Wyoming

Staff-child ratios

Requirements

Annual training

Anyone providing direct care or counted in ratio more than 24 hours in any month must complete at least 12 training credits annually in early learning/child development (Chapter 11, Section 4(c)); 8 health and safety credits are required every 2 years, and all staff must maintain current pediatric and adult first aid and CPR certification with in-person skills demonstration.

Lead teacher

In child care centers, staff other than the director and assistant director must be at least 16 years of age and complete approved pre-service training within 3 months of hire and before providing unsupervised care (Chapter 11, Sections 2-4); Wyoming's rules do not set an education credential requirement for regular caregivers.

Director

A center director must be at least 21, have a high school diploma or equivalent certificate, and have any combination of education and experience equivalent to one year in early childhood management, early childhood education, child development, or a related field (Chapter 11, Section 3(f)).

Worth knowing

Wyoming's table expresses group limits as the maximum with 3 staff: infants 1:4 (2 staff:8; 3 staff:10 max); 1-year-olds 1:5 (max 12); 2-year-olds 1:8 (max 18); 3-4-year-olds 1:12 (max 30); school-age 5+ 1:18 (max 40). Mixed-age options exist (e.g., 1:10 with no more than 2 children under 2). Group size may also be limited by room capacity. Rules updated April 2026; Chapter 11 PDF is distributed via Google Drive links on the DFS licensing rules page.