NAEYC recommended staff-child ratios for any age group

Table 6 8 shows the number and percent of states that meet NAEYC requirements for staff-child ratios for each of the specified age groups

Table 6.8

Number of Age Groupings that States Require to Meet NAEYC Requirements for Staff-Child Ratios

Number of Age Groupings

Number of States Meeting Requirement

Percent of States Meeting Requirement

0 13 25%

1 1 2%

2 9 17%

3 11 21%

4 5 10%

5 7 13%

6 5 10%

7 1 2%

Total 52 100%

2. NACCRRA Benchmark: Group size ■X

requirements are in compliance with NAEYC accreditation requirements (NAEYC, 2007).

Maximum group sizes are based on children’s ages and are designed to ensure safe, nurturing and high-quality care Group sizes must be smaller for younger children When the number of children in a group is lower, adults can provide a warmer, more responsive, supportive and stimulating environment This results in more positive social interactions and more secure attachment between the adults and the young children There is also evidence of less hyperactivity, anxiety and aggression in the classroom Children use higher levels of language and cognitive skills and engage in more complex play (The Governor’s Working Group on Early Childhood Initiatives, 2007)


Table 6 9 shows the group sizes recommended by NAEYC for children at specific ages and the number and percent of states that limit group sizes to NAEYC’s recommendations

Table 6.9

NAEYC Group Size Requirements

Age of Child Size of Group

Birth to 15 months 6-8 children

12 to 28 months 6-8 children

21 to 36 months 8-12 children

2 to 3 years 12-18 children

4 years 16-20 children

5 years 16-20 children

RealityThere is a considerable difference among the states in their requirements for limiting group size Almost half of the states do not even regulate group size States that do regulate group size are most likely to meet NAEYC group size requirements for infants and young toddlers

Only 23 states limit the group size for ■■

six-month-olds and nine-month-olds at or below NAEYC recommendations

Nine states require NAEYC group size ■■

recommendations for 18-month-olds

Nineteen states require NAEYC group ■■

size recommendations for 4-year-olds

3-year-olds and 5-year-olds are least ■■

likely to be in classrooms where the group size is in compliance with NAEYC recommendations Just eight states (California, District of Columbia, Kansas, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Tennessee) require the group size recommended by NAEYC for 3-year-olds Eleven states (California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont) meet NAEYC group size recommendations for 5-year-olds

Table 6 10 has information about the group size requirements by NAEYC for children at specific ages and the number and percent of states that meet that recommendation

Table 6.10

States That Meet NAEYC Group Size Requirements for Specific Age Groupings

Age of Child

Number of States Requiring NAEYC

Group Size

Percent of States Requiring NAEYC

Group Size

6 months

23 44%

9 months

23 44%

18 months

9 17%

27 months

14 27%

3 years 8 15%

4 years 19 37%

5 years 11 21%

Note: NACCRRA selected a specific age within each age group in order to score the states.

Some states meet NAEYC group size recommendations for one age group but not for other age groups

Twenty-two states do not require ■■

NAEYC group size recommendations for any age group

An additional 16 states require NAEYC ■■

group size recommendations for three or fewer age groups

Only the District of Columbia requires ■■

NAEYC group size recommendations for all age groups


Table 6 11 has information about the number and percent of states that require NAEYC recommendations for group size for specific age groups

Table 6.11

Number of Age Groupings that States Require to Meet NAEYC Requirements for

Maximum Group Size

Number of Age Groupings

Number of States Requiring

Percent of States Requiring

0 22 42%

1 1 2%

2 9 17%

3 6 12%

4 5 10%

5 5 10%

6 3 6%

7 1 2%

Total 52 100%

3. NACCRRA Benchmark: Center ■X

directors have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education or a related field.

Child care center directors are responsible for personnel management, fiscal management, facilities management, oversight of the program’s curriculum, working with parents and many other aspects of a child care program’s operations They provide leadership to staff who often have little experience, training or education to prepare them for their responsibilities with young children Education and training in business management and early childhood education prepares directors to oversee the program and provide staff with the training and supervision they need

RealityStates fall far short on requiring education and training of child care center directors Children in almost all states are allowed to be in a child care center where the director is not required to meet even the most minimum education and training requirements related to child care

Eighteen states (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming) do not require child care center directors to have any college credit or courses

An additional 13 states require directors ■■

to have some college credits or courses

Thirteen states require directors to have ■■

a CDA credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education or a related field

Since the last report, six states have added ■■

the requirement for a director’s credential

Only DoD and New Jersey require center ■■

directors to have a Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education


Table 6 12 has information about the level of education that is required for directors of child care centers in individual states

Table 6.12

Director Qualifications by States

Level of Education RequiredNumber

of States Percent

of States

No college credits/courses 18 35%

Some college credits/courses

13 25%

CDA credential or Associate’s degree in related field

13 25%

Director’s credential 6 12%

Bachelor’s degree or more in early childhood education or related field

2 4%

Total 52 100%

4. NACCRRA Benchmark: Lead ■X

teachers (responsible for a classroom) have a CDA credential or Associate’s degree in early childhood education or a related field.

Lead teachers have primary responsibility for the classroom and can be left unsupervised with children Child care providers who have specialized formal education in early education are more likely to respond positively to children and to use successful teaching practices than teachers without specialized training or education Over three-quarters of parents (78 percent) in NACCRRA’s national parent survey (2009) assumed all child care providers had training in child development before working with children

RealityEducation requirements for center-based lead teachers who are responsible for classroom curriculum decisions are woefully inadequate Fewer than one-sixth of the states meet the NACCRRA benchmark of requiring a CDA credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education or a related field Parents assume that because children are in a center-based setting that the teachers are trained in

child development and that children are in a high-quality early learning environment The reality is that it is difficult to offer a high-quality child care program when teachers are not required to be a high school graduate and pre-service training is not required

Twenty states do not even require ■■

child care lead teachers to have a high school degree

Another 22 states require only a high ■■

school degree for lead teachers

Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota ■■

and North Carolina require a state credential for lead teachers

DoD, Hawaii, New Jersey, Rhode Island ■■

and Vermont require the lead teacher to have a CDA credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education or a related field

Table 6 13 has information about the level of education that is required for lead teachers in state licensing regulations in individual states

Table 6.13

Lead Teacher Qualifications

Level of Education Required

Number of States

Percent of States

Less than High School or a GED

20 38%

High School or a GED 22 42%

State credential 5 10%

CDA credential or Associate’s degree in early childhood education or related field

5 10%

Total 52 100%


staff are required to have orientation training and training in fire safety and other health and safety issues. At least one staff on duty in centers must be first-aid and CPR certified.


Caregivers should have certain information and skills before they are allowed to care for children without supervision These skills and knowledge should be acquired through pre-service training and education or during orientation training that occurs early in their employment Given that 42 states only require lead teachers to have a high school degree or less, orientation training is an important tool in preparing caregivers to keep children healthy and safe Orientation training should address the basics of healthy and safe care, children’s developmental needs and guidance and discipline

NACCRRA recommends that orientation training include 40 hours of training in child development and guidance, CPR and first-aid certification, recognizing child abuse, fire safety training and basic health and safety practices prior to working with children or within the first 90 days of employment The vast majority of parents (87 percent) think all providers are trained to recognize signs of child abuse and that all providers are trained in first-aid and CPR (NACCRRA, 2009)

RealityRelatively low levels of education make pre-service and orientation training very important Unfortunately, most states have minimal requirements for topics that should be covered in pre-service or orientation training Children in child care centers with untrained staff are at a higher risk of illness or accidents (Fiene, 2002) While health and safety are recognized as important areas for training in most states, one-fifth of states do not require staff to be trained on fire safety and other health and safety skills

Forty-seven states require at least one staff ■■

person be on-site who has CPR certification

Forty-six states require at least one ■■

staff person be on-site who has training in first-aid

Forty-four states require health and ■■

safety training

Forty-two states require fire safety ■■

training

Thirty-six states require all five topics for ■■

orientation/pre-service training This is a significant improvement from six states in 2007

Idaho and New York do not require any ■■

of the specified topics

Table 6 14 has information about the number and percent of states that require that a specific topic be included in pre-service and orientation training

Table 6.14

Pre-service/Orientation Training

Topics Required in Pre-service/

Orientation Training


Topic


Topic

Training in CPR for at least one staff person who is on-site

47 90%

First-aid training for at least one staff person who is on-site

46 88%

Orientation training 46 88%

Other health and safety training

44 85%

Fire safety training 42 81%

Does not meet any 2 4%

6. NACCRRA Benchmark: Lead ■X

teachers have at least 24 hours of annual training.

Professional development enhances teachers’ skills, which results in better teacher-child interactions and improved child outcomes (Bowman et al , 2000) This is especially important because the current low educational requirements for lead teachers means that teachers must be trained while in their positions Ongoing training should be tied to specific job responsibilities and to an individualized professional development


plan that is cumulative and assessed annually With specialized training and professional development related to child development or a related area, child care providers offer more sensitive caregiving and richer learning (Clarke-Stewart et al , 2002) Whitebook et al (1989) found that teachers receiving more than 15 hours of training used more appropriate practices, were more positive and were more engaged with children in their teaching practices

RealityThe number of required annual training hours for caregivers in most states is very low and insufficient to significantly ensure they have the knowledge and skills needed to care for young children

Twenty-five states require fewer than ■■

15 hours of annual training

States, on average, require only 14 hours ■■

of annual training

Maine requires 30 hours of annual ■■

training

DoD, New Mexico and Wisconsin also ■■

meet the benchmark of 24 or more hours of annual training

Table 6 15 has information about the number of training hours that are required for caregivers each year in individual states

Table 6.15

Annual Training Hours Required

Number of Training Hours Required Annually

Number of States

Percent of States

0-5 3 6%

6-10 11 21%

11-15 23 44%

16-20 10 19%

21-23 0 0%

24+ 5 10%

Total 52 100%

7. NACCRRA Benchmark: Center staff ■X

are required to undergo background checks, including state and federal checks of criminal history records using a fingerprint, child abuse registries and sex offender registries.

A primary way to protect children and reassure parents is to make sure that people who have a history of violence or have hurt children in the past are not allowed to care for children or be in centers or family child care homes where children are receiving care

NACCRRA’s benchmark includes a full background check, including state and federal checks of criminal history records using a fingerprint, and child abuse registry and sex offender registry checks All but two states require some type of background check, but many do not require fingerprint checks Fingerprint checks make a background check more complete

Some states have observed that the cost of background checks and the time they take to be completed is prohibitive But, exposing children to convicted felons with a violent history is not worth the risk NACCRRA’s position is that background checks are of limited value unless they are based on fingerprints Given the transitory nature of the child care field, it is important that state and federal fingerprint checks be conducted

When choosing child care, safety is the first concern for parents In fact, in NACCRRA’s most recent national survey (2009), 84 percent of parents think that all child care providers have had a background check

RealityThere has been progress in the area of background checks since the last report; however, many states do not use fingerprints to conduct criminal history checks, so the checks are of limited value

Fifty states require a criminal history ■■

check of some type


Half the states (26) require a federal ■■

fingerprint check

Only 16 states specifically check the sex ■■

offender registry for potential employees

Table 6 16 has information about the elements of a comprehensive criminal records check that individual states require

Table 6.16

Background Check Items Required by States

Items included in Background Checks

Number of States

Percent of States

Name-based criminal history check

50 96%

Child abuse and neglect registry check

45 87%

Sex offender registry check

16 31%

State criminal history check using fingerprints

31 60%

Federal check using fingerprints

26 50%

8. NACCRRA Benchmark: Centers ■X

are required to offer activities to address all six areas of development: social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural.

