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Child Care Licensing Requirements: Minimum Early Childhood Education (ECE) Preservice Qualifications, Orientation/Initial Licensure, and Annual Ongoing Training Hours for Family Child Care Providers
June 2007

States*	Providers in Small Family Child Care Homes			Providers in Large Family Child Care Homes
	ECE Preservice Qualifications	ECE Training Required in Orientation and/or Initial Licensure	Ongoing Clock Hours	ECE Preservice Qualifications	ECE Training Required in Orientation and/or Initial Licensure	Ongoing Clock Hours
Alabama	24 clock hours of training	None	20/year	24 clock hours of training	None	20/year
Alaska	None	None	12/year	None	None	20/year
Arizona 1	NL (Voluntary certification)			None	None	12/year
Arkansas	None	Family child care provider training within 6 months of licensure	10/year	NC
California 2	15 clock hours of training in preventive health practices	None	0	15 clock hours of training in preventive health practices	None	0
Colorado 3	None	12 clock hours of approved orientation training within 3 months of licensure	9/year	None	12 clock hours of approved orientation training within 3 months of licensure	9/year
Connecticut	None	None	0	None	None	1% of hours worked
Delaware 4	6 clock hours of approved training provided by the licensing department	15 clock hours of approved training during first year of licensure	12/year	Certificate from a vocational/technical school child care program and 18 months of experience	None	15/year
District of Columbia	None	None	0	NC
Florida 5	30-hour Family Child Care Training Course with a score of 70 or better on competency exam and 5 clock hours of approved training in early literacy and language development	None	10/year	CDA credential (held for at least 1 yea r), 30-hour Family Child Care Training Course with a score of 70 or better on competency exam , and 5 clock hours of approved training in early literacy and language development	10-hour specialized training module with a score of 70 or better on competency exam within 6 months of licensure	10/year
Georgia	None	None	10/year	None	None	10/year
Hawaii 6	U	None	U	CDA credential and 4 years of experience	None	0
Idaho 7	NL (Voluntary license)			NL (Voluntary license)	None	0
Illinois 8	None	None	15/year	CDA credential	6 clock hours of training related to children with special needs within 3 years	15/year
Indiana	None	CDA credential within 3 years	0	None	CDA credential within 3 years	0
Iowa 9	None	None	12/year	None	None	12/year
Kansas 10	None	None	5/year	None	None	5/year
Kentucky	None	6 clock hours of training within the first 3 months	6/year	None	6 clock hours of training within the first 3 months	12/year
Louisiana	NL (Voluntary registration)			NC
Maine	None	None	12/year	NC
Maryland	8 clock hours of approved training	None	12 over 2 years	NC
Massachusetts	Orientation session approved by the licensing office	None	15 over 3 years	5 clock hours of large family child care training approved by the licensing office	None	30 over 3 years
Michigan	None	None	10/year	None	None	10/year
Minnesota	None	6 clock hours of approved training within 1 year	6/year	None	6 clock hours of approved training within 1 year	6/year
Mississippi 11	CDA or Mississippi Child Care Director's credential and 2 years experience	Training on child care regulations, new director orientation, and playground safety within 6 months	15/year	CDA or Mississippi Child Care Director's credential and 2 years experience	Training on child care regulations, new director orientation, and playground safety within 6 months	15/year
Missouri	None	None	12/year	CDA credential	None	12/year
Montana	None	Department-approved Day Care Orientation within 6 months	8/year	None	Department-approved Day Care Orientation within 2 months	8/year
Nebraska	None	None	12/year	None	None	12/year
Nevada	None	9 clock hours of training within 90 days	15/year	None	9 clock hours of training within 90 days	15/year
New Hampshire	None	None	6/year	None	None	6/year
New Jersey	NL (Voluntary registration)			NC
New Mexico	None	45-hour entry level course within 6 months	12/year	None	45-hour entry level course within 6 months	12/year
New York	None	15 clock hours of training in the first 6 months	30 over 2 years	None	15 clock hours of training in the first 6 months	30 over 2 years
North Carolina 12	None	None	12/year	NC
North Dakota 13	None	9 clock hours of training in the first year	9/year	None	10 clock hours of training in the first year	13/year
Ohio 14	NL			None	None	15/year
Oklahoma	None	None	12/year	None	None	15/year
Oregon 15	Family Child Care Overview session	None	8 over 2 years	None	None	15/year
Pennsylvania	None	None	12 over 2 years	None	None	6/year
Rhode Island	None	None	10 over 2 years	CDA credential	None	8/year
South Carolina 16	None	None	0	None	None	15/year
South Dakota	NL (Voluntary registration)			CDA credential	None	10/year
Tennessee	None	Department of Human Services-sponsored child care orientation class within the first 3 months	4/year	None	Department of Human Services-sponsored child care orientation class within the first 3 months	8/year
Texas 17	CDA or CCP credential	None	20/year	72 clock hours of training in child development, 30 clock hours of training in business management, and 3 years experience	None	20/year
Utah 18	None	5 clock hours of approved training within 90 days	0	None	None	20/year
Vermont 19	None	None	6/year	NC
Virginia	NL (Voluntary registration)			None	None	6/year
Washington	None	20 clock hours of approved training within 6 months	U	NC
West Virginia 20	None	None	8/year	None	None	10/year
Wisconsin 21	None	40 clock hours of approved training within 6 months of becoming licensed	15/year	NC
Wyoming 22	None	None	30 over 2 years	100 clock hours of approved training and 2 years experience	None	30 over 2 years
Total Number of States with Requirement	10	16	38	13	13	37

