California Day Care Requirements

• California providers of day care for young children have more restrictions than those watching older children.child playing image by Christopher Hall from Fotolia.com
  
  California day care centers fill the needs of working families, who often use day care facilities to safeguard their children during times when direct parental supervision is not an option. Because these businesses are involved in the direct care and supervision of children, the state has enacted requirements to create safe conditions for children at day care facilities. Knowing and understanding these rules are essential for all child care professionals in California.
  
  

Day Care License

• Day care centers operating in California must be licensed. This license is obtained from the California Department of Social Services, and may require criminal background checks on owners and employees of the day care facility. Health clinics and community care centers are exempt from this licensing requirement, as are home day care providers that care only for the children of a single family.
  
  

Teacher Qualifications

• Child care workers are referred to as teachers under California law. A teacher must be at least 18 years old and must have completed at least 12 post-secondary education units in child development or early childhood education. The position also requires a minimum of six months of experience, which can be gained through an internship or on-the-job training. Alternatively, a teacher may be hired if she holds a Children’s Center Permit. These permits are issued by the California Commission for Teacher Preparation and Licensing.
  
  A day care center in California may hire an employee before the minimum criteria have been met if the person has a minimum of six semester units of classes in early childhood development or child development. These requirements must be completed before being hired. The worker must then continue to receive at least two additional units per semester until the full 12 units have been obtained.
  
  

Worker-to-Child Ratios

• California has very specific rules to govern how many children each worker is allowed to care for. The number of children depends primarily on the age range of the children, because younger children typically require more care and focus than older children.
  
  For children ages six weeks to nine months, there can be no more than four children per staff member. For children ages nine months to 27 months, it's six per staff member. From then to age 4, the ratio is 12 to 1. For all other ages, the maximum is 14 children per staff member.
  
  In some cases, there are also limitations on the total size of the group. For children ages nine months to 18 months, the size is no more than 12 children, regardless of how many staff members are on hand.