Massachusetts

Staff-child ratios (centers)

Requirements

Annual training

Educators in large-group programs working 20+ hours/week must complete a minimum of 20 hours of professional development per year (scaled down to a minimum of 5 hours for those working under 10 hours/week); at least one-third must address the needs of diverse learners (606 CMR 7.09).

Lead teacher

An EEC-qualified Teacher must be at least 21 or hold a high school diploma, and have 3 credits in child growth and development plus 9 months of work experience or one practicum, or hold a CDA credential, or have completed a two-year high school vocational program in early childhood education (606 CMR 7.09).

Director

A Director I must meet lead teacher requirements, have 6 additional months of work experience after qualifying as lead teacher, and complete at least 2 credits or 3 CEUs in child care administration; Director II requires 2 further credits or 3 CEUs (606 CMR 7.09).

Worth knowing

Infant groups of 4–7 require a second educator (1:3 base ratio, max group 7). Half-day preschool allows 1:12 with group of 24. Kindergarten-age children (entering first grade the following year) have a separate band: 1:15, group 30.

Compliance

Background checks

Under 606 CMR 14.00, employees of EEC-licensed group/school-age programs and family child care household members 15+ must complete a Background Record Check comprising Massachusetts CORI, DCF supported-findings check, SORI and National Sex Offender Registry checks, fingerprint-based state and FBI checks, and all out-of-state checks mandated by CCDBG (14.05); BRCs are completed before hire/licensure, with re-check frequency set by statute and EEC policy (14.09).

Mandated reporting

Yes — child care educators are mandated reporters under MGL c.119 §51A; 606 CMR 7.04 and 7.11(4) require programs to have abuse/neglect procedures, to notify EEC when a 51A report is filed, and to train all educators in protecting children from abuse and neglect.

First aid & CPR

At least one educator currently certified in first aid and age-appropriate (pediatric) CPR must be present whenever children are in care (606 CMR 7.11); educators must obtain certification within six months of employment and keep it current, and first aid/CPR hours do not count toward professional development (7.09).

Health & safety training

New educators must complete an EEC-approved orientation covering personnel policies, health care procedures, child guidance, emergency plans, medication administration policies, infant safe sleep, and procedures for protecting children from abuse and neglect (606 CMR 7.09); annual professional development ranges from 10 to 20 hours depending on program type and hours worked, with at least one-third addressing diverse learners.

Operations

Supervision rule

Educators must stay in sufficient proximity to intervene quickly and be positioned to maximize seeing and/or hearing children, without distracting tasks; napping children must be visually observed at least every 15 minutes (door ajar if napping in a separate room), infants under 6 months get direct visual supervision at all times during their first six weeks in care, no child may be outdoors without adult supervision, and children may never be left unattended in vehicles (606 CMR 7.10).

Record-keeping

Children's records must include a face sheet, emergency contacts, a physical exam statement within one month of admission, and immunization records; children's, attendance, and educator records must be kept at least five years, background-check evidence kept on file, and programs must log unusual/serious incidents and injuries with monthly administrator review (606 CMR 7.04, 7.11).

Inspections

EEC may visit and inspect any licensed program at any reasonable time to verify compliance and must investigate abuse/neglect notices (MGL c.15D §9, which also mandates unannounced annual monitoring of large family child care homes); licenses run three years for family child care and two years for group/school-age programs, with renewal applications and updated inspection certificates required (606 CMR 7.03).

Worth knowing: mass.gov pages and policy PDFs (including the EEC inspections/visits policy and differential licensing page) returned 403 to automated access, so the inspections field rests on MGL c.15D §9 and 606 CMR 7.03; EEC's announced/unannounced visit cadence for centers per its policy could not be verified. The BRC renewal interval is set by statute/EEC policy and is not stated numerically in 606 CMR 14.09.

Family & home child care

606 CMR 7.00 (Standards for the Licensure or Approval of Family Child Care...)

Family child care home (license for up to 6 children; up to 8 with school-age add-ons)

One educator may care for up to 6 children; up to 8 with a single educator only if the 7th and 8th children are school-age (606 CMR 7.10(4)(d)-(e); the 7-8 tier requires additional licensee experience under 7.09). Children who live in the home and are younger than school age, and resident homeschooled children, count as being in care (606 CMR 7.03(5)(c)).No more than 3 children younger than 2, including at least one toddler who walks independently (606 CMR 7.10(4)(d)-(e)).

Large family child care home (7-10 children with two educators)

7 to 10 children with two educators — the licensee plus an EEC-approved assistant (606 CMR 7.10(4)(f)-(g)). Applicants for a 9-10 capacity must meet higher experience requirements (606 CMR 7.09).With two educators and 7-10 children: no more than 6 children under 2, of whom no more than 3 may be infants (under 15 months); with three educators, up to 6 infants (606 CMR 7.10(4)(g)-(h)).

Provider training

Educators working more than 10 hours/week: at least 10 hours of professional development per year; those working more than 25 hours/year but under 10 hours/week: at least 5 hours. At least one-third must address diverse learners; first aid/CPR certification is maintained separately (606 CMR 7.09(15)(e)-(f)).

Worth knowing

EEC issues a single Family Child Care license with capacity tiers (6 / 8 / 10). The 7-8 solo-educator tier is commonly called 'family child care plus' in EEC materials, though 606 CMR 7.00 does not use that name.