Guidelines, Licenses, QRIS, and Ratios by State

Table of Contents

• National Licensing Regulations
• QRIS Rating by State
• Child Care to Staff Ratios by State
• Federal and National Guidelines for Child Care
  

Child Care Licensing, QRIS, and Staff Standards by State 

Note: To find the full details and latest licensing regulations link, simply...

1. Navigate to your favorite search engine. Ex: Google 
2. Type your state’s licensing regulation “Ex: for Alabama “Minimum Standards for Day Care Centers”
3. Navigate to the appropriate link within the search. 

QRIS Rating by State

Check out a state-by-state guide. 

Child Care to Staff Ratios by State

Check the ratios by state.

Federal and National Guidelines for Child Care

Childcare may be licensed at the state level. Still, the foundation of quality, safety, and accountability is set by national standards that ripple through every classroom, nursery, and play space in America.

• Administration for Children and Families (ACF) – Office of Child Care (OCC):

Overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the OCC doesn’t just fund childcare; it enforces essential protections. Thanks to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014, all states must implement comprehensive background checks for childcare staff, including FBI fingerprinting and child abuse registry searches. But that’s just the beginning. The CCDF also requires that every provider receive rigorous training, from CPR and first aid to emergency preparedness and safe sleep. These aren’t suggestions; they’re non-negotiables that now anchor every state’s licensing rules. 

 The OCC provides a National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations and resources to help states comply with federal standards.

• Health and Safety Guidelines (CDC and CFOC):

What does it mean for a childcare center to be truly “safe”? The CDC helps define that through national guidance on illness prevention, sanitation, and emergency protocols, especially during public health crises like COVID-19. Meanwhile, the Caring for Our Children standards, developed by pediatric and public health leaders, offer a gold standard for everything from nutrition to injury prevention. States often turn to these benchmarks when shaping their regulations because children deserve more than just minimums; they deserve the best.

• Head Start Program Standards:

What if we imagined a higher bar and then asked every childcare program to rise to meet it? That’s what the Head Start and Early Head Start programs have done. These federally funded models go well beyond licensing basics. They mandate lower child-to-teacher ratios, more individualized care, health screenings, and stronger educational credentials for staff. Even if a center isn’t part of Head Start, its performance standards influence how states define excellence. They serve as a blueprint for what can be, not just what has to be.

For example, Head Start preschools must have no more than a 1:10 teacher-child ratio with a maximum of 20 children in a class, and Early Head Start (serving infants/toddlers) uses a 1:4 ratio (two teachers for eight infants/toddlers), from govinfo.gov. Head Start also mandates comprehensive services (health screenings, family engagement) and higher teacher qualification standards. While not mandatory for non-Head Start programs, these federal standards inform quality initiatives in many states.

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