The National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) described six fundamental learning areas/domains: physical well-being and motor development, social/emotional development, approaches toward learning, language development and cognition and general knowledge (Bowman et al , 2000) This seminal report noted that children’s growth is integrated across all developmental areas Curriculum planning should include all areas of development and should address the cultural needs of children in the classroom Ninety-six percent of parents believe all child care providers offer learning opportunities to children (NACCRRA, 2009)

RealityLicensing regulations related to program activities in most states are insufficient to adequately prepare children to enter kindergarten “ready to learn.”

Only 19 states require that all six ■■

developmental domains be addressed in program activities This is an improvement from 13 states in 2007

Fourteen states require that three ■■

or fewer domains be addressed in program activities

Alabama, California, Idaho and ■■

Wyoming do not require that any developmental domains be addressed in classroom activities In 2007, 10 states had no requirements at all with regard to activities in the developmental domains for children

Table 6 17 has information about the number of developmental domains that licensing regulations require centers to address in individual states

Table 6.17

Number of Domains That States Require Child Care Centers to Address

Number of Domains Addressed

Number of States

Percent of States

0 4 8%

1 2 4%

2 6 12%

3 2 4%

4 4 8%

5 15 29%

6 19 37%

Total 52 100%


Some domains were more likely to be addressed in licensing regulations than others

Forty-eight states require that child care ■■

centers have physical activities as part of their daily experience

Only 43 states require language/literacy ■■

activities

Thirty-nine states require activities that ■■

promote social development

Thirty-six states require activities that ■■

address emotional development

Thirty-seven states require cognitive/■■

intellectual activities

Twenty-two states require that activities ■■

address the cultural domain

Table 6 18 has information about which of the six developmental domains child care programs are required to address in individual states

Table 6.18

Domains That States Require Child Care Centers to Address

Domains AddressedNumber

of States Percent

of States

Physical 48 92%

Language/Literacy 43 83%

Social 39 75%

Cognitive/Intellectual 37 71%

Emotional 36 69%

Cultural 22 42%

No domains are required

4 8%


regulations address 10 basic health and safety standards and explicitly prohibit corporal punishment.

The following 10 health and safety practices have been shown to be essential for keeping children healthy and safe in child care settings

Immunizations1 are an effective means for preventing the spread of infectious diseases among young children

Regulations about behavior guidance 2 and discipline protect children Harsh discipline, especially corporal punishment, is a form of child abuse that should be expressly forbidden in each state

Handwashing3 is the single most effective way to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, especially diarrheal diseases Proper diapering techniques have been shown to reduce the spread of disease in child care settings

Fire drills4 prepare child care programs to quickly evacuate children in the event of a fire in order to prevent injury and death

Medication must be administered5 precisely according to a medical authority’s instructions Medicines must be inaccessible to children

Incidents of illness and accidents must be 6 reported to parents. The health department should be notified about communicable diseases in child care programs

Placing infants on their backs7 to sleep reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Hazardous materials8 should be kept out of children’s reach Child care settings should be kept free of cleaning products and other hazardous materials or products that can cause illness, injury or death to children

Playground surfaces under outdoor 9 surfaces should be surrounded by a resilient material of a sufficient depth to minimize injuries Falls are the principal cause of playground injuries

Emergency preparedness10 plans should be developed to shelter in place or to evacuate children as needed depending on the nature of the disaster


RealityThere has been an increase in the number of states requiring regulations related to health and safety since the last report, but there is still room for improvement

Idaho, Louisiana and South Carolina ■■

continue to allow (or do not specifically prohibit) corporal punishment

Immunization of children attending child ■■

care centers is required in every state

All states address handwashing in ■■

their regulations and all states specify procedures for diaper changing

Fifty-one states have regulations about ■■

which behavior guidance and discipline measures can be used; however, in some states the requirements need to be improved Idaho does not have regulations about guidance and discipline

Fifty-one states have regulations about ■■

administration of medication Idaho does not have regulations about medication administration

Forty-nine states have regulations about ■■

fire drills Alabama, Georgia and Idaho do not have regulations about fire drills

Forty-nine states have regulations ■■

about keeping hazardous materials out of the reach of children Iowa, Nevada, and South Dakota do not have such regulations

Forty-eight states have regulations about ■■

reporting incidents, illness and accidents to parents Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska and South Dakota do not require incident reports

Forty-eight states require emergency ■■

preparedness plans Idaho, Louisiana, North Carolina and Rhode Island do not require emergency preparedness plans

Forty-four states require resilient material ■■

under and around outdoor playground equipment Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington do not have regulations about resilient materials under and around climbing equipment on playgrounds

Forty-one states have regulations about ■■

placing infants on their backs to sleep in order to reduce the incidence of SIDS. Arizona, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada and North Dakota do not have regulations about SIDS.

Table 6 19 has information about the number and percent of states that require specific health and safety practices

Table 6.19

Health and Safety Practices Required by States

Health and Safety Requirement

Number of States

Percent of States

Immunization 52 100%

Handwashing 52 100%

Diapering 52 100%

Guidance/Discipline* 51 98%

Medicine administration 51 98%

Fire drills 49 94%

Hazardous material 49 94%

Incident reporting 48 92%

Emergency preparedness 48 92%

Surfaces under outdoor playground equipment

44 85%

Placing infant on back 41 79%

*Note: States that explicitly or implicitly allow corporal punishment scored 0 on this item.


States may require only some of the health and safety practices

Thirty-one states require child care ■■

programs to address all 10 of the health and safety elements This is up from only nine states that addressed all these requirements in 2007

Another 19 states require programs to ■■

address eight or nine of the elements

South Dakota requires only seven ■■

elements

Idaho requires only three elements ■■

Table 6 20 has information about the number of health and safety items that are addressed in licensing requirements by individual states

Table 6.20

Number of Health and Safety Practices Required by States

Number of Health and Safety Practices



3 1 2%

7 1 2%

8 6 12%

9 13 25%

10 31 60%

Total 52 100%

10. NACCRRA Benchmark: Programs ■X

encourage parent involvement, require daily or ongoing communication with parents, and allow parental visits at any time their child is present.

Parents are, in reality, a child care center’s chief customers Communication between parents and caregiving staff helps ensure continuity in the care of the child Having parents involved in their child’s program pays dividends during the early years and establishes a pattern for later involvement in school activities Ensuring parents can visit the program anytime their child is present is an important child abuse prevention measure

RealityThe majority of states require centers to allow parents to have access to the program when their child is present However, they are less likely to require that centers have a mechanism for regularly communicating with parents or for holding parent conferences or encouraging parent involvement Fifty states require centers to allow parents to enter the program when their child is present

Thirty-nine states require more than ■■

written communication with parents

Only 24 states require centers to ■■

encourage parents to be involved in the child care center

Two states (Louisiana and New Mexico) ■■

do not require parents to have access to a child care center while their child is in the center

Table 6 21 has information about the number and percent of states that have regulations regarding parent involvement, parent communication or parental visits

Table 6.21

State Requirements for Parent Involvement, Communication

with Parents and/or Parental Access

Required Parent StrategiesNumber

of States Percent

of States

Allow access to parents 50 96%

Communicate with parents

39 75%

Encourage parent involvement

24 46%

Fewer than half of the states require child care centers to use all three parent strategies

Louisiana does not require any parent-■■

related strategies


Eleven states (Alaska, Arkansas, ■■

California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina and South Dakota) require only one parent-related strategy

Twenty-two states require all three parent-related strategies

Table 6 22 has information about how many of the three parent items are required by individual states

Table 6.22

Number of Required Parent Strategies (Parent Involvement, Communication with

Parents and/or Parental Access)

Number of Parent Items Required

Number of States

Percent of States

0 1 2%

1 11 21%

2 18 35%

3 22 42%

Total 52 100%


There has been some improvement in state child care center regulations since the 2007 report Many states have heard and are responding to the information we provided in our first report Almost four-fifths of the states (40 states) have changed licensing requirements since the data were gathered for that report DoD continues to be the model for a coherent system for child care

However, there is room for improvement in every state and DoD

We still cannot say with confidence that America’s children are being protected by the state child care center licensing regulations and oversight systems as they exist now Nor can we say that regulations are in place in licensed child care programs to help young children learn and be ready for school

States scoring in NACCRRA’s top 10 combined list (oversight and regulation) have relatively stronger policies compared to other states; however, that cannot be interpreted to mean that they scored high on NACCRRA’s criteria They scored highest among the states, but they still need to work harder to ensure children are safe and learning in child care While the average score has risen from 70 to 83 out of a possible 150 points, the overall picture is still alarming

An overall score of 83 converts to 55 percent or the equivalent of an F As shown in the following report card (table 7 1), no state earned an A One state (DoD) earned a B, and one state (District of Columbia) earned a C Two-thirds of the states (33 states) earned a failing grade, and 16 states (30 percent) only earned a D

Table 7.1

Report Card

Percent of Points Earned on Oversight

and Regulations Grade

Number of States

91 to 100 percent A 0

81 to 90 percent B 1

71 to 80 percent C 1

61 to 70 percent D 16

10 to 60 percent F 33

Oversight

Children are routinely being cared for in ■■

child care settings that are not required to meet minimum licensing regulations

In most states, child care centers are ■■

not inspected frequently States cannot confidently say to parents that licensing regulations are being enforced and that children are in safe and healthy environments

Caseloads for licensing staff have gone ■■

down in some states since the last report However, there are vast discrepancies In many states, the caseload is too large to allow licensing staff to conduct frequent and effective inspections

While an Associate’s or Bachelor’s ■■

degree is required for licensing staff in 43 states, only 16 states require a concentration in early childhood education or a related field

Summary and Recommendations


More states are now providing information ■■

to parents about inspection and complaint reports on the Internet, but most states still do not provide this vital information Parents cannot make informed choices without this information

Regulations

Eight of the top 10 states for regulations (Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin) scored in the 70s out of a possible 100 It is doubtful that any school, child or parent would think a test grade in the 70s is exemplary

Children in almost all states are allowed ■■

to be in a child care center where the director is not required to have adequate training or education for the position

Education requirements for center-based ■■

lead teachers who are responsible for classroom curriculum decisions are woefully inadequate Fewer than one-sixth of the states meet the NACCRRA benchmark of a CDA credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education

