Virginia

Staff-child ratios (centers)

Requirements

Annual training

Staff must complete a minimum of 16 hours of annual training appropriate to the ages of children in care (8VAC20-780-245); annual training must include the center's emergency preparedness plan, and CPR/first aid is among the required training topics.

Lead teacher

Program leaders (lead teachers) must be at least 18 with high school completion and either qualify as a program director; hold an endorsement or bachelor's degree in a child-related field; hold an early childhood certificate or child development credential plus 3 months of programmatic experience; or complete 6 months of supervised programmatic experience with required training (8VAC20-780-210).

Director

Program directors must be at least 21 and meet one of: a graduate degree in a child-related field plus 6 months of experience; a bachelor's degree/endorsement in a child-related field plus 1 year; 48 semester hours with 12 in child-related subjects plus 1 year; or 2 years of programmatic experience (1 supervisory) plus an early childhood certificate, child development credential, or Montessori certification (8VAC20-780-190).

Worth knowing

Other rows of Tables 1 and 2 (8VAC20-780-350): 2-year-olds 1:8, max group 24; children 9 through 12 years 1:20; group size limits do not apply to school-age-eligible children through 12; balanced mixed-age groups max 28. Mixed-age groups follow the youngest child's ratio and group size.

Compliance

Background checks

All applicants for employment, employees, volunteer applicants, and volunteers must complete a background check before starting and every five years thereafter: a sworn disclosure, fingerprints forwarded through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the FBI for national criminal history, a search of Virginia's child abuse and neglect central registry, plus criminal, sex-offender-registry, and abuse-registry checks from any state of residence in the preceding five years (Va. Code § 22.1-289.035). The VDSS Office of Background Investigations processes results.

Mandated reporting

Any person employed in a child day program, and any person providing child care for pay on a regularly planned basis, is a mandated reporter under Va. Code § 63.2-1509 and must report suspected abuse or neglect as soon as possible and within 24 hours (to the state hotline), with civil penalties and possible misdemeanor charges for failure. Mandated reporter training is among the required annual training topics for center staff.

First aid & CPR

Staff must complete orientation training in first aid and CPR appropriate to the ages in care within 30 days of employment (8VAC20-780-240(E)), and centers must always have at least one CPR- and first-aid-certified staff member in each classroom or area where children are present, with at least two certified staff on the premises and on field trips (8VAC20-780-530). Certification must be current, from recognized organizations, with in-person CPR competency demonstration.

Health & safety training

Center staff must complete orientation within seven days of assuming job responsibilities — and before working alone with children — on 11 topics including abuse recognition and reporting, medication, emergency preparedness, SIDS/safe sleep, shaken baby prevention, allergy response, and disease control, plus the VDOE-sponsored orientation course within 90 days (8VAC20-780-240). Staff then complete at least 16 hours of annual training covering the CCDBG health and safety topics (8VAC20-780-245).

Operations

Supervision rule

Children under 10 must be within actual sight and sound supervision of staff, except brief restroom use where staff must hear the child and check within five minutes; children 10+ may be outside sight/sound only under strict conditions including whereabouts tracking and supervision checks at intervals not exceeding 15 minutes (8VAC20-780-340). During designated rest periods limited staffing relaxations apply only with an experienced adult supervising and another program leader on site, and off-site outdoor play areas require at least two staff whenever children are present.

Record-keeping

Each enrolled child needs a separate record with identifying information, parent and two emergency contacts, physician information, immunization and physical exam documentation (per 8VAC20-780-130/140/150), written care plans for diagnosed food allergies, authorized pick-up persons, enrollment dates, and proof-of-identity documentation (8VAC20-780-60). Social security numbers on identity proofs must be destroyed or rendered unreadable when retention ends; a general retention period is not stated in this section.

Inspections

All licensed child day programs and home-based child care systems must be inspected not less than twice annually, with at least one of the two inspections unannounced, and the Superintendent may authorize additional announced or unannounced inspections (Va. Code § 22.1-289.018).

Worth knowing: Child care oversight moved from VDSS to the Department of Education in 2021; statute now uses 'home-based child care' where 'family day home' was previously used. The former background check chapter 8VAC20-770 shows as repealed effective September 2026, so background check facts are cited to Va. Code § 22.1-289.035; VDOE's childcare.virginia.gov pages blocked automated fetching (403).

Family & home child care

8VAC20-800 — Standards for Licensed Family Day Homes; 8VAC20-850 — Voluntary Registration of Family Day Homes; Va. Code § 22.1-289.02 et seq.

Voluntarily Registered Family Day Home

A family day home caring for one through four children (exclusive of the provider's own children and any children who reside in the home) may operate under voluntary registration; a home serving five through twelve such children must be licensed (8VAC20-800-10; voluntary registration standards are in 8VAC20-850).Any family day home caring for more than four children under age two — including the provider's own children and children residing in the home — must be licensed or voluntarily registered (8VAC20-800-10).

Licensed Family Day Home

A child day program in the provider's residence (or the home of any child in care) for 1 through 12 children under age 13, exclusive of the provider's own children and children who reside in the home; licensure is required at five to twelve children. The department sets each home's maximum licensed capacity based on space, supervision responsibilities, and any special orders, and the total in care may never exceed it (8VAC20-800-10, 8VAC20-800-40).No fixed infant cap is stated in the capacity regulation itself; the under-two threshold above (more than four requires licensure or registration) applies, and capacity is set home-by-home (8VAC20-800-40).

Provider training

In addition to current first aid and CPR, caregivers in licensed family day homes must obtain a minimum of 16 clock hours of training annually in areas relevant to their responsibilities (8VAC20-800-210).

Worth knowing

Virginia child care licensing moved from the Department of Social Services to the Department of Education in 2021. A family day home where all children in care are related to the provider by blood or marriage is not required to be licensed. The exact 'four or fewer children' voluntary registration text is codified in 8VAC20-850 (the childcare.virginia.gov page describing it was not reachable during this research; the 5-12 licensure threshold and the under-two rule were verified in 8VAC20-800-10).