West Virginia

Staff-child ratios

Requirements

Annual training

All qualified staff must complete 15 hours of approved training within the first year of employment (directors: 6 of the 15 in management; caregivers: 6 related to the age group served) (§78-1-8.7). Staff must apply for and maintain a WV STARS Career Pathway credential, completing the approved training needed to keep it current; first aid and CPR are required within six months of employment and must be kept current.

Lead teacher

A teacher must be at least 18 with at least one year of relevant work experience, plus one of: a WV Training Certificate in Early Care and Education (WVTCECE) or equivalent; a CDA (or 12 early care and education college credits) with 300 hours of relevant experience with young children; or a total of two years of relevant work experience (§78-1-9.3).

Director

Directors must be at least 21 with at least one year of relevant experience and a high school diploma or equivalent; additional requirements scale with center type, from a CDA plus 300 experience hours (or 10 years of experience) for a Type I center up to an associate or bachelor's degree in early care and education or a related field (or equivalent credits/experience combinations) for a Type III center (§78-1-9.1.h).

Worth knowing

Full Table A (Appendix 78-1 E): 6 wk–12 mo 1:4/8; 13–24 mo 1:4/12; 2 yr 1:8/16; 3 yr 1:10/20; 4 yr 1:12/24; 5 yr–school-age 1:12/24; school-age 1:16/32. Mixed-age groups follow the youngest child. The rule text verified is the Series 1 rule (effective July 1, 2014, reissued under the Department of Human Services) obtained via a full-text copy hosted by the Public Health Law Center; the state's own PDF and the federal ACF database copy (April 2023) were not directly accessible, so confirm current amendments with WV DoHS. The rule specifies 15 hours in the first year; it does not state a numeric annual in-service hour requirement for later years beyond maintaining WV STARS credentials.