Arizona

Staff-child ratios (centers)

Requirements

Annual training

Each staff member providing child care must complete 18 or more actual hours of training every 12 months (R9-5-403); staff serving infants need at least 6 of those hours in infant growth and development, and directors need at least 6 hours in program administration; designated staff must maintain current infant/child first aid and CPR certification.

Lead teacher

A teacher-caregiver must be at least 18 and have one of: 6 months of child care experience plus a high school/HSE diploma (or 12 college credits including 6 in ECE); an associate or bachelor's degree in early childhood, child development or a closely related field; or an N.A.C., CDA, or C.C.P. credential.

Director

A facility director must be at least 21 and document one of: 24 months of child care experience + high school/HSE diploma + 6 ECE credit hours (or 60 hours of instruction plus 12 hours in program administration); 18 months experience + N.A.C./CDA/C.C.P. or 24 college credits (6 in ECE); 6 months experience + associate degree in ECE/child development; or 3 months experience + bachelor's degree in those fields.

Worth knowing

Arizona sets ratios but no maximum group sizes. Full R9-5-404 table: infants 1:5 or 2:11; 1-year-olds 1:6 or 2:13; 2-year-olds 1:8; 3-year-olds 1:13; 4-year-olds 1:15; 5-year-olds not in school 1:20; school-age 1:20. Ratios are based on the youngest child in the group.

Compliance

Background checks

All child care personnel must hold a valid Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card — issued after state and FBI fingerprint checks — before starting employment or volunteer work (A.R.S. §36-883.02), and facilities must keep fingerprinting and DCS Central Registry (child abuse) documentation on file per the center rules (A.A.C. R9-5).

Mandated reporting

Under A.R.S. §13-3620, any person responsible for the care or treatment of a minor — which includes child care personnel — must immediately report suspected non-accidental injury, abuse, or neglect to a peace officer or the Department of Child Safety; abuse recognition and reporting is covered in required staff training.

First aid & CPR

Staff certified in CPR (participatory/hands-on courses required) and first aid must be present on facility premises, in vehicles transporting children, and on field trips at all times (A.A.C. R9-5-302/403); certifications must remain current.

Health & safety training

Center staff must complete orientation within 10 calendar days of hire and at least 24 hours of training every 12 months, documented in staff records (A.A.C. R9-5-403); abuse recognition/reporting and health-safety topics are part of required training content.

Operations

Supervision rule

Staff must supervise each enrolled child at all times, including en route to and from the facility and during napping; awake infants may spend no more than 30 minutes in a crib, swing, or high chair, and field trips require a written plan naming participants plus attendance documentation kept 12 months (A.A.C. R9-5 center rules).

Record-keeping

Required records include each child's Emergency Information and Immunization Record (EIIR) with ready access, immunization records or exemptions, daily sign-in/sign-out and attendance records, medication administration logs (12 months), fire drill records (12 months), and staff records and reports retained 12 months; current inspection reports must be available on-site.

Inspections

ADHS must inspect an applicant's physical space, activities, and standards of care before initial licensure (A.R.S. §36-882) and conducts ongoing compliance inspections and complaint investigations (online complaint intake); licensees must keep current department inspection reports at the facility and make them available to parents, and provider license history is searchable in ADHS's public database.

Worth knowing: Rule citations come from ADHS's official Child Care Center Rules compliance checklist (published pursuant to A.R.S. §36-891(F)), which condenses A.A.C. R9-5; routine inspection frequency is not fixed in the fetched statute text. DES separately certifies small family child care homes for the subsidy program — that program was not verified here.

Family & home child care

Arizona Revised Statutes § 36-897 et seq. (child care group homes); A.R.S. § 46-807 (DES certification of child care home providers)

Certified Family Child Care Home Provider (DES certification)

A maximum of 4 children for compensation, in the provider's home, with an adult-to-child ratio of 1:4 (1:6 if the provider's own children are included in the count). This is a DES certification that allows the home to serve families receiving child care assistance — it is not a DHS license.

Child Care Group Home (DHS-certified)

A residential facility where child care is regularly provided for compensation, for periods of less than 24 hours a day, for not less than 5 and no more than 10 children through age 12 (A.R.S. § 36-897). Staffing per the state's tri-agency guide: 1 caregiver for up to 5 children; 2 caregivers for 6–10 children.

Worth knowing

Arizona has no state 'family child care home' license: caring for up to 4 children for compensation in the provider's home is not licensed by DHS (it may be DES-certified for subsidy, or registered with the CCR&R, also capped at 4). DHS regulation begins at 5 children for compensation (child care group home, 5–10). Annual training-hour requirements for group home staff and DES-certified providers were not confirmed from fetched sources (A.R.S. § 46-807 directs DES to set training standards without stating hours); infant-specific limits for either category were also not confirmed — treat both as unverified.