In this section, we will review the requirements for capacity and ratios. In licensed family child care, the term capacity refers to the total number of children allowed in the daycare in relation to the number of provider(s)/caregivers. The term ratios refers to the number of adults who are required to be present in the program to provide care for the number and ages of the children in care.
In order to understand capacity and ratios, it is important to know the terms used for the various age groups of children in family child care.
The first age group is Newborn. A newborn is a child who is between birth and 6 weeks old.
The next age group is Toddler. A toddler is a child who is at least 12 months old, but younger than 24 months old, for the majority of family child care licenses. For specialized infant and toddler licenses and group family child care licenses, toddler means a child who is at least 12 months old, but younger than 30 months old.
A Preschooler is a child who is at least 24 months old and up to school age.
A School Aged child is at least 5 years old but younger than 11 years old.
There are requirements for the total number of children you may have in care. These requirements protect the health and safety of children and make sure that children have suitable supervision.
These requirements are based on the type of license you have, the children’s ages, and the type and number of caregivers present.
Your own children younger than age 11 count towards your capacity.
There are 2 types of license classes for family child care:
There are 2 types of license classes for group family child care. These license classes allow for additional children in care and are most often issued to providers who have at least 1 year of experience:
For more information about license classes, capacities, or ratios, please contact your county licensor.
