The terminology used in child care can be confusing to parents and caregivers, especially those new to the types of child care and those seeking the best possible care for their children.
New York State has regulations that govern the minimum requirements for licensed and registered child care. These requirements have been developed to protect the health and safety of children cared for outside their home by someone other than a relative. They are also designed to promote children's development.
Criminal Background Clearance:
Criminal background checks for anyone who will have regular and substantial contact with the children in the program. To complete the criminal background check, the required people are fingerprinted and fill out a form for the State Central Registrar. In a Day Care Center, the staff cannot be left alone until they are cleared. A Family or Group Family program will not get their license or registration until everyone meeting the criteria below are cleared. These criteria are:
- For Family and Group Family programs, the provider, staff, and anyone in the home over the age of 18.
- For Day Care Centers, it is all staff.
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The New York State Quality Child Care & Protection Act of 2001 requires providers and staff working in a licensed and registered day care program to receive 30 hours of training each licensing or registration period (every two years).
The training must cover the following nine topics:
- Principles of childhood development
- Nutrition & health needs of infants & children
- Child day care program development
- Business record maintenance & management
- Safety & security procedures
- Child abuse & maltreatment identification and prevention
- Statutes & regulations pertaining to child day care
- Statutes & regulations pertaining to child abuse & maltreatment
- Prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome
A new requirement for all Family and Group Family child care programs is the Health and Safety Training. This is a 15 hour class that covers all of the above topics except for the principles of childhood development and child day care program development. Child care providers must pass this class in order to receive their license or registration.
Since 2005, child care programs are also no longer able to give out medication with out the proper training and approval. There is an eight hour class, Medication Administration Training (MAT), that the designated person(s) from the program must successfully complete. They must also be certified in CPR and First Aid. The program must have their Health Care Plan approved by a Health Consultant and their licensor/registrar. Once the program has gone through the entire process to be come authorized to administer medications, then over-the-counter and prescription medication, as well as auto-injected epinephrine to treat severe allergies, can be administered. Without this process, only over the counter topical preparations such as sunscreen, bug spray, and diaper cream can be administered by the program. Look at the program's license to determine if they can administer medication or not. First Aid and CPR, however, are only a requirement for programs administering medications. For all other programs, it is optional.
Child to Adult Ratios:
Another key component to protect the health and safety of children and to promote good development is to have appropriate number adults providing care for the appropriate number of children based on the children's age. Infants and toddlers require more direct care from providers and therefore have a higher adult provider to child ratio permitted.
Day Care Centers
| Age of Children | Staff/Child Ratio | Maximum Group Size |
| Under 6 weeks | 1:3 | 6 infants |
| 6 weeks to 18 months | 1:4 | 8 infants |
| 18 months to 36 months | 1:5 | 12 children |
| 3 years | 1:7 | 18 children |
| 4 years | 1:8 | 21 children |
| 5 years | 1:9 | 24 children |
| 6 years through 9 years | 1:10 | 20 children |
| 10 years through 12 years | 1:15 | 30 children |
Family Child Care
- One adult caring for 7 to 8 children in the registered providers home
- Any child living in the home must be included in the program numbers until they are kindergarten age
- Children kindergarten age can take the place of younger children
| If infants under 2 years are present: | If there are no children under 2 years present: |
| Up to 2 children under 2 years PLUS | 6 children between 2 and 5 years PLUS |
| 3 children between 2 and 5 years PLUS | 2 children kindergarten age and up |
| 2 children kindergarten age and up | |
| Total of 7 children | Total of 8 children |
Group Family Child Care
- Two adult caregivers caring for 12 to 14 children in the licensed providers home
- Any child living in the home must be included in the program numbers until they are kindergarten age
- Children kindergarten age can take the place of younger children
| If infants under 2 years are present: | If there are no children under 2 years present: |
| Up to 4 children under 2 years PLUS | 12 children between 2 and 5 years PLUS |
| 6 children between 2 and 5 years PLUS | 2 children kindergarten age and up |
| 2 children kindergarten age and up | |
| Total of 12 children | Total of 14 children |
School Age Child Care
| Age of Children | Staff/Child Ratio | Maximum Group Size |
| Up to age 9 years | 1:10 | 20 children |
| 10 to 12 years | 1:15 | 30 children |
Accreditation:
Child care programs can take an extra step, called accreditation, to demonstrate they are able to best possible care to children in their programs. Accreditation is a voluntary process whereby a home-based or child care center demonstrates that they have met high quality national standards for child care.
The accrediting agencies are:
NAEYC - National Association for the Education of Young Children
NAFCC - National Association of Family Child Care
NAFCC - National Association of Family Child Care
The staff of accredited child care programs have been specially trained as early childhood educators. They are evaluated on the quality of:
- Child and staff relationships
- Parent and staff relationships
- Administration
- Staff qualifications
- Development program
- Staff coverage
- Physical environment
- Health and safety
- Nutrition and food service
- Community involvement
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Monroe County Economic Impact Summary