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The 2020 Child Care Licensing Study provides information collected about child care licensing programs and policies and the facility requirements for child care centers, family child care homes, and group child care homes for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The data about licensing requirements for child care centers, family child care homes, and group child care homes were collected by the National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance from the regulations posted on the National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations that were in effect as of December 31, 2020. The licensing regulations data cover the following areas:

• Licensing regulations
• Additional staff training requirements
• Definition of licensed child care centers
• Child-staff ratios and group size
• Staff roles and age requirements
• Supervision of children
• Staff qualifications and ongoing training requirements
• Care of children
• Facility requirements
• Staff hiring requirements

The same web site was used to collect licensing regulations covering the above listed topics for small family child care homes and large/group family child care homes.

State/territory Child Care and Early education (CCEE) licensing agencies establish and monitor regulations that child care programs serving young children must meet to legally operate. These regulations and monitoring practices play a large role in the operations of CCEE programs. The TRLECE project (The Role of Licensing in Early Care and Education) includes a collection of three descriptive surveys to deepen the CCEE field's understanding of CCEE licensing systems, which play a critical role in supporting positive outcomes for providers, families, and children.

Data collection involved three national surveys with state/territory CCEE licensing administrators (DS1 and DS2), front-line CCEE licensing staff (DS3), and licensed CCEE providers (both center-based and family child care providers) (DS4). These surveys provide information on the licensing unit, characteristics and perceptions of licensing administrators, front-line staff's characteristics, experiences, and perceptions of licensing, and provider's experiences and perceptions of licensing.

The 2017 Child Care Licensing Study provides information collected about child care licensing programs and policies and the facility requirements for child care centers, family child care homes, and group child care homes for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Limited center regulations data are available for U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The data about state licensing policies, including facility monitoring, enforcement of licensing regulations, and licensing program staff, were gathered by the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) in the 2017 NARA Child Care Licensing Programs and Policies Survey. NARA sent an online survey to all state child care licensing agencies in March 2018. Respondents submitted their answers via Survey Monkey, and by January 2019, all states had responded.

The data from the Licensing Survey cover the following topical areas:

• Number of licensed facilities
• Complaint investigations
• Licensing staff
• Enforcement actions
• Types of inspections
• Licensing information on the Internet
• Frequency of inspections
• Licensing fees
• Frequency of licensing
• Licensing staff requirements
• Inspections and monitoring
• Licensing's role in quality initiatives

The data about licensing requirements for child care centers, family child care homes, and group child care homes were collected by the National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance from the regulations posted on the National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations that were in effect as of December 31, 2017. The licensing regulations data cover the following areas:

• Licensing regulations
• Additional staff training requirements
• Definition of licensed child care centers
• Child-staff ratios and group size
• Staff roles and age requirements
• Supervision of children
• Staff qualifications and ongoing training requirements
• Care of children
• Facility requirements and
• Staff hiring requirements

The same web site was used to collect licensing regulations covering the above listed topics for small family child care homes and large/group family child care homes.

The 2014 Child Care Licensing Study provides information collected about child care licensing programs and policies and the regulations for childcare centers, family child care homes, and group child care homes for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the two U.S. Territories (Guam and the Virgin Islands). The data about States and Territories' licensing policies, including facility monitoring, enforcement of licensing regulations, and licensing program staffing, were gathered by the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) in the 2014 NARA Child Care Licensing Programs and Policies Survey. NARA sent an online survey to all state child care licensing agencies in September 2014. Respondents submitted their answers via the Internet, and by January 2015, all States had responded.

