Maine

Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Child and Family Services - Child Care Licensing Unit

10-148 CMR Chapter 32, Child Care Facility Licensing Rule (effective September 27, 2021)

Researched 2026-09 · Summary, not legal advice — confirm with the agency before acting on a figure.

Staff-child ratios

Infants

1:4

6 weeks to 1 year

max group 8

Toddlers

1:5

1 year to 2.5 years

max group 10

Preschool

1:10

3 years to under 5 years

max group 20

School-age

1:13

5 years (school age) to 12 years

Annual training: In facilities serving 13+ children: 30 hours of annual training for staff working more than 20 hours/week (18 hours if under 20 hours/week); small facilities require 12 hours. First aid/CPR certification hours count, annual training must include health and safety topics, and all staff register with Maine's Professional Development Network (Section 8).
Lead teacher: Lead teachers (programs with 13+ children) must be at least 18 and have a current CDA or Maine-approved credential, or 12 months of direct child care experience, or 30 college credit hours including a child-related course plus 6 months of experience (Section 7(F)(7)).
Director: Director requirements scale with licensed capacity: at least 21 years old, with options from high school plus 12 months of experience and 12 hours of training (13-20 children) up to a bachelor's in early childhood education or equivalent credential/experience combinations for facilities licensed for 50+ children (Section 7(F)(4)-(6)).
Worth knowing: Center table (Section 7(C), facilities with 13+ children) offers alternatives: 1-2.5 years may be 1:5 (group 10) or 1:4 (group 12); 3-under 5 may be 1:10 (group 20) or 1:8 (group 24); 2.5-3.5 years 1:7 (group 21); school-age 1:13 with no stated group max. Small facilities (3-12 children) and nursery schools (1:12, group 30) have separate tables.

A ratio is easy to read and hard to hold at 3pm on the playground.