Children in child care centers with ■■

untrained staff are at a higher risk of illness or accidents While health and safety are recognized as important areas for training in most states, one-fifth of states do not require staff to be trained on fire safety and other health and safety skills Relatively low levels of educational qualifications make pre-service and orientation training very important Unfortunately, most states have minimal requirements for pre-service or orientation training

The number of required annual training ■■

hours for teachers in most states is very low and insufficient to significantly increase knowledge and skills needed to work with young children

There has been progress in the area of ■■

background checks since the last report; however, many states do not require the use of fingerprints for conducting criminal history checks, so the checks are of limited value

Licensing regulations related to program ■■

activities in most states are insufficient to adequately prepare children to enter kindergarten “ready to learn ”

There is considerable variance among ■■

the states in staff-child ratios required in centers Children in the older age groups are more likely to be in classes that have too many children for each teacher

There is considerable difference among ■■

the states on group size regulations Almost half of the states do not even regulate group size States that do regulate group size are most likely to meet the NAEYC group size requirements for infants and young toddlers

There has been progress in regulations ■■

related to the recommended 10 health and safety elements since the last report, but there is still room for improvement

The majority of states require centers ■■

to allow parents to have access to the program while their child is present But, states are less likely to require that centers have a mechanism for regularly communicating with parents or for encouraging parent involvement


Conclusion

Basic regulations and the ability of states to enforce them are the foundation on which we as a nation can better protect and improve the lives of our children The standards selected by NACCRRA represent the most basic, minimal regulations possible, yet the average score is 83 or 55 percent, a failing grade in any school in the country

According to the most recent estimates from the U S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), over $12 billion in government funds are spent on child care each year Most of this funding is through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the primary federal funding stream to states for child care In addition, states transfer funds to CCDBG from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program or spend directly on child care from TANF Congress has given the states wide latitude to establish regulations and to hold programs accountable, especially those programs receiving federal subsidies to serve children in families with low incomes

Given the large public investment in child care and the states’ failure to protect the safety and well-being of children, Congress must be more aggressive in holding states accountable Congress must ensure that children are safe and that child care providers promote healthy child development This means that Congress has a role in strengthening the regulations for child care centers—especially those subsidized through the CCDBG There should be accountability for how federal money is spent It is questionable whether states are currently meeting the minimum requirements in the current law, but even these requirements do not protect children

We support state flexibility, but there needs to be a floor to ensure that children are protected The current practice of no or limited requirements endangers children, and states have not shown in the 18 years of CCDBG funding that they can put into place the requirements that parents expect and assume We urge Congress to require higher minimum regulations for child care centers receiving federal dollars NACCRRA recommends that Congress set minimum protections for children and strengthen the CCDBG law to:


Require background checks, based on 1 fingerprints, for all child care center employees

Require states to establish minimum health 2 and safety regulations and enforce them through quarterly unannounced inspections of all licensed child care programs (the same standard Congress requires of the military child care system)

Require states to post inspection findings 3 on the Internet for easy parent access so parents can make informed choices when choosing child care

Require all child care workers to have 4 at least 40 hours of pre-service training (including CPR, first-aid and other basic safety and health training in addition to child development) Require all child care workers to complete 24 hours of ongoing annual training

Authorize HHS to withhold funding 5 from states that do not require minimum protections for children and that do not conduct regular unannounced inspections of child care settings

Recommendations to states:

States have made progress in regulating child care centers in some areas since NACCRRA issued the last report in 2007, but much more is needed NACCRRA recommends all child care centers and family child care homes caring for one or more unrelated children on a regular basis for a fee be licensed and inspected Staff should have background checks and receive training The following changes to regulations and oversight will make child care centers safer, healthier and more educationally appropriate for young children In addition to the above, states should:

Ensure adequate oversight by reducing 1 licensing caseloads to a ratio of no more that 50:1 to improve accountability for meeting state regulations Require licensing staff to have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education or a related field

Require child care center directors to have 2 a Bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood education in order to promote program quality

Require lead teachers in each classroom 3 to have a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or an Associate’s degree in early childhood education or a related field or to be enrolled in a program to receive such a credential

Require all child care center staff to 4 complete a minimum of 40 hours of pre-service training in child development and guidance and other basic health and safety practices prior to working alone with children Require all child care center staff to complete at least 24 hours of on-going annual training that will lead to a CDA credential

Require state child care center licensing 5 regulations to include 10 basic health and safety standards

Require states to post inspection results 6 and complaints online

President Obama has called for a “new era of responsibility ” Child care should be part of that era Federal funds should be spent in an accountable manner States should take responsibility for ensuring that children are protected and in a setting promoting healthy development when they are not in the care of their parents We can do better.

Appendix AChild Care Center Regulations and Oversight in Individual States

AL

46

♦Out of 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Department of Defense.* National Association for the Education of Young Children; *** Early Childhood Education; ** Child Development Associate credential; **** Six developmental domains are social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural; ***** Ten areas are immunizations, guidance/discipline regulations, diapering and handwashing, fire drills, medication administration, incident reporting, placing infants on backs to sleep, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and emergency preparedness.

Source: Survey of state child care administrators conducted by the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies in Fall 2008. Note: Information was also verified against state regulations.

Source for price information: National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies. “Parents and the High Price of Child Care: 2008 Update.”

Key Does not meet N/A = Not Available FCC = Family Child CareMarginally MeetsSubstantially MeetsFully Meets Partially Meets

Child Care Center Regulations

Standards for RankingMeets

RecommendationStandards for Ranking

Meets Recommendation

Staff: child ratios in compliance 1. with NAEYC* standards.

Require all teachers to have 24 hours or 6. more of ongoing training per year.

Group size in compliance with 2. NAEYC standards.

Require checks of criminal history, child 7. abuse registry, state fingerprint, federal fingerprint, and sex offender registry.

Center directors required to have a 3. Bachelor’s degree or higher in ECE*** or related field.

Require programs to address six 8. developmental domains.****

Teachers required to have a CDA4. ** credential or an Associate’s degree in ECE*** or related field.

Require 10 basic standards of health 9. and safety.*****

Center staff required to have orientation 5. training, and training in first aid, CPR, fire safety, and other health and safety issues.

Require parent involvement, 10. communication and allow parental visits.

Child Care Center Oversight


Recommendation

All centers and family child care homes 1. are licensed.

Monitoring visits of centers are conducted 2. 4 times a year.

Programs to licensing staff ratio does not 3. exceed 50:1.

Licensing staff have a Bachelor’s degree in 4. a related field.

Online inspection and complaint reports are 5. available to parents.

Child Care Center Prices in 2007Average annual fees paid for an infant in a center

$5,356

Average annual fees paid for a 4-year-old in a center

$4,888

Overall Score: 70/150 (47%)Rank♦: 42

Score Percent Rank

Oversight 29/50 58% 18

Standard 41/100 41% 45

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Alabama

47

Recommendations

Increase educational requirements for directors beyond ■■high school degree and 120 clock hours in early childhood education.

Increase frequency of inspections of child care programs to ■■more often than once every two years.

Require centers to address children’s language, social, ■■emotional and cognitive development in daily activities.

Clarify the requirement for at least monthly fire drills. ■■

Require centers to provide parents opportunities to be ■■involved in their child’s child care program.

Make inspection and complaint reports available online for ■■parent review.

Weakness

Child care centers are inspected only once every two years.■✗

Reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ■✗programs and reports of those conducted because of complaints are not available online.

Center directors are not required to have any college credits/■✗courses.

Lead teachers in centers are only required to have a high ■✗school diploma or GED before working with children.

Center staff are required to complete only 12 hours of annual ■✗training.

Programs are not required to address any of the six ■✗developmental domains. These domains include social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural.

Does not meet NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for ■✗any of the seven age groups.

Strength Child care centers and family child care homes caring for ■✔even one unrelated child for pay are required to be licensed.

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ■✔degree in early childhood education or a related field.

Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety and ■✔other health and safety training.

Centers are required to have at least one first-aid and CPR ■✔certified staff on the premises.

Requires all center staff to undergo a background check that ■✔includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries. Sex offender registries are not explicitly included in the checks.

Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ■✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back). Fire drill is not addressed.

Has requirements regarding parent communication and ■✔allows parental visits, but does not specifically address parental involvement.

State of Small Family Child Care Homes in Alabama

48





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Alaska















AK



Recommendation







$8,532


$7,092


Score Percent Rank


Standard 58/100 58% 27

49

Strength

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ■✔degree, and they have an average caseload of 33 programs.



Requires all center staff to undergo a comprehensive ■✔background check that includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries.

Requires program activities to address all six developmental ■✔domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural).

Health and safety standards address all 10 basic standards ■✔(immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back).

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to four unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.



Requires center directors to only complete some college ■✗credits/courses.

Lead teachers in centers are not even required to have a high ■✗school diploma or GED before working with children.

Only has requirements regarding allowing parents to visit the ■✗center, but no requirements for communicating with parents or regarding involving them.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for only ■✗two of seven age groups (27 months and 4 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 6, 9 and 18-month and 3 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of inspections of child care programs ■■to more often than once every two years.

Increase the educational requirements for lead teachers to ■■more than demonstrated competency.

Require centers to provide opportunities for parents to ■■be involved in their child’s child care program and to communicate with them frequently about the care of their child, especially their infants and toddlers.

Make inspection and complaint reports available online for ■■parent review.

State of Small Family Child Care Homes in Alaska

50



















AZ

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Arizona



Recommendation







$7,974


$6,390


Score Percent Rank


Standard 52/100 52% 34

51

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in ArizonaWeakness

Family child care providers can care for up to five unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.

Child care centers are inspected only once a year.■✗

Center directors are not required to have a college degree.■✗



Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗which include state and federal checks of criminal history records using fingerprints. The check does not explicitly include child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries.


Recommendations

Establish a specific number of hours for pre-service training.■■

Require providers to put babies to sleep on their backs unless ■■directed otherwise by a medical authority.

Make inspection and complaint reports available online for ■■parents’ review.

Strength


Both reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ■✔programs and those conducted because of complaints are available online.




Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ■✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and emergency preparedness). Placing infants on back is not addressed.

Has requirements regarding parent involvement, ■✔communication, and allows parental visits.

52





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in ArkansasChild Care Center Prices in 2007

Average annual fees paid for an infant in a center

$5,231


$4,475


Score Percent Rank


Standard 29/100 29% 49

AR



Recommendation




















53

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in ArkansasStrength

All child care centers are inspected at least three times ■✔a year.

Child care licensing staff are required to have a ■✔Bachelor’s degree.



Centers are required to have at least one CPR certified staff ■✔on the premises. First-aid certified staff is not required.

Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ■✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and emergency preparedness). Placing infants on back is not addressed.

Weakness Family child care providers can care for up to five unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.

Center directors are not required to have any college ■✗credits/courses.

Lead teachers in centers are not required to have a ■✗high school diploma or GED before working with children.

Center staff are required to complete only 10 hours of ■✗annual training.

Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗(which include checks of criminal history records), but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are also required, but the check does not explicitly include sex offender registries.

