Illinois

Staff-child ratios (centers)

Requirements

Annual training

15 clock hours of in-service training per year for the director and each child care staff member (Sections 407.100(b) and 407.170(c)); first-year training must cover abuse/neglect reporting and licensing rules.

Lead teacher

Early childhood teachers must be at least 19 with a high school diploma/GED, plus one of: 60 semester hours of college with 6 in child care/child development; 1 year (1,560 hours) of experience plus 30 semester hours with 6 in child development; or an approved credential (CDA, CCP, or Gateways ECE/ITC Level 3+) (Section 407.140).

Director

Directors must be at least 21 with a high school diploma/GED and (if hired on/after July 1, 2017) an associate degree in child development/ECE, or 64 semester hours (21 in ECE-related courses) plus a Gateways Level I Illinois Director Credential or 3 semester hours (or 3 training points) in child care administration (Section 407.130).

Worth knowing

Full table (Section 407.190): 2-year-olds 1:8 (group 16); 5-year-olds still in preschool 1:20 (group 20); school-age 1:20 (group 30). Ratios are based on the youngest child when ages are combined.

Compliance

Background checks

All persons subject to background checks — staff and others with access to children — must furnish conviction information, submit to fingerprinting, and authorize the comprehensive checks required by 89 Ill. Adm. Code 385 (Rule 407.110); results are kept in a separate confidential file, and unchecked individuals may never be alone with children outside staff's visual or auditory supervision (Rules 407.120, 407.100).

Mandated reporting

Child care staff are mandated reporters under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act: each personnel file must contain a signed statement acknowledging mandated-reporter status, and the director and every staff member must complete the Department-approved online Mandated Reporter Training within 30 days of hire (Rules 407.120(a)(6), 407.100(c)(6)).

First aid & CPR

The center must have on duty at all times at least one staff member currently certified in first aid, CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, with CPR certification specific to every age group served (infant, child and adult) and choking-infant first aid where infants are served (Rule 407.100(h)); documentation is kept in center records (Rule 407.120(e)). Renewal follows certificate currency; no fixed rule interval beyond "current" certification.

Health & safety training

The director and each child care staff member must complete 15 clock hours of in-service training per year; first-year topics must include recognizing and reporting suspected abuse/neglect and the licensing rules (Rule 407.100(c)). New hires must complete the state's online Mandated Reporter Training within 30 days, SIDS and Shaken Baby trainings within 30 days where infants are served (repeated every 3 years), join the Gateways Registry within 30 days, and certain uncredentialed classroom staff need the ECE Development, Health, and Safety Basics training aligned to federal CCDBG requirements.

Operations

Supervision rule

Each group of children must be under the direct supervision of a qualified early childhood teacher or school-age worker at all times, no one without a cleared background check may be with children outside staff's visual or auditory supervision, and children under 5 may never be left alone while bathing (Rules 407.190, 407.100, 407.340). Infants must sleep in cribs meeting federal safety standards with supervised nap/rest for children under 6 (Rules 407.350, 407.200).

Record-keeping

Centers keep confidential personnel files (medical exam, references, credentials, mandated-reporter statement, training records, background-check results in a separate file) and child records: a medical report dated within 6 months before enrollment showing IDPH-required immunizations, valid 2 years; enrollment information; and daily arrival/departure records (Rules 407.120, 407.310, 407.260). Retention periods are not stated in Part 407.

Inspections

The Child Care Act (§4.5(h)) requires day care centers, homes and group homes to be monitored at least annually; licensing staff make at least one unannounced visit per year plus complaint investigations, with fuller inspections at three-year license renewal (2024 Day Care Licensing Annual Report). The licensing agency cannot assess fines and relies on corrective plans, with revocation reserved for extraordinary cases.

Worth knowing: Rule 407 text used is DCFS PT 2025.07 (July 7, 2025), still the operative standards as licensing transitions to IDEC. The itemized components of the Part 385 comprehensive check (CANTS, SOR, FBI) were not fetched section-by-section.

Family & home child care

89 Ill. Adm. Code 406 (Licensing Standards for Day Care Homes); 89 Ill. Adm. Code 408 (Licensing Standards for Group Day Care Homes)

Day Care Home (license)

A family home that receives more than 3 and up to 12 children; the maximum of 12 includes the family's own children and all other persons under age 12. A caregiver alone may care for at most 8 children under 12 (including the caregiver's own): up to 5 under age 5 with at most 3 under 24 months, OR up to 6 under age 5 with at most 2 under 30 months, OR 8 school-age children. With a qualified assistant, 4 school-age children may be added (up to 12).Caregiver alone: at most 3 children under 24 months (or, under the alternative mix, at most 2 under 30 months).

Group Day Care Home (license)

Caregiver alone: at most 8 children under 12 (12 if all school-age), including the caregiver's own, related and unrelated children under 12. With one assistant (18+): up to 12 children under 12. Extended capacity with two assistants: up to 16 children total (the additional 4 must be school-age), with both assistants present at all times for those configurations.Age mixes limit younger children (e.g., up to 3 under 24 months or up to 2 under 30 months per caregiver alone; up to 6 under 30 months with caregiver plus assistant).

Provider training

Licensed day care home providers must complete 15 clock hours of in-service training per licensing year (up to 5 excess hours may carry into the next year).

Worth knowing

Care for 3 or fewer children in a family home does not require a day care home license (a day care home is one receiving more than 3 up to 12 children). During unforeseen school closures a day care home may temporarily add one school-age child up to 12 total with documentation.