Key:

CDA = Child Development Associate Credential awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition
CCP = Certified Child Care Professional Credential awarded by the National Child Care Association
NC = No category of facility
NL = Facility not licensed
U = Unspecified number of hours required

Source: Data compiled by NCCIC from child care licensing regulations posted on the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education Web site at http://nrc.uchsc.edu/STATES/states.htm on June 14, 2007.

End Notes:

*States: States includes the District of Columbia for a total of 51 entities. Back

For the purposes of this document, a licensed program is required to have permission from the State to operate and must meet specified family child care standards. Some States may call their regulatory processes certification or registration; the term licensed is used to represent all regulatory processes.
Several States have county or city licensing regulations that may supersede State requirements; this table does not include such regulations.

Many States have multiple alternatives to qualify for roles. This table reports the alternative that requires the least amount of ECE training. If a State has requirements for experience, high school completion, age, or training not specified in ECE (such as first aid/CPR) that can substitute for ECE training, it is reported as “None.” Below is the “hierarchy of qualifications,” which shows the order in which qualification alternatives are placed to determine the minimum amount of ECE preservice training.

lowest	Secondary School Education – i.e., high school vocational programs Clock Hours of Training in  ECE or Related Field – 1 clock hour = 60 minutes Early Childhood Credential – includes credentials that do not require courses be taken for college credit, such as the CDA credential, the CCP Credential, or the National Administrator's Credential Semester or Credit Hours in ECE or Related Field Semester or Credit Hours in ECE or Related Field and Additional College Education Predegree Certificate Program – requires college-level coursework and is awarded college credit Associate’s Degree in ECE or Related Field Bachelor’s Degree in ECE or Related Field Early Childhood Teacher Certification – requires a bachelor’s degree Master’s Degree in ECE or Related Field Doctorate in ECE or Related Field
highest

State Notes:

¹ Arizona: The provider must have a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent and by September 1, 2009, have completed 60 hours of training in early education, child development, or a closely related field. Back

² California: Preventive Health Practices coursework includes many ECE-related topics, such as working with children with special needs, management, prevention of childhood injuries, and child nutrition. Back

³ Colorado: Separate rules exist for providers in infant and toddler and experienced provider homes. Back

⁴ Delaware: In a large family child care home, the second staff person must have 12 clock hours of approved training annually. Back