Programs are required to address only two of six ■✗developmental domains (physical and emotional). Programs are not required to address social, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural domains.

Has requirements regarding parental visits to the center, ■✗but no requirements for communicating with parents or involving them.

Does not meet NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements ■✗for any of the seven age groups.

Recommendations

Increase the educational requirements for center directors to ■■more than a high school diploma and experience.

Require one or more staff in the center to be trained in use of ■■first-aid procedures.

Require centers to offer language, social and cognitive ■■development activities as part of their daily program.

Require providers to put babies to sleep on their backs unless ■■directed otherwise by a medical authority.

Check the state sex offender registry as part of the ■■background check on center staff.

54





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in California

CA


Score Percent Rank


Standard 46/100 46% 40


$10,745


$7,477



Recommendation




















55

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in CaliforniaStrength


Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety, ■✔and other health and safety training.

Centers are required to have at least one first-aid and ■✔CPR certified staff on the premises.



Weakness

Family child care providers can care for the children from ■✗one other family for pay and their own young children without being licensed.

Child care centers are inspected only once every five years ■✗– the state requires that 30 percent of centers be inspected annually.

Child care licensing inspectors have an average caseload ■✗of 169 programs.



Lead teachers in centers are are not required to have a ■✗CDA credential or an Associate’s degree.

Center staff are not required to complete any annual training.■✗



Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of seven ■✗age groups (6, 9 and 18 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only three of ■✗seven age groups (3, 4 and 5-year-olds). Does not meet group size requirements for 6, 9, 18 and 27-month-olds.

Recommendations

Inspect child care centers more often than once every ■■5 years.

Require annual training (preferably 24 hours) of center ■■staff each year instead of none.

Require centers to offer language, social, emotional ■■and cognitive development activities as part of their daily program.

Require providers to put babies to sleep on their backs ■■(to prevent SIDS) unless directed otherwise by a medical authority.

Require centers to involve parents in their child’s program ■■and to communicate with them about the care of their child or children.

56





















Recommendation






CO


Score Percent Rank


Standard 45/100 45% 42


$10,854


$9,765

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Colorado

57

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to one unrelated ■✗child for pay without a license.

Child care centers are inspected, on average, only once every ■✗two years.



Lead teachers in centers are not required to have a high ■✗school diploma or GED before working with children.


Center staff are required to undergo only state-level ■✗background checks, which include checks of criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries. The background check is not national in scope for all center staff.



Recommendations

Ensure all centers are inspected more frequently than once ■■every two years.

Strengthen the requirements for centers to provide children ■■with a daily program of language, social, emotional and cognitive development activities.

Require centers to offer parents the opportunity to be ■■involved in their child’s program.

Clarify the requirement to check the state sex offender ■■registry as part of the background check procedures.

Strength



Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety, ■✔and other health and safety training.


Requires program activities to address five of six ■✔developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual and emotional). Cultural, however, is not required to be addressed.


State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Colorado

58





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in ConnecticutChild Care Center Prices in 2007


$11,274


$9,111


Score Percent Rank


Standard 68/100 68% 12

CT



Recommendation




















59

Recommendations

Establish education requirements for the directors of centers.■■

Increase education requirements for lead teachers in centers.■■

Establish pre-service training requirements for teachers.■■

StrengthAll child care programs are required to be licensed.■✔





Has requirements regarding parent involvement, and allows ■✔parental visits, but does specifically address communicating with parents.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for six ■✔of seven age groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months, and 4 and 5 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 3-year-olds.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in ConnecticutWeakness


Child care licensing staff are not required to have an ■✗Associate’s degree, and have an average caseload of 235 programs.



Lead teachers in centers are not required to have a ■✗CDA credential or an Associate’s degree.

Center staff are not required to have fire safety and other ■✗health and safety training. They are required to complete orientation training.

60





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in DelawareChild Care Center Prices in 2007


$8,476


$6,656


Score Percent Rank


Standard 71/100 71% 8

DE



Recommendation




















61

RecommendationsIncrease the frequency of licensing inspections.■■

Conduct unannounced routine inspections. ■■

Establish a requirement for a specific number of orientation ■■training hours.

Check the state sex offender registry as part of the ■■background check on center staff.

Make inspection and complaint reports available online for ■■review by parents.

Reduce the caseload for licensing inspectors. ■■

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in DelawareStrength

All child care programs are required to be licensed.■✔


Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety ■✔and other health and safety training.




Health and safety standards address all 10 basic standards ■✔(immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infants on back).

Has requirements regarding parent involvement and ■✔communication, and allows parental visits.

Weakness




Requires center directors to only have an Associate’s degree.■✗

Lead teachers in centers are only required to have a high ■✗school diploma or GED, 120 hours of training and experience before working with children.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for only ■✗two of seven age groups (6 and 9 months). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

62




















N/A


N/A


Score Percent Rank


Standard 86/100 86% 1Child Care Center Oversight


Recommendation






State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in the Dept. of Defense

63

Recommendations

Make complaint reports available online. ■■

Reduce the staff-child ratios for some age groups. ■■

Weakness

Reports of inspections conducted at child care programs ■✗because of complaints are not available online.


Strength


All child care centers are inspected at least four times a year.■✔

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ■✔degree in early childhood education or a related field, and they have an average caseload of 50 programs.

Reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ■✔programs are available online.

Requires center directors to have at least a Bachelor’s degree ■✔or higher in ECE or related field.

Requires lead teachers in centers to have a CDA credential or ■✔Associate’s degree.

Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety, and ■✔other health and safety training.

All center staff are required to have first-aid and CPR ■✔training.

Center staff are required to complete at least 24 hours of ■✔annual training and work toward a CDA credential.

Requires all center staff to undergo a comprehensive ■✔background check that includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries and the National Sex Offender Registry.


Health and safety standards address all 10 basic standards ■✔(immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back). Diapering is not addressed.


State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in the Dept. of Defense

64



















DC



Recommendation







Score Percent Rank


Standard 79/100 79% 3


$10,400


$7,800

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in District of Columbia

65

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in District of Columbia

Weakness

Only one inspection per year of child care centers is required.■✗


Lead teachers in centers are not even required to have a high ■✗school diploma or GED before working with children.

Strength



Requires center directors to have at least a Director ■✔credential - the credential is created by the state. Directors are also required to have at least 5 years experience.

Center staff are required to have orientation and other health ■✔and safety training. Training in fire safety is not required.



Requires program activities to address four of six ■✔developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy and cultural). Cognitive/intellectual and emotional domains are not required to be addressed.



Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for all seven ■✔age groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months, and 3, 4 and 5 years).

Recommendations

Make the requirement for at least annual licensing ■■inspections a written policy instead of an accepted practice.

Establish a requirement for a specific number of orientation ■■training hours.

Include training on fire safety as part of a required orientation ■■program.

Strengthen the requirement for activities to be offered in all ■■of the developmental domains.

Make inspection and complaint reports available online for ■■parents to review.

66





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Florida

FL


Score Percent Rank


Standard 55/100 55% 30


$7,336


$5,871



Recommendation




















67

Recommendations

Increase the annual training requirements of teachers from 10 ■■to 24 hours.

Require checks of the state child abuse registry for teachers ■■and others interacting directly with children.

Encourage centers to involve parents in the program’s ■■activities.

Expand the requirement for teachers to communicate with ■■parents on a daily basis, especially the parents of infants and toddlers.

Establish group size requirements for each age group. ■■

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in FloridaStrength

All child care centers are inspected at least four times ■✔a year.

Child care licensing staff are required to have ■✔a Bachelor’s degree.


Requires center directors to have at least a Director ■✔credential - the credential is created by the state.

Requires lead teachers in centers to have a state ■✔approved credential.



Requires program activities to address five of six ■✔developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual and emotional). Cultural is, however, not required to be addressed.

Health and safety standards address all 10 basic ■✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back).

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to two unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.


Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗which include state and federal checks of criminal history records using fingerprints. The check does not explicitly include child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries.

Has requirements regarding parental visits to the center, but ■✗no requirements for communicating with parents or involving them.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only two of seven age ■✗groups (6 and 9 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Does not meet NAEYC’s group size requirements for any of ■✗the seven age groups.

68





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in GeorgiaChild Care Center Prices in 2007


$6,845


$5,674


Score Percent Rank


Standard 29/100 29% 49

GA



Recommendation




















69

Recommendations

Establish a requirement for at least annual licensing ■■inspections; current language is permissive.

Increase the educational requirements for directors of ■■programs beyond the current level of a high school diploma or GED.

Establish educational requirements for lead/master teachers.■■

Increase the number of orientation training hours required for ■■staff.

Increase the number of annual training hours required for ■■staff.

Require programs to offer activities for children which ■■address all of the domains of development.


Require the use of fingerprints for checking individuals’ ■■criminal history.

Check the child abuse registry and sex offender registry of ■■staff prior to hiring.

Require programs to offer parents the opportunity to ■■participate in their child’s program.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in GeorgiaStrength



Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety, and ■✔other health and safety training.


Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ■✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back). Fire drills are not addressed.

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to three unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.

Child care programs are not required to be inspected.■✗

Child care licensing inspectors have an average caseload of ■✗146 programs.




Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗(which include checks of only criminal history records), but these checks do not use a fingerprint, and do not include checks of child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries.

Programs are required to address only two of six ■✗developmental domains (physical and language/literacy). Programs are not required to address social, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural domains.



70





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in HawaiiOverall Score: 89/150 (59%)

Rank♦: 21Score Percent Rank


Standard 62/100 62% 20

HI


$10,411


$6,480



Recommendation




















71

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of routine inspections to more often ■■than once a year.

Establish the requirement for a specific number of hours of ■■orientation training for new staff members.

Establish group size limits for preschool age classrooms.■■


Require centers to ensure hazardous materials are not ■■accessible to children.

Require centers to report serious incidents to parents and ■■state licensing officials.

Check employee names against the state sex offender ■■registry.


State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in HawaiiStrength

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ■✔degree, and they have an average caseload of 44 programs.

Requires lead teachers in centers to have an Associate’s ■✔degree in ECE or related field or a CDA credential.

Center staff are required to have orientation and other health ■✔and safety training. Fire safety training is not required.


Requires all center staff to undergo a background check that ■✔includes a check of state and federal criminal history records and child abuse and neglect registries using a fingerprint. Sex offender registries are not explicitly included in the checks.



Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to two unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.



Requires center directors to only have a CDA credential.■✗

Center staff are not required to complete any annual training.■✗

Health and safety standards address only eight of 10 basic ■✗standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and emergency preparedness). Incident reporting and placing infants on back are not addressed.


72





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in IdahoChild Care Center Prices in 2007


$5,736


$5,004


Score Percent Rank


Standard 13/100 13% 52

ID



Recommendation




















73

Recommendations

Require at least annual licensing inspections. ■■

Require some unannounced routine inspections of centers.■■

Establish education requirements for center directors.■■

Establish education requirements for head/master teachers.■■

Require orientation training of all new child care ■■center employees.

