Issue 28—Winter 2003

A Snapshot of Trends in Child Care Licensing Regulations

Contents

• A Snapshot of Trends in Child Care Licensing Regulations
• New Resources on Licensing
• Foundation for Training: The NARA Licensing Curriculum
• Delaware's Training for Family Child Care Providers
• Center Director Credentialing in the State of Florida
• Licensing-Related Indicators of Quality Child Care
• Emergencies in Regulated Child Care Facilities: A Tip Sheet
• Resources for Information on Child Care Regulation

A Snapshot of Trends in Child Care Licensing Regulations

By Sarah LeMoine, Researcher/Writer, National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC), Gwen Morgan, Senior Fellow for Child Care Policy, Wheelock College, and Sheri L. Azer, State Policy Coordinator, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

In their child care licensing regulations, States strive to protect the basic health and safety of children in out-of-home care. Licensing rules seek to prevent various forms of harm to children. These rules also form a baseline of adequate quality that is drawn by the States, representing the required level of quality in each State. This article focuses on three structural aspects of child care that can be regulated by States' licensing rules: 1) child:staff ratios; 2) maximum group sizes; and 3) staff qualifications and ongoing training. Research has shown that these interrelated areas have a significant impact on the outcomes for young children in care.

Child:Staff Ratios and Maximum Group Sizes²

Child:staff ratios, which define the maximum number of children per caregiver, are an important factor in the type and quality of interactions and relationships formed in out-of-home care. In a child care setting with children in large groups, it is difficult to develop responsive relationships between the children and the teachers.

Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs: Second Edition includes the following recommendations: center child care should include a child:staff ratio of 3:1 for infants, 4:1 for toddlers, 7:1 for 3-year-olds, and 8:1 for 5-year-olds; maximum group size of six for infants, eight for toddlers, 14 for 3-year-olds, and 16 for 5-year-olds.

Group size is defined as the number of children assigned to a caregiver or team of caregivers occupying an individual classroom or well-defined space within a larger room.³ Smaller group sizes help children and their caregivers to develop a sense of community. In particular, research emphasizes the importance of lower ratios and regulated group sizes for infants and toddlers.

Staff Qualifications and Ongoing Training

Studies have shown that staff education and training in child development and related fields positively impacts the quality of care children receive. However, staff requirements in licensing regulations show considerable variation from State to State. There are two general types of training requirements—Preservice qualifications (i.e., education prior to qualifying for a job) and ongoing or annual hours of training. Additionally, some States have an orientation requirement in lieu of, or in addition to, Preservice qualifications. States' Preservice qualifications required for roles in child care programs range from experience to college degrees. Many States offer various alternative routes for Preservice qualifications. States may require Preservice education only, ongoing hours of education only, or both.

States can specify in their regulations that training must be taken in early childhood education, child development, or other child-related topics. In order to avoid practitioners meeting the training requirements (both Preservice and ongoing) with training all in one content area, States can specify that training must be distributed over a number of different topic areas.

Center Teachers

From 1986 to 2002, six States added to their center licensing regulations the requirement that teachers have Preservice qualifications with specific training in early childhood education (ECE). An additional six States enhanced their Preservice requirements in 2001, perhaps signaling a renewed trend toward improving the qualifications of center teachers. However, in 2002, 30 States still did not have ECE Preservice requirements for center teachers. Two States required Secondary School Education in ECE; nine required some clock hour training in early childhood development; six States (DC, HI, IL, KS, MN, NJ) required center teachers to have a Child Development Associate credential (CDA) or similar credential; three States (CA, VT, WI) required some college credit in ECE; and one State (RI) required a Bachelor's degree with ECE coursework. In 2002, 52 percent of States required only ongoing training each year, without any Preservice qualifications for center teachers. Nine States (AK, ME, MA, NM, NC, RI, SD, UT, WI) have an ongoing training requirement each year that is 20 hours or more. About one-third of States required both ongoing and Preservice training.

In 1986, 10 States regulated the master teacher role. States often call this position a lead teacher, head teacher, fully qualified teacher, or supervisor. This role is generically labeled "master teacher" to reflect that this person has more training and skills than other classroom teachers. In 2002, 15 States regulated this role, and 11 of the 15 States required master teachers to be qualified with ECE training prior to working with children.