The data from the Licensing Survey cover the following topical areas:

• Number of licensed facilities
• Complaint investigations
• Licensing staff
• Enforcement actions
• Types of inspections
• Licensing information on the Internet
• Frequency of inspections
• Licensing fees
• Frequency of licensing
• Licensing staff requirements
• Inspections and monitoring
• Licensing's role in quality initiatives

The child care center licensing regulations used for this study were compiled by the National Center for Early Childhood Quality Assurance from the regulations posted on the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (NRC) website between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014. That site is no longer active but directs users to the National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations. The licensing regulations data cover the following areas:

• Licensing regulations
• Additional staff training requirements
• Definition of licensed child care centers
• Child-staff ratios and group size
• Staff roles and age requirements
• Supervision of children
• Staff qualifications and ongoing training requirements
• Care of children
• Facility requirements and
• Staff hiring requirements

The same web site was used to collect licensing regulations covering the above listed topics for small family child care homes and large/group family child care homes.

This project allowed the Maryland State Department of Education to accomplish two objectives:

1. Enhance, merge and expand existing databases on early childhood education and care.
2. Use those databases to understand the effects of the child care subsidy program on children's school readiness at kindergarten entry in Maryland.

The first part of the project involved integrating existing state databases, including those of the child care subsidy program, licensing and credentialing programs, and the Maryland Model for School Readiness kindergarten assessment data as outcome measures. It also included negotiating to gain access to relevant additional databases, including those of the Resource and Referral agencies, Head Start organizations, public pre-K, etc. This was done under the advisement of a Research Advisory Group, composed of state staff, university and research partners, out-of-state advisors, and representatives of local provider groups.

In the second part of the project, as a result of the increased capability to study the connections between child care subsidies, licensing compliance, credentialing and accreditation, and school readiness, analysis of the merged data addressed such questions as:

1. How are parents of four year old children using child care subsidies?
2. Is there a significant association between child care subsidies and children's school readiness upon entering kindergarten?
3. What is the availability of child care providers accepting subsidies in the state of Maryland?
4. What are the associations between child care subsidies, type of child care arrangement used, and children's kindergarten readiness scores?

The purpose of the 2011 Child Care Licensing Study is to report two aspects of child care licensing from 2011 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia (not including Idaho): (1) state child care licensing programs and policies and (2) child care center and family child care home licensing regulations. The study focuses on the processes and policies in each state related to staffing for the licensing program, monitoring facilities, and enforcement of licensing regulations.

To collect information on states' licensing policies, including staffing, monitoring, and enforcement of licensing regulations, the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) disseminated the 2011 NARA Child Care Licensing Program Survey to all state child care licensing agencies in May 2012. Responses were received from all states. The survey focused on the processes and policies in each state related to staffing for the licensing program, monitoring facilities, and enforcement of licensing regulations. The data cover the following topical areas:

• Number of licensed facilities
• Complaint investigations
• Licensing staff
• Enforcement actions
• Types of inspections
• Licensing information on the Internet
• Frequency of inspections
• Licensing fees
• Frequency of licensing
• Licensing staff requirements
• Inspections and monitoring and
• Licensing's role in quality initiatives

The child care center licensing regulations used for this study are those that were posted on the National Resources Center for Health and Safety in Child Care (NRC) Web site. The data cover the following areas:

• Licensing regulations
• Additional staff training requirements
• Definition of licensed child care centers
• Child-staff ratios and group size
• Staff roles and age requirements
• Supervision of children
• Staff qualifications and ongoing training requirements
• Care of children
• Facility requirements and
• Staff hiring requirements

The same Web site was used to collect licensing regulations covering the above listed topics for small family child care homes and large/group family child care homes. More information on the study is located at the National Association for Regulatory Administration's Web site.

The purpose of the 2008 Child Care Licensing Study is to report two aspects of child care licensing from 2008 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia (not including Idaho): (1) state child care licensing programs and policies and (2) child care center and family child care home licensing regulations. The study focuses on the processes and policies in each state related to staffing for the licensing program, monitoring facilities, and enforcement of licensing regulations.