Establish maximum group sizes for all age groups.■■

Require centers to offer activities that address all ■■developmental domains.

Establish center requirements related to guidance practices, ■■fire drills, administration of medications, placing babies on their back to sleep (to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), emergency plans, surfaces under playground equipment, and reporting serious incidents to parents.

Strength


State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in IdahoWeakness

The state only licenses child care centers with 13 ■✗or more children.

Child care centers are inspected only once every two years ■✗by fire, and health and safety inspectors.

Does not have any state-level licensing staff.■✗



Lead teachers in centers are not required to have a ■✗high school diploma or GED before working with children.

Center staff are not required to have orientation, ■✗fire safety or other health and safety training.

Centers are not required to have a first-aid or CPR certified ■✗staff on the premises.

Center staff are required to complete only 4 hours ■✗of annual training.


Health and safety standards address only three of 10 basic ■✗standards (immunizations, diapering/handwashing and hazardous materials). Guidance/discipline, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infants on back are not addressed. Implicitly allows corporal punishment.


Does not meet NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements ■✗for any of the seven age groups.

74





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in IllinoisChild Care Center Prices in 2007


$10,550


$7,802


Score Percent Rank


Standard 73/100 73% 6

IL



Recommendation




















75

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Illinois

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of licensing inspections of centers ■■to more than once per year.

Establish a specific number of required orientation training ■■hours and expand the requirement beyond the estimated 8 hours currently required.

Increase the annual training requirements for teachers from ■■15 to 24 hours.

Strength Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ■✔degree in early childhood education or a related field.

Requires lead teachers in centers to have a state approved ■✔credential.







Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to three unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.

Child care centers are inspected only once per year.■✗




Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of ■✗seven age groups (6 and 9 months, and 4 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3 and 5-year-olds.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only two of ■✗seven age groups (4 and 5 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 6, 9, 18 and 27-month, and 3-year-olds.

76





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in IndianaChild Care Center Prices in 2007


$9,005


$7,001


Score Percent Rank


Standard 64/100 64% 18

IN



Recommendation




















77

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in IndianaStrength









Child care licensing staff are not required to have a Bachelor’s ■✗degree, and have an average caseload of 65 programs.

Requires center directors to have only an Associate’s degree ■✗in ECE.

Lead teachers in centers are not required to have a CDA ■✗credential or an Associate’s degree.


Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗(which include checks of criminal history records), but this check does not include using a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries are also required.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for only ■✗three of seven age groups (6, 9 and 27 months). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 18-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of licensing inspections of centers ■■to more than once per year.

Increase the educational requirements for head or master ■■teachers.

Establish a specific number of required orientation ■■training hours.

Increase the number of required annual training hours ■■of staff from 12 to 24 hours.

Require the use of fingerprints for criminal history ■■background checks.

Require programs to offer parents the opportunity to ■■be involved in program activities.

Require licensing staff to have at least a Bachelor’s degree ■■in a related field.

78





















Recommendation






IA


Score Percent Rank


Standard 51/100 51% 37


$7,360


$5,939

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Iowa

79

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in IowaStrength


Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety ■✔and other health and safety training.

Centers are required to have at least one first-aid and ■✔CPR certified staff on the premises.



Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for five of seven age ■✔groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months, and 3 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 4 and 5-year-olds.

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to five unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.






Center staff are required to complete only six hours of ■✗annual training.

Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗(which include checks of criminal history records), but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries are also included.

Health and safety standards address only eight of 10 basic ■✗standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back). Hazardous materials and playground surfaces under outdoor equipment are not addressed.

Does not meet NAEYC’s group size requirements for any ■✗of the seven age groups.

Recommendations Increase the frequency of licensing inspections of centers to ■■more than once per year.

Require center directors to have more than 12 clock hours of ■■training in early childhood education.

Establish pre-service educational requirements for head or ■■master teachers.

Increase the number of required orientation training hours for ■■new staff members to more than eight hours.

Increase the number of required annual training hours for ■■staff to more than six hours.

Establish group size requirements for all age groups.■■

Require centers to put impact-altering materials under ■■playground equipment.

Require centers to keep hazardous materials out of ■■children’s reach.

Require the use of fingerprints for conducting criminal history ■■background checks.


80





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in KansasChild Care Center Prices in 2007


$8,917


$6,292


Score Percent Rank


Standard 41/100 41% 45

KS



Recommendation




















81

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in KansasStrength


Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ■✔degree in early childhood education or a related field, or be a registered nurse.

Center staff are required to have training in fire safety and ■✔other health and safety, though they are not required to have orientation training.



Weakness





Centers are not required to have a CPR certified staff on the ■✗premises, though staff certified in first-aid are required to be present.


Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗(which include checks of criminal history records), but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are required; however, checks of sex offender registries are not explicitly included.


Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only two of seven age ■✗groups (6 and 9 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Meets NAEYC’s groups size requirement for only one of seven ■✗age groups (3 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 6, 9, 18 and 27-month and 4 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of licensing inspections of centers to ■■more than once per year.

Increase the education requirements for lead teachers to ■■more than a high school education.

Require orientation training for all new staff members caring ■■for children.

Require at least one staff member to be present who is ■■certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Require caregivers to put babies down to sleep on their backs ■■

(to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). ■■



82





State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in KentuckyChild Care Center Prices in 2007


$6,240


$5,720


Score Percent Rank


Standard 51/100 51% 37

KY



Recommendation




















83

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Kentucky

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of licensing inspections of centers to ■■more than once per year.

Require center directors to have at least some education or ■■training in early care and education.

Require lead teachers to have at least some education or ■■training in early care and education.

Increase the number of orientation training hours for new ■■staff to more than 6 hours.


Check the state sex offender registry for new hires. ■■


Strength

Child care licensing staff are required to have a ■✔Bachelor’s degree






Weakness Family child care providers can care for up to four unrelated ■✗children for pay without a license.






Center staff are required to undergo background checks, ■✗which include checks of criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries.


84






Score Percent Rank


Standard 17/100 17% 51

LA

















Recommendation







$5,096


$4,610

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Louisiana

85

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in LouisianaWeakness

Family child care homes are not licensed.■✗






Center staff are required to undergo only state-level ■✗background checks which include only checks of criminal history records using a fingerprint. The check does not explicitly include child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries. The background check is not national in scope for all center staff.

Programs are required to address only one of six ■✗developmental domains (physical). Programs are not required to address social, physical, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural domains.

Health and safety standards address only eight of 10 basic ■✗standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment). Emergency preparedness and placing infants on back are not addressed. However, corporal punishment is allowed with parent permission.

Has no requirements regarding parent involvement, ■✗communication, or allowing parents to visit.


Strength

All child care centers are inspected at least three times a ■✔year.

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ■✔degree.

Reports of annual inspection visits to child care programs are ■✔available online.


Centers are required to have CPR certified staff on the ■✔premises. First-aid certified staff are not required.

Recommendations

Require lead teachers to have at least some education or ■■training in early care and education.

Increase the number of hours of orientation training for new ■■staff to more than 7 hours.

Establish group size requirements for all age groups. ■■

Require centers to offer activities which address all of the ■■developmental domains.

Require centers to follow accepted procedures related to ■■SIDS prevention and emergency planning.

Check the state child abuse registry and sex offender registry ■■on new hires.

Make all inspection and complaint reports available online for ■■parents to review.

86






$8,424


$7,020


Score Percent Rank


Standard 66/100 66% 16

ME



Recommendation




















State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Maine

87

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Maine

RecommendationsIncrease the educational requirements of center directors.■■

Increase the education requirements for lead teachers to ■■more than a high school degree or GED.

Increase the orientation training requirements for new staff ■■to more than 12 hours.

Require centers to offer activities which address all of the ■■areas of children’s development.

Require fingerprints be used to conduct criminal history ■■background checks.

Conduct federal background checks using fingerprints.■■

Check the sex offender registry for new hires. ■■


Require at least a Bachelor’s Degree for individuals who ■■conduct licensing inspections.

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to two unrelated ■✗children for pay and their own young children without a license.

Child care centers are inspected only at the time of re-■✗licensing and once during the licensing period.

Child care licensing staff are not even required to have an ■✗Associate’s degree, and have an average caseload of 179 programs.




Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗which include checks of criminal history records, but the check does not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are also included, but the check does not explicitly include sex offender registries and is not national in scope.

Programs are required to address only three of six ■✗developmental domains (physical, language/literacy and cognitive/intellectual). Programs are not required to address social, emotional and cultural domains.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only four of ■✗seven age groups (6, 9 and 27 months, and 4 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 18-month and 3 and 5-year-olds.

Strength



Center staff are required to complete at least 30 hours of ■✔annual training.



Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for five of seven age ■✔groups (6, 9, and 27 months, and 3 and 4 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18-month and 5-year-olds.

88






$11,329


$7,380


Score Percent Rank


Standard 70/100 70% 9

MD



Recommendation




















State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Maryland

89

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of licensing inspections of child care ■■centers to more often than three times in two years.

Increase the educational requirements for lead teachers to ■■more than 90 clock hours of training.

Require centers to provide impact-altering materials under ■■playground equipment.

Require centers to provide parents with opportunities to ■■participate in their child’s child care program.

Make confirmed complaint reports available online for parents ■■to review.

Weakness






Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only four of ■✗seven age groups (6, 9 and 27 months, and 4 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 18-month and 3 and 5-year-olds.

Strength



Reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ■✔programs are available online.





Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ■✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back). Playground surfaces under outdoor equipment not addressed.


Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for five of seven age ■✔groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months, and 4 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 3 and 5-year-olds.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Maryland

90






$14,591


$10,787


Score Percent Rank


Standard 70/100 70% 9

MA



Recommendation




















State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Massachusetts

91

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Massachusetts

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of licensing inspections of child care ■■centers to more often than once every two years.

Increase the number of hours of orientation training required ■■of new staff to more than the 8 hours currently estimated.

Strengthen the requirement for centers to offer activities in ■■each of the areas of children’s development.


Conduct a federal background check using a fingerprint.■■


Strength







Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for five ■✔of seven age groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months, and 4 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 3 and 5-year-olds.

Weakness


Child care licensing staff have an average caseload ■✗of 114 programs.



Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗which include checks of criminal history records, but the check does not use a fingerprint. Check of child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries are also required. The background check is not national in scope.

Requires program activities to address four of six ■✗developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy and cultural). Cognitive/intellectual and emotional domains are not required to be addressed.

92






$9,294


$7,025


Score Percent Rank


Standard 59/100 59% 25

MI



Recommendation




















State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Michigan

93

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in MichiganWeakness




Center staff are not required to have orientation training or ■✗training in fire safety, but are required to have training in other health and safety.


Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of seven ■✗age groups (6, 9 and 18 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Does not meet NAEYC’s group size requirements for any of ■✗the seven age groups.

StrengthAll child care programs are required to be licensed.■✔

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Master’s ■✔degree.







Recommendations

Increase the frequency of inspections of child care centers to ■■more often than once a year.