Center Directors

Most States require directors to have education in child development, but very few require any administrative content in the training of directors. In 1999, only six States required any specific training in administration for center directors. As of August 2002, nine States had specified requirements for administrative training of directors. In 2001 and 2002, 11 States changed their requirements for directors' qualifications. Most of these changes increased the requirement for knowledge of child development and did not include requirements for administrative training.

Family Child Care Providers

From 1986 to 2002, there was a 600% increase in the number of States requiring Preservice qualifications for large family child care providers. The number of States requiring specified ECE Preservice qualifications for small family child care providers decreased since 1986. In 2002, only one State—Vermont—required a CDA as a Preservice requirement for small family child care providers. Only 10 other States had any ECE related Preservice requirements for small family child care homes, all in the form of clock-hour trainings.

Ongoing training hours remained the most common required format of provider training. This training is generally required per one-, two-, or three-year licensure periods. The typical number of required annual ongoing hours remained quite low. In 2002, only 13 percent of States in their small home regulations and only 28 percent of States in their large home regulations required providers to have more than 12 hours of annual ongoing training. Most States mandate training in CPR and basic health and safety topics in their ongoing training requirements. Some States specify other suggested or required content areas such as basic child development, curriculum, and classroom management topics.

Increasingly, family child care regulations have been including ECE-specified training in orientations and initial licensure periods. As of August 2002, 11 States required ECE training in orientation or preliminary licensure for small and/or large family child care providers.

¹From licensing regulations posted on the National Center for Health and Safety in Child Care's Web site: http://nrc.uchsc.edu.
²For purposes of comparison, the authors examined State licensing requirements affecting children ages 9 months ("infants"), 18 months ("toddlers"), and 3 years ("preschoolers").
³Definitions of child:staff ratio and group size are excerpted from Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, Second Edition, 2002.

New Resources on Licensing

Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, 2nd edition is a nine-chapter volume covering topics including program activities for healthy development, appropriate staffing, health promotion and protection, nutrition and food services, safe facilities and play areas, prevention of infectious diseases, and serving children with special health needs; administration and policy development; and recommendations for the licensing function. The revised standards are guidelines for child care providers, early childhood educators, parents of children in child care, health professionals serving child care, and State officials responsible for watching over the health and safety of children in child care. The new edition, co-developed and revised by experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Public Health Association (APHA), includes standards based on new knowledge on such topics as appropriate brain development, proper infant sleep position, nutritional requirements for healthy growth, and managing prevalent chronic illnesses. A rationale accompanies each standard to explain why the guideline is important in protecting a child from harm and encouraging healthy development. Caring for Our Children is available on the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care Web site at http://nrc.uchsc.edu. To order a print copy, contact the AAP at 1-888-227-1770, or contact the APHA at 301-893-1894.

Foundation for Training: The NARA Licensing Curriculum

By Pauline D. Koch, Executive Director, National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA)

Child care licensing is critical to the protection and appropriate care of children in out-of-home care. One of the primary components of an effective licensing program is sufficient, qualified and well-trained licensing staff. How do licensors get their training and education in the fundamentals of licensing? Since it was originally published in 1988, the NARA Licensing Curriculum has become the primary resource for training human care licensing staff.

In 12 chapters, the Curriculum covers topic areas such as regulatory concepts, rules formulation, the phases of the licensing process, balanced use of authority, provider support services, enforcement of the licensing rules, managing complaints, handling illegal licensing operations, measurement tools, and ethics in licensing practice.

The Curriculum aims to:

• Aid providers in reinforcing the importance of licensing to their staff;
• Supplement courses on human care in colleges and universities; and
• Help policy-makers at all levels gain a greater awareness of and appreciation for the importance of licensing.

The Curriculum is used in varied settings to train licensors and to assist licensing agencies. Sessions at the NARA Annual Licensing Seminar and at related regional and national conferences focus, for example, on specific chapters of the Curriculum. In addition, States' and provinces' in-house trainers and NARA-approved trainers use the Curriculum to train licensing staff.

Written by practitioners, for practitioners, the recently revised and expanded Curriculum remains true to the purposes and goals NARA established in 1986 when work began on the original edition:

• To preserve some of the seminal literature and concepts developed by leading theorists and practitioners in human care licensing;
• To deliver to NARA members, licensing professionals, and colleagues in related professions a body of knowledge about the theory and practice of human care regulation;
• To assist licensing agencies with orientation and basic training to prepare new staff for the rigors and responsibilities of licensing; and
• To promote public understanding of human care licensing fundamentals and the role that sound licensing plays in protecting consumers, families, and providers.