⁵ Florida: Large family child care home operators have one opportunity to exempt from the 10 clock-hour specialized training module by successfully completing competency examinations with a score of 70 or better; prior to beginning the 30-hour Family Child Care Training Course, small and large family child care staff have one opportunity to pass the competency examination with a score of 70 or better. Within 90 days of employment, employees in large family child care homes must enroll in the 30-hour Family Child Care Training Course, and must complete the course with a score of 70 or better on the competency exam within 1 year. Back

⁶ Hawaii: To obtain initial registration or to renew registration in a small home, the provider must submit written evidence describing efforts made to increase knowledge in 2 or more of 12 areas specified by the State. Back

⁷ Idaho: Voluntary licensing is available for family child care homes. State certification is required for large family child care homes, which includes obtaining a fire inspection and criminal history check for staff. Back

⁸ Illinois: Group home providers must provide 15 clock hours of training for their assistants every year. Back

⁹ Iowa : Homes caring for five or fewer children are not required to register. Iowa registers three types of family child care homes: categories A, B, and C. The data reported in the table for small family child care are for category A homes. Requirements for category C homes are reported under large family child care. Back

¹⁰ Kansas: For both small and large family child care providers, current accreditation by the National Association for Family Child Care can be substituted for the annually required 5 clock hours of training. Back

¹¹ Mississippi: The qualification and training requirements listed are for the operator of a child care home (i.e., director of a child care facility). There are less stringent requirements for other staff (i.e., caregivers). Before a temporary license may be upgraded to a regular license, the facility owner/operator and director shall complete a minimum of 4 hours of staff development training on the Regulations Governing Licensure of Child Care Facilities, 3 hours of New Director Orientation, and 3 hours training in playground safety. Back

¹² North Carolina: Providers in small family child care homes with 10 or more years of experience are required to have 8 clock hours of ongoing training annually. Back

¹³ North Dakota: The training requirements listed during initial licensure periods for both small and large homes must include a department-approved, 6-hour basic child care course. Back

¹⁴ Ohio: Staff are required to participate in 15 clock hours of ongoing training each year for 3 years only. Staff with a higher education degree or an early childhood credential are not required to participate in ongoing training. Back

¹⁵ Oregon: The ongoing training requirement for small family child care providers begins when a registered family child care provider submits a second or subsequent renewal application. Before a large/group home may provide care to more than two children less than 24 months of age, the provider must have at least 30 clock hours of training specific to infant and toddler care. Back

¹⁶ South Carolina: The qualifications and training reported for large homes is for the operator. Other staff in large homes are required to complete 10 clock hours of training annually. Back

¹⁷ Texas: Requirements listed in the table are for primary caregivers. A primary caregiver with 5 or fewer years of experience as a primary caregiver in a licensed (large) or registered (small) child care home must complete at least 6 of the required ongoing clock hours in management techniques, leadership, or staff supervision; primary caregivers with more than 5 years experience must complete at least 2 of the required ongoing clock hours in management techniques, leadership, or staff supervision. Other staff must participate yearly in at least 15 clock hours of training.  Back

¹⁸ Utah: Small family child care requirements reported in the table are for homes required to have a residential certificate. Back

¹⁹ Vermont: The State has two types of small family child care homes: registered homes with 3–6 children and up to 4 school-age children, and licensed homes with 3–12 children. Most family child care homes in the State are registered, therefore the requirements shown are for registered homes. Providers in licensed homes are required to have at least a CDA credential and 2 years experience, and must complete 12 hours of training per year. Back

²⁰ West Virginia: Large family child care requirements listed in the table are for operators; additional staff must obtain 8 clock hours of training each year. Back

²¹ Wisconsin: If the provider is licensed to care for infants and toddlers, 10 additional clock hours must be in infant and toddler care. Back

²² Wyoming: The large home requirements reported in the table are for directors; less stringent requirements are specified for other staff in large homes. Back

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