Increase the educational requirements for lead teachers to ■■more than 6 college semester hours or 9 CEUs.

Require orientation training for all newly hired staff. ■■

Decrease the group size limits for classrooms of infants and ■■toddlers.

Establish group size requirements for classrooms of ■■preschoolers.

Decrease the ratio of facilities to licensing inspectors from ■■220:1 to 50:1.

94






Score Percent Rank


Standard 68/100 68% 12


$12,300


$9,350



Recommendation




















MN

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Minnesota

95

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of inspections of child care centers to ■■more often than once every two years.

Increase the educational requirements for center directors. ■■

Increase the educational requirements for lead teachers. ■■

Increase the number of hours of orientation training required ■■of new staff to more than the estimated 10 hours.

Require centers to offer activities to develop children’s ■■language and literacy skills.

Require centers to put impact-altering materials under ■■playground equipment.

Require fingerprints be used to conduct criminal history ■■background checks.

Make inspection and complaint reports available online ■■for parents to review.

Decrease the ratio of facilities to licensing staff from ■■188:1 to 50 to 1.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in MinnesotaStrength

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ■✔degree.

Requires lead teachers in centers to have a state approved ■✔credential or to complete a one-year certification program.



Center staff are required to complete annual training ■✔equivalent to 2 percent of hours worked.

Requires program activities to address five of six ■✔developmental domains (social, physical, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural). Language/literacy, however, is not required to be addressed.

Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ■✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, , hazardous materials, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back). Playground surfaces under outdoor equipment is not addressed.


Weakness

Family child care providers can care for all of the children ■✗from one unrelated family for pay and their own young children without a license.





Center staff are required to undergo background checks ■✗(which include checks of criminal history records), but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are required. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for only ■✗four of seven age groups (6 and 9 months, and 4 and 5 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3-year-olds.

96






$4,542


$3,380


Score Percent Rank


Standard 52/100 52% 34

MS



Recommendation




















State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Mississippi

97

Recommendations

Increase the education requirements for center directors to ■■more than 24 semester hours.

Require center lead teachers to have education and training ■■beyond a high school degree.

Increase the number of hours of orientation training for new ■■staff to more than the currently estimated 8 hours.

Strengthen the requirement for centers to offer activities in ■■each aspect of children’s development.


State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in MississippiStrength













Programs are required to address only two of six ■✗developmental domains (physical and language/literacy). Programs are not required to address social, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural domains, except to have materials in some of these areas.

Does not meet NAEYC’s ratio requirements for any of the ■✗seven age groups.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only three of ■✗seven age groups (3, 4 and 5 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 6, 9, 18 and 27-month-olds.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Missouri

AL

98


$6,539


$4,836


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation














Center directors required to have a 3. Bachelor’s degree or higher.










MO

StrengthChild care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ✔✔degree.

Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ✔✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and emergency preparedness). Placing infant on back not addressed.

Has requirements regarding parent communication and allows ✔✔parental visits, but does not specifically address parental involvement.

WeaknessFamily child care providers can care for up to four unrelated ✔✗children for pay and their own young children without a license.

Child care licensing inspectors have an average caseload of 80 ✔✗programs.

Reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ✔✗programs and reports of those conducted because of complaints are not available online.

Center directors are not required to have a college degree.✔✗

Lead teachers in centers are not required to have a high ✔✗school diploma or GED before working with children.

Center staff are not required to have fire safety and other ✔✗health and safety training. They are required to complete orientation training.

Centers are not required to have a first-aid or CPR certified ✔✗staff on the premises.

Center staff are required to complete only 12 hours of annual ✔✗training.

Center staff are required to undergo background checks which ✔✗include checks of criminal history records, but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are also required. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries.

Programs are required to address only two of six ✔✗developmental domains (physical and language/literacy). Programs are not required to address social, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural domains.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only four of seven age ✔✗groups (6, 9, and 18 months, and 4 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 27-month and 3 and 5-year-olds.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only three of ✔✗seven age groups (6, 9 and 18 months). Does not meet group size requirements for 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

RecommendationsIncrease the minimum educational requirements for center ✔■directors to more than 12 months experience and 6 credit hours.

Establish pre-service education and training requirements for ✔■lead/master teachers.

Establish the requirement for a specific number of hours of ✔■orientation training for all new staff members.

Require at least one person present in the center be certified ✔■in first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Establish group size limits for preschool classrooms. ✔■

Require centers to offer activities which address all areas of ✔■children’s development.

Require centers to place babies on their backs to sleep (to ✔■prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

Require fingerprints be used to conduct criminal history ✔■background checks.

Conduct federal background checks using fingerprints.✔■

Make inspection and complaint reports available to parents ✔■online.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Missouri

99

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Montana

AL

100


$7,560


$6,300


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























MT

StrengthAll child care centers are inspected at least three times a year.✔✔

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ✔✔degree in early childhood education or a related field.

Centers are required to have at least one first-aid and CPR ✔✔certified staff on the premises.

Requires program activities to address five of six ✔✔developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual and emotional). Cultural, however, is not required to be addressed.

Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ✔✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, emergency preparedness and placing inf ant on back). Safe playground surface under outdoor equipment is recommended but not required.


Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for six of seven age groups ✔✔(6, 9, and 18 months, and 3, 4 and 5 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 27-month-olds.

WeaknessFamily child care providers can care for up to two unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.

Child care licensing inspectors have an average caseload of ✔✗106 programs.



Lead teachers in centers are not required to have a CDA ✔✗credential or an Associate’s degree.

Center staff are not required to have fire safety and other ✔✗health and safety training, but are required to complete orientation training.


Center staff are required to undergo background checks ✔✗(which include checks of criminal history records), but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are also required. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries and is not national in scope.

Does not meet NAEYC’s group size requirements for any of ✔✗the seven age groups.

RecommendationsIncrease the frequency of licensing inspections of centers to ✔■more often than once per year.

Eliminate the potential for center directors to qualify for their ✔■position only on the basis of experience.

Eliminate the potential for lead/master teachers to qualify for ✔■their position only on the basis of experience.

Increase the annual training requirement for staff to more ✔■than 8 hours.

Establish group size limits for all age groups. ✔■

Require (not just recommend) centers place impact-altering ✔■materials under playground equipment.



101

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Montana

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Nebraska

AL

102


$8,216


$6,760


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























NE

Strength



WeaknessFamily child care providers can care for up to three unrelated ✔✗children for pay and their own young children without a license.



Center directors are not required to have any college credits/✔✗courses.


Center staff are not required to have fire safety and other ✔✗health and safety training, but are required to complete orientation training.


Center staff are required to undergo background checks, which ✔✗include a check of only the child abuse and neglect registries. The check does not include criminal history records or the sex offender registries.

Programs are required to address only one of six ✔✗developmental domains (physical). Programs are not required to address social, physical, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural domains.

Health and safety standards address only eight of basic ✔✗standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and emergency preparedness). Incident reporting and placing infants on back are not addressed.

Has requirements regarding parental visits to the center, but ✔✗no requirements for communicating with parents or involving them.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of seven ✔✗age groups (6, 9 and 27 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds. Does not meet NAEYC’s group size requirements for any of the seven age groups.

RecommendationsIncrease the educational requirements for center directors to ✔■more than a high school degree and experience.

Increase the educational requirements for lead/master ✔■teachers to more than experience.

Establish the requirement for a specific number of hours of ✔■orientation training for new staff members.


Require centers to offer activities to help children grow and ✔■learn in all areas of development.


Require state and federal criminal history background checks ✔■to be completed on staff who have access to children and require the use of fingerprints to conduct these checks.

Make inspection and complaint reports available online for ✔■parents to review.

Decrease the ratio of programs to licensing staff from 180:1 to ✔■no more than 50:1.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Nebraska

103

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Nevada

AL

104


$8,391


$6,707


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























NV

Strength

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ✔✔degree, and they have an average caseload of 45 programs.

Center staff are required to have orientation and fire safety ✔✔training. Other health and safety training is not required.


Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety, ✔✔first-aid and CPR training either before or within 90 days of working with children.

Requires all center staff to undergo a comprehensive ✔✔background check that includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries.

Requires program activities to address all six developmental ✔✔domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural).

Has requirements regarding parent involvement and ✔✔communication, and allows parental visits.

WeaknessFamily child care providers can care for up to four unrelated ✔✗children for pay and their own young children without a license.


Requires center directors to only complete some college ✔✗credits/courses.



Health and safety standards address only eight of 10 basic ✔✗standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and emergency preparedness). Hazardous materials and placing infants on back are not addressed.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only one of seven age ✔✗groups (6 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 9, 18 and 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Does not meet NAEYC’s group size requirements for any of ✔✗the seven age groups

Recommendations

Make the requirement for centers to be inspected ✔■unannounced mandatory instead of optional.

Increase the educational qualifications for center directors.✔■

Establish educational qualifications for lead/master teachers.✔■

Increase the number of hours of orientation training required ✔■of new staff to more than 6 hours.



Require centers to keep hazardous materials out of children’s ✔■reach.


State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Nevada

105

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in New Hampshire

AL

106


$9,776


$7,540


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























NH

StrengthChild care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ✔✔degree.

Reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ✔✔programs and reports of those conducted because of complaints are available online.

Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety, and ✔✔other health and safety training.



Health and safety standards address all 10 basic standards ✔✔(immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back).


Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to two unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.

Child care centers are inspected only once per year.✔✗



Center staff are required to complete only nine hours of ✔✗annual training.

Center staff are required to undergo background checks which ✔✗include checks of criminal history records, but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are also required. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries and is not national in scope.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only four of seven age ✔✗groups (6, 9, and 27 months, and 3 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18-month and 4 and 5-year-olds.


Recommendations

Increase the frequency of inspections of child care centers to ✔■more often than once per year.

Require routine and complaint inspections to be unannounced. ✔■

Increase the number of hours of annual training required. ✔■

Require the use of fingerprints for conducting criminal history ✔■background checks.

Decrease the number of facilities for which a single licensing ✔■staff member is responsible from 130:1 to no more than 50:1.

107

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in New Hampshire

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in New Jersey

AL

108


$10,095


$7,985


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























NJ

StrengthRequires center directors to have at least a Bachelor’s degree ✔✔or higher in ECE or related field.

Requires lead teachers in centers to have a CDA credential or ✔✔an Associate’s degree in ECE or related field.

Center staff are required to have orientation, fire safety and ✔✔other health and safety training.


Requires all center staff to undergo a background check ✔✔that includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using a fingerprints, checks of child abuse and neglect registries. Sex offender registries are not explicitly included in the checks.




Weakness

State does not license family child care homes. Family child ✔✗care homes can register voluntarily.


Child care licensing staff are not required to have a Bachelor’s ✔✗degree.


Center staff are required to complete only eight hours of ✔✗annual training.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of seven ✔✗age groups (6, 9 and 27 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only two of ✔✗seven age groups (4 and 5 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 6, 9, 18 and 27-month and 3-year- olds.