Delaware's Training for Family Child Care Providers

By Ann Ryan and Joan Carlson, Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing

In the State of Delaware, anyone who cares for children for compensation must obtain a license. One of the requirements to become a licensed family child care home provider is attending a six-hour orientation class facilitated by an Office of Child Care Licensing Specialist. Orientation includes the following basic goals:

• Familiarizing potential child care providers with the State regulations and the Office of Child Care Licensing;
• Verifying that the applicants have complied with Preservice requirements such as first aid and CPR training, fingerprinting, and health appraisals;
• Giving applicants an appreciation of what their new professional venture may be like; and
• Impacting the quality of child care.

Initially, we encountered some challenges that led us to change the training in order to enliven the discussions and to ensure that all the training specialists were consistent in their presentation of the material. To make the training more stimulating, and to better achieve our goals, we revised the format to include interactive components. We now use a variety of presentation methods, and encourage individual and small group participation through the use of activities. Although the training still includes some lecture, videotapes are also used to present some of the information. We have also invited outside speakers from child care resource and referral agencies, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), provider support groups, and others. A script and list of handouts are used to standardize the training content. Participants receive a folder of materials that matches the script topics. Although participants are given the State regulations and are informed that they are responsible for knowing and following all of the regulations, the trainers stress certain regulations that the State Child Care Administrator has determined to be crucial.

To verify Preservice requirements, we devised a checklist for applicants to complete during the orientation training. An evaluation form is provided so that each applicant can evaluate the orientation's content and make suggestions for improvement. In order to further increase providers' knowledge of State requirements and to establish rapport with the Office of Child Care Licensing, we also developed a training course titled "Staying in Compliance." Provided in conjunction with the Criminal History Unit, this two-hour class is offered periodically at no cost to child care providers. Our hope is that in standardizing both the training content and the presentation of orientation and "Staying in Compliance" trainings, we will have a positive impact on the quality of care provided for children in licensed homes in Delaware.

When Specialized Training in ECE is Required:
August 2002 Licensing Requirements

*No category refers to States that do not license the type of care specified.
Compiled by NCCIC from licensing regulations posted on the National Center for Health and Safety in Child Care's Web site: http://nrc.uchsc.edu.

Center Director Credentialing in the State of Florida

By Felicia Bonner, Administrator Credential Coordinator, Florida Children's Forum

Why Director Credentialing is Important

Director credential initiatives are rapidly increasing across the country. Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives defines director credentialing as "the awarding of a certificate, permit, or other document which certifies that an individual has mastered a specific set of defined skills and knowledge, and has demonstrated competencies to prepare for performance as a director in any early care and education or school-age setting."

The role of the director of early childhood programs is a complex job that provides a much-needed service to our communities; however, program directors have little or no training available to them to meet the daily challenges of running a child care center. One of the goals of the credentialing requirement is to present an opportunity for directors to have coursework available to them that meets the demands and needs of their work in their communities.

The term "director" represents a variety of titles used in the child care field, such as supervisor, education coordinator, program administrator, operator, and many others. To be consistent with the statutory definition of child care operator, "director" refers to the on-site director or individual who has the primary responsibility for the day-to-day operation, supervision, and administration of the child care facility. Family home care providers and center teachers and other early childhood professionals may seek the director credential, but are not required by law to have a credential.

Legislation was passed in Florida in 1999 requiring over 6,000 child care administrators/directors of licensed child care facilities to obtain a director credential as part of minimum licensing standards by January 1, 2003. However, during the 2002 session of the Florida Legislature, legislators extended the credential deadline to January 1, 2004. After January 1, 2004, individuals hired into director positions will need to complete the credential requirement before taking the directorship. Also in 2002, the name of the credential was changed from Administrator Credential to Director Credential to be consistent with the language in the Florida Administrative Code Child Care Standards.

Florida's Credentialing Program

The director credential is a diverse program consisting of educational and experiential requirements at two levels: the foundational and advanced levels. Both levels of the credential require directors to take courses that are based on sound principles of child care and education administration. Directors are asked to consider their educational background and years of experience as a director/administrator of a child care facility when deciding which credential to seek.

