Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care

Improve Family Child Care Ratios and Group Sizes

To move toward this recommendation, states may use multiple policy levers, starting from different points. Potential state policies include:

Require in state licensing standards that no more than two children under age 2 be cared for by a family child care provider at one time, and that group size not exceed six children (including all children related to the provider).
Expand the state licensing definition of an infant to include children through 12 months and the definition of a toddler to include children from 13 months through 30 months.

Raise child care subsidy payments for family child care providers caring for low-income infants and toddlers to sustain caring for no more than two children under age 2 in a group of six.
Implement direct contracts with family child care providers, or family child care networks or systems, that are tied to requirements that no more than two children under age 2 be cared for by a family child care provider at one time, and that group size not exceed six children. Provide payment rates to cover the associated costs of maintaining these ratios and group sizes.

Ensure that the standards, design, and incentives of state Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) specifically address and encourage small group sizes with a limited number of infants and toddlers in family child care, so that the highest level requires family child care groups of no more than six children, with no more than two children under age 2.

Visit page: http://www.clasp.org/babiesinchildcare/recommendations?id=0007