Recommendations

Require licensing of family child care providers caring for one ✔■or more unrelated children for pay.

Increase the frequency of licensing inspections to more often ✔■than once every three years.

Require a specific number of hours of orientation training for ✔■new staff members.

Increase the annual training requirements for staff to more ✔■than eight hours a year.

Decrease the group size limits for all age groups. ✔■


Decrease the number of facilities for which a single licensing ✔■staff member is responsible from 171:1 to no more than 50:1.

109

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in New Jersey

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in New Mexico

AL

110


$6,228


$5,382


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























NM

Strength



Center staff are required to complete at least 24 hours of ✔✔annual training.

Requires all center staff to undergo a background check that ✔✔includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using fingerprints, and child abuse and neglect registries. Sex offender registries are not explicitly included in the checks.

Requires program activities to address four of six ✔✔developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy and cognitive/intellectual). Programs are not required to address emotional and cultural domains.


Has requirements regarding parent involvement and ✔✔communication, but does not specifically allow parental visits.

WeaknessFamily child care providers can care for up to four unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.

Only one inspection of child care centers is required per year.✔✗

Child care licensing staff are not required to have an ✔✗Associate’s degree, and have an average caseload of 65 programs.




Does not meet NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for ✔✗any of the seven age groups.

Recommendations

Increase the requirements related to inspections to more than ✔■once per year.

Establish pre-service education requirements for lead/master ✔■teachers.

Increase the number of hours of orientation training for new ✔■staff to more than 10 hours.


Require the state sex offender registry be checked for new ✔■hires.

Require licensing staff have a Bachelor’s degree in any field or ✔■a related field.

111

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in New Mexico

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in New York

AL

112


$13,437


$10,473


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























NY

Strength


Both reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ✔✔programs and those conducted because of complaints are available online.




Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for six of seven age groups ✔✔(6, 9, and 27 months, and 4 and 5 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18-month-olds.

WeaknessFamily child care providers can care for up to two unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.

Requires center directors to have only a CDA credential and ✔✗experience.


Center staff are not required to have orientation, fire safety or ✔✗other health and safety training.

Centers are not required to have a first-aid or CPR certified ✔✗staff on the premises.


Center staff are required to undergo only state-level ✔✗background checks, which include checks of criminal history records using a fingerprint checks of child abuse and neglect registries. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only four of seven ✔✗age groups (6, 9 and 27 months, and 3 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 18-month and 4 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of licensing inspections to more often ✔■than twice a year.

Increase the minimum educational requirements for center ✔■directors to more than a CDA credential.

Increase the minimum educational requirements for lead/✔■master teachers to more than nine college credits.

Increase the minimum numbers of hours of orientation training ✔■for new staff to more than two hours.

Require at least one person be present in the center who is ✔■certified in first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

113

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in New York

AL

114


$7,800


$6,756


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























NC

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in North Carolina

StrengthAll child care centers are inspected at least four times a year.✔✔


Reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ✔✔programs and reports of those conducted because of complaints are available online.

Requires center directors to have at least a Director credential ✔✔- the credential is created by the state.

Requires lead teachers in centers to have a state approved ✔✔credential.



Requires program activities to address four of six ✔✔developmental domains (social, physical, cognitive/intellectual and emotional). Language/literacy and cultural are not required to be addressed.

Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ✔✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, handwashing/diapering, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, and placing infant on back). Emergency preparedness is not addressed.

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to three unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.


Center staff are required to undergo only state-level ✔✗background checks, which include checks of criminal history records using a fingerprint and checks of sex offender registries. The check does not explicitly include child abuse and neglect registries. Federal checks are only required for some individuals.



Recommendations

Require centers to offer activities which develop children’s ✔■language and literacy skills.

Require centers to have emergency plans for events such as ✔■hurricanes.

Conduct federal background checks using fingerprints on all ✔■center staff.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in North Carolina

115

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in North Dakota

AL

116


$6,559


$5,742


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























ND

Strength

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s degree.✔✔





Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for six ✔✔of seven age groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months, and 3 and 4 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 5-year-olds.

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to five unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.



Requires center directors to have only a CDA credential.✔✗



Center staff are required to undergo background checks, which ✔✗include a check of only the child abuse and neglect registries. The check does not include criminal history records or the sex offender registries and does not use a fingerprint.

Health and safety standards address only eight of 10 basic ✔✗standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials and emergency preparedness). Playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and placing infants on back are not addressed.

Recommendations

Require that some routine inspections be unannounced.✔■

Increase the minimum educational requirements for lead/✔■master teachers.

Require centers to place babies on their backs to prevent ✔■Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Require centers to place impact-altering material under ✔■playground equipment to prevent injuries from falls.

Require criminal history background checks of individuals ✔■who care for children and require these checks be based on fingerprints.


117

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in North Dakota

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Ohio

AL

118


$8,946


$7,071


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























OH

Strength

Full-time child care programs are inspected at least three ✔✔times a year.






Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to six unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.

Child care licensing staff are not required to have a Bachelor’s ✔✗degree, and they have an average caseload of 85 programs.


Lead teachers in centers are only required to have a high ✔✗school diploma or GED before working with children.

Center staff are required to complete only 15 hours of annual ✔✗training until they have completed 45 total hours of training.

Center staff are required to undergo background checks, which ✔✗include state and federal checks of criminal history records using fingerprints. The check does not explicitly include child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries.



Recommendations

Require all complaint inspections to be unannounced.✔■

Increase the minimum educational requirements for center ✔■directors.

Increase the educational requirements for lead/master ✔■teachers to more than a high school degree.

Require staff receive annual training even after they have ✔■completed 45 hours of training.

Require centers to offer activities which address all areas of ✔■children’s development.

Require the state child abuse and sex offender registries be ✔■checked for all new staff members.

Require inspection and complaint reports be available online ✔■for parents to review.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Ohio

119

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Oklahoma

AL

120


$6,219


$5,277


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























OK

Strength

All child care programs are required to be licensed.✔✔

All child care centers are inspected at least three times a year.✔✔



Requires center directors to have at least a Director credential ✔✔- the credential is created by the state.






Weakness



Center staff are required to undergo background checks which ✔✗include checks of criminal history records, but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of sex offender registries are also included. 3

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for only two ✔✗of seven age groups (6 and 9 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Require the use of fingerprints for criminal background checks ✔■on staff members.

Require teachers responsible for a group of children to have at ✔■least a high school degree or GED.

Require federal background check with fingerprints. ✔■

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Oklahoma

121

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Oregon

AL

122


$8,988


$6,480


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























OR

Strength

Reports of inspections conducted at child care programs ✔✔because of complaints are available online.



Requires all center staff to undergo a background check that ✔✔includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using a fingerprint , and checks of child abuse and neglect registries. Sex offender registries are not explicitly included in the checks.




Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for five of seven ✔✔age groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months, and 4 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 3 and 5-year- olds.

Weakness


Child care licensing staff are not even required to have an ✔✗Associate’s degree.

Reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ✔✗programs are not available online.



Center staff are required to complete only 15 hours of ✔✗annual training.

Recommendations

Increase center directors’ pre-service education/training ✔■requirements.

Increase minimum pre-service education requirements for ✔■lead/master teachers in centers.

Increase the number of hours of orientation training required ✔■of new staff to more than eight hours.

Strengthen the requirement for centers to offer activities ✔■which address all areas of children’s development including language and literacy skills.

Make inspection reports available online for parents to review. ✔■

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Oregon

123

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Pennsylvania

AL

124


$11,200


$6,800


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























PA

Strength

Child care licensing staff are required to have a Bachelor’s ✔✔degree.


Requires all center staff to undergo a background check that ✔✔includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries. Sex offender registries are not explicitly included in the checks.



Has requirements regarding parent involvement, ✔✔communication, and allows parental visits.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for five of ✔✔seven age groups (6, 9 and 27 months, and 4 and 5 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 18-month and 3-year-olds.

Weakness


Child care centers are inspected only once per year.✔✗


Requires center directors to have only an Associate’s degree ✔✗with credit hours in ECE.


Center staff are not required to have orientation training or ✔✗training in other health and safety. Training in fire safety is required.

Centers are not required to have a CPR certified staff on the ✔✗premises. A first-aid certified staff is required.

Center staff are required to complete only six hours of annual ✔✗training.

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of inspections of centers to more often ✔■than once per year

Require that some routine inspections be unannounced. ✔■

Increase the educational requirements for a lead/master ✔■teacher to more than a high school diploma or GED and experience.

Establish orientation training requirements for new staff ✔■members on health, safety and other topics.

Require at least one person in the center be certified in ✔■cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Increase the number of hours of annual training of staff from ✔■six hours.

Strengthen the requirement for centers to offer activities ✔■which promote children’s development.


125

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Pennsylvania

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Rhode Island

AL

126


$9,464


$7,800


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























RI







Health and safety standards address 9 of 10 basic ✔✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment and placing infant on back). Emergency preparedness is not addressed.


Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for five of ✔✔seven age groups (6, 9, and 27 months, and 3 and 4 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 18-month and 5-year-olds.

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to threee unrelated ✔✗children for pay and their own young children without a license.



Requires center directors to have only a CDA credential and ✔✗additional credit hours in ECE.

Recommendations

Establish a specific number of hours of orientation training ✔■for new staff and increase the estimated requirement from six hours.

Require centers to have a plan for emergencies such as winter ✔■storms.



State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Rhode Island

127

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in South Carolina

AL

128


$6,032


$5,460


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























SC

Strength






Requires all center staff to undergo a comprehensive ✔✔background check that includes a check of state and federal criminal history records, child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries using a fingerprint.


Weakness


Center directors are not required to have any college credits/courses.✔✗




Health and safety standards address all 10 basic standards ✔✗(immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, playground surfaces under outdoor equipment, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back); however, child care center staff are allowed to use corporal punishment with written parent permission.


Recommendations

Increase the education requirements for center directors from ✔■only a high school diploma and experience.

Increase the education requirements for lead/master teachers ✔■from only a high school diploma and experience.

Increase the number of hours of orientation training required ✔■of new staff to more than six hours in the first six months of employment.

Prohibit the use of corporal punishment even with written ✔■parent permission

Establish group size limits for all age groups.✔■

Strengthen the requirement for centers to offer activities that ✔■promote children’s social, emotional, physical and intellectual development.

Make inspection and complaint reports online for parents to review. ✔■

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in South Carolina

129

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in South Dakota

AL

130


$7,488


$6,240


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























SD

Strength

Child care licensing inspectors have an average caseload of 33 ✔✔programs.



Requires all center staff to undergo a background check that ✔✔includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using fingerprints, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries. Sex offender registries are not explicitly included in the checks.


WeaknessFamily child care providers can care for up to 12 unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.




Centers are not required to have a first-aid certified staff on ✔✗the premises. A CPR certified staff is required.

Health and safety standards address only seven of 10 basic ✔✗standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, med administration, emerg preparedness and placing infant on back). Incident reporting, hazardous materials and playground surfaces under outdoor equipment are not addressed.


Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of seven age ✔✗groups (27-months, and 4 and 5 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 6, 9 and 18-month, and 3-year-olds.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only two of ✔✗seven age groups (4 and 5 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 6, 9, 18 and 27-month, and 3-year-olds.

Recommendations

Increase the pre-service educational requirements for center ✔■directors.

Establish educational requirements for lead/master teachers. ✔■

Require at least one person be present in a center at all times ✔■who is certified in first-aid

Decrease the group size limits for all age groups. ✔■

Require centers to have impact-altering materials under ✔■playground equipment to prevent injuries when children fall.


131

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in South Dakota

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Tennessee

AL

132


$6,173


$5,436


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























TN

Strength

All child care centers are inspected at least four times a year.✔✔


Reports of routine inspections conducted at child care ✔✔programs are available online.



Requires all center staff to undergo a comprehensive ✔✔background check that includes a check of state and federal criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries.




Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for five of seven age ✔✔groups (6, and 9 months, and 3, 4 and 5 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 18 and 27-month-olds.

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to four unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.

Reports of inspections conducted at child care programs ✔✗because of complaints are not available online.




Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of seven age ✔✗groups (6 and 9 months, and 3 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 4 and 5-year- olds.

Recommendations

Increase the educational requirements for center directors ✔■to more than clock hours in early childhood education and experience.

Require all lead/master teachers to have more than a high ✔■school diploma or GED.


State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Tennessee

133

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Texas

AL

134


$7,440


$5,799


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























TX


Child care licensing staff are required to have a ✔✔Bachelor’s degree.





Requires program activities to address five of six ✔✔developmental domains (social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual and emotional). Cultural is not required to be addressed.



Weakness






Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only two of seven age ✔✗groups (6 and 9 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.


Recommendations

Increase the education requirements for lead/master teachers ✔■to more than a high school diploma and experience.


Decrease the program to licensing staff ratio from 72:1 to no ✔■more than 50:1.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Texas

135

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Utah

AL

136


$6,768


$5,400


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























UT

Strength


Child care licensing inspectors have an average caseload of 50 ✔✔programs.

Requires center directors to have at least a director ✔✔credential.






Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to five unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.



Center staff are required to undergo background checks ✔✗(which include checks of criminal history records), but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are also required. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for only ✔✗three of seven age groups (6, 9 and 18 months). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Require complaint inspections be unannounced.✔■

Establish a pre-service education requirement for lead/master ✔■teachers.

Establish a requirement for a specific number of hours of ✔■orientation training of new staff.

Require state criminal history checks be based on fingerprints. ✔■

Require licensing staff to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in ✔■a related field.

Require federal background check using a fingerprint of all ✔■center staff.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Utah

137

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Vermont

AL

138


$7,475


$7,056


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























VT

Strength


Requires lead teachers in centers to have an Associate’s ✔✔degree in ECE or related field or a CDA credential.





Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for six of ✔✔seven age groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months, and 4 and 5 years). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 3-year-olds.

Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to two unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.

Child care centers are not required to be inspected even once ✔✗per year.

Child care licensing staff are only required to have an ✔✗Associate’s degree, and they have an average caseload of 256 programs.


Requires center directors to have only a CDA credential and ✔✗experience.

Center staff are not required to have orientation training or ✔✗training in fire safety. Training is required in other health and safety topics.



Recommendations

Establish a requirement for at least annual inspections of ✔■centers.

Establish a requirement for a specific number of hours of ✔■orientation training of new staff members.

Require criminal history background checks be based on ✔■fingerprints.


Require licensing staff to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in ✔■a related field.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Vermont

139

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Virginia

AL

140


$9,100


$7,176


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























VA

Strength







Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to six unrelated ✔✗children for pay without a license.

Child care licensing staff are not even required to have an ✔✗Associate’s degree in early childhood education or a related field.





Programs are required to address only three of six ✔✗developmental domains (social, physical and language/literacy). Programs are not required to address cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural domains.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of seven ✔✗age groups (6, 9 months, and 4 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3 and 5-year-olds.


Recommendations


Require centers to offer activities to promote children’s ✔■emotional and cognitive development.

Require criminal history background checks be based on ✔■fingerprints.

Check sex offender registries for new hires.✔■

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Virginia

141

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Washington

AL

142


$9,624


$7,284


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























WA

Strength






Health and safety standards address nine of 10 basic ✔✔standards (immunizations, guidance/discipline, diapering/handwashing, fire drills, medicine administration, incident reporting, hazardous materials, emergency preparedness and placing infant on back). Playground surfaces under outdoor equipment are not addressed.


WeaknessChild care centers are inspected only once per year.✔✗



Lead teachers in centers are only required to have a high ✔✗school diploma or GED and experience before working with children.


Center staff are required to undergo background checks ✔✗(which include checks of criminal history records), but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are also required.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only four of seven age ✔✗groups (6 and 9 months, and 4 and 5 years). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3-year-olds.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only three of ✔✗seven age groups (6 and 9 months, and 4 years). Does not meet group size requirements for 18 and 27-month, and 3 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Increase the number of licensing inspections to more than ✔■once per year.

Increase the requirements for lead/master teachers to more ✔■than a high school diploma and experience.

Increase the number of hours of annual training required of ✔■staff to more than 10 hours

Require centers to place impact-altering materials under ✔■playground equipment to reduce the number of injuries from falls.

Require state criminal history checks to be based on ✔■fingerprints.

Require federal background checks with fingerprints of all ✔■center staff.

143

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Washington

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in West Virginia

AL

144


$6,000


$4,560


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























WV

StrengthChild care centers are inspected three times a year.✔✔







Weakness






Center staff are required to complete only 15 hours of annual ✔✗training in the first year.

Center staff are required to undergo only state-level ✔✗background checks, which include checks of criminal history records using a fingerprint, and checks of child abuse and neglect registries. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only three of seven ✔✗age groups (6, 9 and 18 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Meets NAEYC’s group size requirements for only two of seven ✔✗age groups (6 and 9 months). Does not meet group size requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Increase the minimum educational requirements for some ✔■center directors from 10 to 15 years of work experience.

Increase the hours of orientation training required of new staff ✔■to more than eight hours.


145

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in West Virginia

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Wisconsin

AL

146


$12,350


$10,524


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























WI

Strength


Requires some center directors to have at least a Director ✔✔credential - the credential is created by the state.



Center staff are required to complete at least 25 hours of ✔✔annual training.




Weakness


Child care licensing staff are not required to have an ✔✗Associate’s degree, and have an average caseload of 112 programs.

Lead teachers in centers are only required to have a high ✔✗school diploma or GED or clock hours in early childhood education before working with children.

Center staff are required to undergo background checks, which ✔✗include checks of criminal history records, but these checks do not use a fingerprint. Checks of child abuse and neglect registries are also required. The check does not explicitly include sex offender registries.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio and group size requirements for only four ✔✗of seven age groups (6, 9, 18 and 27 months). Does not meet ratio and group size requirements for 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Recommendations

Increase the frequency of inspections of centers to more often ✔■than twice per year.

Increase the education requirements for center directors. ✔■

Increase the education requirements for lead/master teachers.✔■

Require more than 10 hours of orientation for new staff. ✔■

Require the use of fingerprints for conducting state criminal ✔■history background checks.

Check the sex offender registry for new hires.✔■


State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Wisconsin

147

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Wyoming

AL

148


$7,160


$6,248


Score Percent Rank




Recommendation
























WY

Strength







Weakness

Family child care providers can care for up to two unrelated ✔✗unrelated children for pay and their own young children without a license.


Center directors are not required to have any college ✔✗credits/courses.




Programs are not required to address any of the six ✔✗developmental domains. These domains include social, physical, language/literacy, cognitive/intellectual, emotional and cultural.

Meets NAEYC’s ratio requirements for only two of seven age ✔✗groups (6 and 9 months). Does not meet ratio requirements for 18 and 27-month and 3, 4 and 5-year-olds.

Does not meet NAEYC’s group size requirements for any of ✔✗the seven age groups

Recommendations

Increase the education requirements for center directors. ✔■

Establish pre-service education requirements for lead/✔■master teachers.

Require centers to offer a program of activities which ✔■addresses all areas of development, including cognitive development and language and literacy skills.



Conduct federal background checks using fingerprints and sex ✔■offender registry checks.

State of Regulations for Child Care Centers in Wyoming

149

Appendix B


Methodology

During fall 2008, NACCRRA provided State Child Care Administrators with information about their state child care licensing regulations from the NACCRRA report, We Can Do Better: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Standards and Oversight (NACCRRA, 2007) They were asked to provide NACCRRA with information about changes in state child care licensing regulations since the data were gathered for that report This information was verified using the state child care regulations or other written documents, including criminal history regulations, fire regulations and health regulations

We gave states credit only if the requirement could be verified in a written document such as the state’s regulations or a policy manual We did not give states credit if the action was a department practice or goal, if the language in the regulation is permissive, or if the written documentation could not be found In cases where states permit several different options for complying such as director or teacher qualifications, the minimum allowed was used Information on DoD programs was taken from DoD Instruction 6060 2 and other relevant DoD policy documents (DoD, 1993)

The information gathered was used to score each state on each of the state child care oversight and center regulations benchmarks Benchmark criteria were developed by NACCRRA for the report, We Can Do Better: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Standards and Oversight (NACCRRA, 2007) For each benchmark, the state was given a value between one and 10 depending on how closely the state met the NACCRRA benchmark

After NACCRRA scored the states, the state fact sheets were sent back to the State Administrators and contacts in the states’ licensing offices, and they were asked to provide comments

The final scores were used for three sets of rankings: child care regulations, child care oversight system and an overall rank combining both of these scores


American Academy of Pediatrics, American

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preschoolers. Retrieved January 15, 2009

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Clarke-Stewart, K.A., Vandell, D.L., Burchinal,

M., O’Brien, M.O., & McCartney, K. (2002). Do

regulable features of child care homes affect

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care: Research update. Retrieved January 15,

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childhood program standards and accreditation

criteria: The mark of quality in early childhood

education. Washington, DC: Author.

NAEYC. (1997). Position paper on licensing

and regulation of early childhood programs.

Retrieved January 12, 2009 from http://www.

naeyc.org/about/positions/pslicense.asp

National Association for Regulatory

Administration & National Child Care

Association (no date). Equal protection and

quality education for every child. Retrieved

February 2, 2009 from http://naralicensing.org/

associations/4734/files/JointPP.pdf

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Referral Agencies. (2009). Parents’ perceptions

of child care in the United States: NACCRRA’s

national parent poll: November 2008. Retrieved

February 8, 2009 from http://www.naccrra.org/

policy/recent_reports/parent_poll.php

NACCRRA. (2009). Unequal opportunities:

Differing standards for licensed child care

centers and state-funded prekindergarten

programs. Arlington, VA: Author.

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National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies 3101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 350, Arlington, VA 22201

Phone (703) 341-4100 Fax (703) 341-4101 www.naccrra.org

© NACCRRA 2009 611-0209

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