Delaware

Staff-child ratios (centers)

Requirements

Annual training

Staff working 25+ hours/week (including administrators): 18 clock hours of annual training, with at least 2 hours in health or safety (9 hours including 1 health/safety hour for staff under 25 hours/week); staff must be trained in first aid and CPR within 2 months of hire, and a first aid/CPR-certified person for the ages served must be present whenever children are present.

Lead teacher

An early childhood teacher must be at least 18 and either hold a bachelor's or associate degree (with at least 6 ECE/child-development credits) plus 3–6 months of experience with children birth through second grade, or hold a high school diploma plus 12 months of experience and one of: 9 college credits (3 in ECE topics), a valid CDA, TECE 1 & 2 training, a Montessori credential, or an equivalent OCCL-recognized program.

Director

The early childhood administrator must be at least 21 and hold at least a bachelor's or associate degree with 15 credit hours (3 credits in each listed early childhood area, plus an ECE elective) and 12 months of experience working with children birth through second grade.

Worth knowing

Full ratio table (reg. 27): under 12 months 1:4/8; 12-23 months 1:6/12; 24-35 months 1:8/16; 36-47 months 1:10/20; 48 months+ not yet in kindergarten 1:12/24; school-age 1:15/30 (variance to 1:20 possible with a certified Delaware teacher; no variance from the group cap of 30). Ratios follow the youngest child in the group.

Compliance

Background checks

Staff must be fingerprinted with Delaware State Police for Delaware SBI and FBI checks before starting employment (§28.3), with out-of-state fingerprinted criminal and name-based child abuse registry checks for anyone residing outside Delaware or who lived elsewhere in the past 5 years; licensees must also run the Adult Abuse Registry check before the start date, may not employ anyone on the Child Protection Registry at Level III/IV or barred under state law and the federal CCDBG Act, and staff must be supervised at all times and never alone with children until the Criminal History Unit determines eligibility.

Mandated reporting

Any person who suspects child abuse or neglect must make an immediate report to Delaware's Child Abuse Report Line, and centers must document concerns and steps taken in the child's file (§44); recognition of abuse symptoms, the child abuse law, reporting requirements, and the center's reporting procedures are mandatory orientation topics (§32.1.23).

First aid & CPR

All staff members except early childhood and school-age aides must complete first aid and CPR certifications within two months of hire; certifications must be appropriate to the ages served, CPR classes must include hands-on skill demonstration, and certifications must be kept current (§35).

Health & safety training

Before working with children, all staff, substitutes, and regular volunteers must receive documented orientation in 24 listed topics — DELACARE regulations, emergency preparedness, safe sleep/SIDS and shaken baby/abusive head trauma (if serving infants), medication administration, food allergies, premises safety, abuse recognition and reporting, and more (§32); staff working 25+ hours/week must then complete 18 clock hours of annual training including at least 2 hours of health/safety (9 hours incl. 1 health/safety hour if under 25 hrs/week) (§33).

Operations

Supervision rule

'Supervision of children' requires the correct number of staff physically present in the room or area (including outdoors) providing watchful oversight and timely attention; staff must be awake and supervising sleeping children at all times, sleeping children must be separated from children who are awake, and during naps for ages 1+ at least half the required staff must be present and directly observing — a staff member may not monitor napping groups across multiple rooms (§§27.5, 84.x).

Record-keeping

Children's files must include a health appraisal and immunization record (or notarized religious/medical exemption) updated every 13 months, plus medication and accident/injury reports (§§40–41); staff files must hold the orientation form, professional development plan, annual training record, first aid/CPR certifications, and all background check results, daily staff attendance by classroom is kept at least three months, and the child attendance log is provided to OCCL at each annual compliance review.

Inspections

OCCL licensing specialists conduct a compliance review before the initial provisional license expires, verify compliance during an unannounced annual compliance review, investigate complaints at unannounced visits, and make unannounced visits during enforcement periods; noncompliance is cited with a corrective action plan, disputable within five days (§§8.5, 13.3).

Worth knowing: The Delaware DOE 403 problem did not block this round: the full current text of 14 DE Admin. Code 933 was retrieved from the State's official regulations.delaware.gov Administrative Code service (Registrar of Regulations), so no third-party mirror was needed. Family/large-family home rules (separate DELACARE title) were not pulled in detail.

Family & home child care

DELACARE: Regulations for Family and Large Family Child Care Homes (version verified: Final, May 2019)

Family Child Care Home (Level I / Level II)

Level I: up to 4 children preschool-age or younger plus up to 2 additional school-age children who do not live in the home (before/after school and school breaks) — no more than 6 children present at any time, and no more than 2 of the 6 under 12 months; OR up to 5 children preschool-age and younger with no additional school-age children, with no more than 2 of the 5 under 12 months and no more than 3 under 24 months. Level II (requires more education/experience and OCCL approval): up to 6 preschool-age or younger plus up to 3 non-resident school-age children — no more than 9 present, no more than 2 under 12 months, no more than 4 under 24 months. School-age children may fill younger children's spaces.Level I: no more than 2 children under 12 months (and, under the 5-preschooler option, no more than 3 under 24 months). Level II: no more than 2 under 12 months and no more than 4 under 24 months.

Large Family Child Care Home

Licensed for up to 12 children. A large family provider or assistant alone may care for 6 preschool-age-or-younger children plus 3 non-resident school-age children (max 9 present; no more than 2 of the 9 under 12 months, no more than 4 under 24 months). The provider AND an assistant or aide must both be present when 7 or more preschool-age-or-younger children are present (max 12; no more than 4 under 12 months, no more than 6 under 24 months). The provider plus TWO additional staff are required when 5 or 6 children 12 months or younger are present (never more than 6 under 12 months) or when 7 or more children under 24 months are present. The home must have at least one staff member qualified as large family provider (present at least 75% of operating hours) and, generally, one qualified as large family assistant or aide.No more than 4 children under 12 months and 6 under 24 months with two staff; up to 6 under 12 months only with the provider plus two additional staff.

Provider training

Family child care home licensee: at least 12 clock hours of annual training, including 1 hour of health or safety training accepted by OCCL, spread over at least 3 approved topic areas; current first aid and CPR (with skills demonstration) required. Large family child care home: the licensee, provider, assistant, and aide must each complete 15 clock hours of annual training including 1 hour of health or safety training; first aid/CPR within 2 months of hire and kept current.

Worth knowing

Capacity counts children present; school-age household members attending school are excluded from capacity by definition. Level II requires OCCL approval based on 24 months' experience (or equivalents) plus 60 clock hours of training or 3 college credits. The version verified here is the May 2019 DELACARE final; a later revision (reported effective Aug. 10, 2022) may exist — confirm the current text with OCCL before publishing exact numbers.