Staff-to-child ratios

Definition

The state minimum caregivers per child, tighter for infants, which sets what staffing costs.

Why It Matters

Ratios are the labor-cost floor and the compliance line in one rule, which means margin cannot be improved by thinning the room. Do the ratio-by-room arithmetic yourself against actual enrollment by age, because the infant rooms are where the cost sits and where a center is most often quietly out of compliance. A violation risks the license, and the license is the business, so this is not a line item to take on trust.