Both credential levels will require directors to have the following:

• High school diploma or GED;
• Department of Children and Families Part 1: Introductory Training, which includes the "Behavioral Observation and Screening" module;
• Departmental module "Special Needs Appropriate Practices" or eight hours of in-service training in serving children with disabilities that meets the statutory requirement for licensing;
• One of the following staff credentials: a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential; Florida-approved CDA Equivalency; the Florida School-Age Certification; a formal education exemption qualification (including a waiver); or a documented employment history recognition exemption;
• Depending on the level of the credential, successful completion of one to three approved courses (offered through an accredited post-secondary institution) in early child care and education program administration (in some cases exceptions will be granted for persons with degrees and specified coursework—see table at right for the educational exceptions);
• One or two years of experience on-site as a child care director/administrator of a child care facility. Candidates who have met all the educational requirements of either director credential level, but who do not have the required experience, will be granted a temporary credential; and
• The credential at either level (including temporary) will have a renewal date every five years after the date of issuance. All certificates issued prior to January 1, 2004 will have a renewal date of January 1, 2009.

*The foundational level course, an overview of child care center management, may be taken to satisfy the business/administration/management requirement.
**Includes but is not limited to Statistics or Economics.

For the advanced level only, there is a competency-based test for those who meet the educational exceptions, but do not have the required college coursework. In order to qualify to take the competency-based test(s), candidates must document that they have a high school diploma or GED, have completed the Department of Children and Families Part 1: Introductory Training, and have met the staff credentialing requirement prior to taking the credential test. Based on the availability of funds, T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Program scholarships are available to assist early childhood professionals in meeting the CDA and coursework requirements of the credential.

*States include New York City and the District of Columbia for a total of 52 entities.
**Administrative Training may be in addition to early childhood education requirements.
Compiled by the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC) from licensing regulations posted on the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care's Web site: http://nrc.uchsc.edu.

Licensing-Related Indicators of Quality Child Care

By Richard Fiene, Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University

Today, the regulation of most child care programs (both centers and homes) is a State responsibility. However, about 40 years ago, child care issues and regulation became of increasing interest to Federal agencies. In the 1960s the Federal Interagency Day Care Requirements (FIDCR) established standards for programs caring for children ages 3 to 14 that included staff-child ratios, maximum group sizes and staff qualifications. In 1979, a more comprehensive version of the FIDCR was being drafted and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was looking for a streamlined tool for conducting monitoring reviews. The weighted licensing indicator system was just being developed in Pennsylvania, and this new methodology looked like a potential tool for evaluating compliance with the FIDCR standards.

A Federal demonstration grant was given to Pennsylvania to develop a weighted licensing indicator system methodology and to begin pilot testing it in a consortium of States from 1980-1985. After 1980 it became clear that the monitoring focus for child care programs was shifting from the Federal government to the States. HHS wanted to assist States in their monitoring efforts and thought that the weighted licensing indicator system was an innovative means for doing this.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, many States utilized this methodology to help streamline their licensing enforcement systems; in 1994, a study by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) estimated that 30 States were using the methodology in one form or another. During this time, a national database was established at the Pennsylvania State University in order to track the various State regulations that constituted respective States' weighted licensing indicator systems. Although the wording was not exact from State to State, 13 key indicators consistently appeared.

Employing the indicator system methodology, a research brief funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and titled Thirteen Indicators of Quality Child Care: Research Update built upon an earlier tool developed by the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care (NRCHSCC) that focused on those standards that protect children from harm in child care¹. These standards are also key predictors regarding children's positive outcomes while in child care and are statistical indicators of overall compliance with child care regulations.

Thirteen Indicators of Quality Child Care updates reviews of recent research and identifies additional research needed related to the 13 indicators that form the basis of the national database maintained at the Pennsylvania State University. This research base and review clearly documents the importance of the 13 indicators in determining the health and safety of young children in child care and the overall quality of a program. The table on p. 13 lists the 13 indicators and provides a brief description of their importance to program compliance and quality.

¹Stepping Stones to Using Caring for Our Children, National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care, 1997.

Emergencies in Regulated Child Care Facilities: A Tip Sheet

By Judy Collins, Technical Assistance Specialist, National Child Care Information Center, and President, National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA)

Prevention and Preparedness

• Make sure facilities are in compliance with the following:
  • Existing licensing regulations, such as fire and health clearances;
  • Sign-in and -out policies;
  • Proper staffing ratios;
  • Working telephone and posted emergency numbers; and
  • Evacuation plans posted in each room.
• Encourage programs to:
  • Become familiar with their local emergency response agency; and
  • Identify the hazards in their area.
• Ensure communication with the following partners:
  
  • Licensing offices;
  • Emergency response agencies;
  • Other State/Tribal agencies; and
  • Program staff.