To collect information on states' licensing policies, including staffing, monitoring, and enforcement of licensing regulations, the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) disseminated the 2008 NARA Child Care Licensing Program Survey to all state child care licensing agencies in May 2009. Responses were received from all states. The survey focused on the processes and policies in each state related to staffing for the licensing program, monitoring facilities, and enforcement of licensing regulations. The data cover the following topical areas:

• Number of licensed facilities
• Complaint investigations
• Licensing staff
• Enforcement actions
• Types of inspections
• Licensing information on the Internet
• Frequency of inspections
• Licensing fees
• Frequency of licensing
• Licensing staff requirements
• Inspections and monitoring and
• Licensing's role in quality initiatives

The child care center licensing regulations used for this study are those that were posted on the National Resources Center for Health and Safety in Child Care (NRC) Web site. The data cover the following areas:

• Licensing regulations
• Additional staff training requirements
• Definition of licensed child care centers
• Child-staff ratios and group size
• Staff roles and age requirements
• Supervision of children
• Staff qualifications and ongoing training requirements
• Care of children
• Facility requirements and
• Staff hiring requirements

The same Web site was used to collect licensing regulations covering the above listed topics for small family child care homes and large/group family child care homes. More information on the study is located at the National Association for Regulatory Administration's Web site.

The purpose of the 2007 Child Care Licensing Study is to report four aspects of child care licensing from 2007 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia: (1) state child care licensing programs and policies, (2) child care center licensing regulations, (3) small family child care home licensing regulations, and (4) large/group family child care home licensing regulations.

To collect information on states' licensing policies, including staffing, monitoring, and enforcement of licensing regulations, the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) disseminated the 2007 NARA Child Care Licensing Program Survey to all state child care licensing agencies in July 2007. Responses were received from all states. The survey focused on the processes and policies in each state related to staffing for the licensing program, monitoring facilities, and enforcement of licensing regulations. The data cover the following topical areas:

• Number of licensed facilities
• Complaint investigations
• Licensing staff
• Enforcement actions
• Types of inspections
• Licensing information on the Internet
• Frequency of inspections
• Licensing fees
• Frequency of licensing
• Licensing staff requirements
• Inspections and monitoring and
• Licensing's role in quality initiatives

The child care center licensing regulations used for this study are those that were posted on the National Resources Center for Health and Safety in Child Care (NRC) Web site between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2007. The data covers the following areas:

• Licensing regulations
• Additional staff training requirements
• Definition of licensed child care centers
• Child-staff ratios and group size
• Staff roles and age requirements
• Supervision of children
• Staff qualifications and ongoing training requirements
• Care of children
• Facility requirements and
• Staff hiring requirements

The same Web site was used to collect licensing regulations covering the above listed topics for small family child care homes and large/group family child care homes. More information on the study is located at the National Association for Regulatory Administration Web site.

The purpose of the 2005 Child Care Licensing Study was to report two aspects of child care licensing from 2005 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia: (1) state child care licensing programs and policies, and (2) child care center licensing regulations.

To collect information on states' licensing policies, including staffing, monitoring, and enforcement of licensing regulations, the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) disseminated the 2005 NARA Child Care Licensing Program Survey to all state child care licensing agencies in February 2005. Responses were received from all states. The survey focuses on the processes and policies in each state related to staffing for the licensing program, monitoring facilities, and enforcement of licensing regulations. The data cover the following topic areas:

• Number of licensed facilities
• Complaint investigations
• Licensing staff
• Enforcement actions
• Types of inspections
• Licensing information on the Internet
• Frequency of inspections
• Licensing fees
• Frequency of licensing
• Licensing staff requirements
• Inspections and monitoring
• The role of licensing in quality initiatives

Data on child care center licensing regulations were compiled from the regulations posted on the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education Web site (http://nrc.uchsc.edu/STATES/states.htm) between January 1 and December 31, 2005. The data cover the following areas:

• Licensing regulations
• Additional staff training requirements
• Definition of licensed child care centers
• Child-staff ratios and group size
• Staff roles and age requirements
• Supervision of children
• Staff qualifications and ongoing training requirements
• Care of children
• Facility requirements
• Staff hiring requirements

More information on the study is located on the National Association for Regulatory Administration Web site.