Minimum Standards for Tribal Child Care: A Health and Safety Guide
Table of Contents (This document is also available in PDF and Word format.)
Section I:
Policies/Practices/Caregiver Training
Staff Ratios and Group Sizes
Principle
Adequate staffing ratios are important for providing quality care to children and retaining staff.
Why This Is Important
- Lower ratios allow for direct supervision and consistent caregiving.
- Children benefit from interaction in smaller groups.
- Smaller groups and lower ratios reduce stress on individual caregivers.
- Close supervision ensures the physical safety of the children and allows for better maintenance of sanitation routines.
- It is important for children to build long-term, trusting relationships with caregivers. Having a small number of caregivers contributes to forming these relationships.
Standards
- Caregivers should meet or exceed state standards for child-to-caregiver ratios and group sizes.
- Caregivers should directly supervise infants, toddlers, and preschool children by sight or hearing at all times, even when the children are in sleeping areas.
| NOTE: In child care centers, caregivers should directly supervise infants, toddlers, and preschool children by sight AND sound at all times, even when the children are in sleeping areas. |
- Caregivers should know the whereabouts of the children in their care at all times.
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