Child Care Licensing Study, United States, 2004-2005

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.