Improving Security at the Program Level

• Request local law enforcement agencies to perform safety inspection of facility;
• Review physical plant for security;
• Develop a system of code words/phrases to use among staff in announcing an emergency;
• Develop an arrangement for mutual aid with other facilities and area schools; and
• Develop a phone tree to alert parents or responsible parties.

Role of Regulation

• Inform/train staff in prevention techniques;
• Assure that requirements adequately address emergency preparation;
• Enforce the requirements that are in place; and
• Encourage facilities to put paper requirements into practice.

The Aftermath of Disasters

• Identify status of facilities;
• Include policies for temporary relocation that allow facilities to:
  • Exceed capacity limitations temporarily;
  • Abbreviate fire and health inspections;
  • Make exceptions for playgrounds; and
  • Build in timelines for compliance.
• Evaluate whether policies need to be changed:
  
  • When considering exceptions, remember that children's safety is paramount;
• Be careful not to be "knee-jerk"; and
• Examine what has been learned from the experience(s).

Be Sure to Keep in Mind

EMERGENCIES will continue to happen; and our best DEFENSE is a good OFFENSE.

Resources for Information on Child Care Regulation

Publications and Web sites

13 Indicators of Quality Child Care: Research Update (2002)
Richard Fiene, Ph.D.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/ccquality-ind02/index.htm

2002 Child Care Center Licensing Study
The Children's Foundation
http://www.childrensfoundation.net/publications.htm

2002 Family Child Care Licensing Study
The Children's Foundation
http://www.childrensfoundation.net/publications.htm

Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, Second Edition (2002)
National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care
http://nrc.uchsc.edu/CFOC/index.html

Directory of State Child Care Regulatory Offices:
>http://nccic.org/statedata/dirs/regoffic.html

Family Child Care: What's in a Name? (June 2001)
Gwen Morgan, Sheri Azer and Sarah LeMoine
http://nccic.org/pubs/fccname.pdf

Individual States' Child Care Licensure Regulations
National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care
http://nrc.uchsc.edu

Non-licensed Forms of Child Care in Homes: Issues and Recommendations for State Support (June 2001)
Gwen Morgan, Kim Elliott, Christine Beaudette, Sheri Azer and Sarah LeMoine
http://nccic.org/pubs/nonlic-wheelock.pdf

Regulation of Child Care (Winter 2002)
Sheri L. Azer, Sarah LeMoine, Gwen Morgan, Richard M. Clifford, and Gisele M. Crawford
National Center for Early Development and Learning
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncedl/PDFs/RegBrief.pdf

State Efforts to Enforce Safety and Health Regulations (January 2000)
General Accounting Office (GAO)
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/he00028.pdf

Stepping Stones to Using Caring for Our Children
National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care
http://nrc.uchsc.edu/STEPPING/index.htm

Organizations

Child Care Law Center (CCLC)
221 Pine Street, Third Floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: 415-394-7144
Web: http://www.childcarelaw.org

Child Welfare League of America, Inc.
440 First Street NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20001-2085
Phone: 202-638-2952
Web: http://www.cwla.org

Children's Defense Fund
25 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-662-3545
Web: http://www.childrensdefense.org

The Children's Foundation
725 Fifteenth Street NW, Suite 505
Washington, DC 20005-2109
Phone: 202-347-3300
Web: http://www.childrensfoundation.net/

Families and Work Institute
330 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-465-2044
Web: http://www.familiesandworkinst.org/

National Association for Regulatory Administration
26 East Exchange Street, Fifth Floor
St. Paul, MN 55101
Phone: 612-290-6280
Web: http://www.nara-licensing.org

National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
School of Nursing
4200 E. Ninth Avenue
Campus Box C287
Denver, CO 80262
Phone: 800-598-5437
Web: http://nrc.uchsc.edu

Topics

• ACF Priorities
• CCDF Administration
• Licensing Regulations
• Partnerships & Collaboration
• Quality
• Special Needs & Disabilities
• All Topics...

Types of Resources

• Federal Information
• Research/Statistics
• State & Territory Information
• TA Tools and Resources
• Library