New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services › Subchapter C - Social Services › Article 2 - Family and Children's Services › Part 418 - Day Care Centers › Subpart 418-1 - Child Day Care Centers › Section 418-1.8 - Supervision of children

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
			   Children cannot be left without competent supervision at any time. Competent
			   supervision includes awareness of and responsibility for the ongoing activity
			   of each child. It requires that all children be within a teacher's range of
			   vision and that the teacher be near enough to respond when redirection or
			   intervention strategies are needed. Competent supervision must take into
			   account the child's age emotional, physical, and cognitive
			   development.
(b) The child day care
			   center must employ staff who will promote the physical, intellectual, social,
			   cultural and emotional well-being of the children.
(c) The child day care center must provide
			   supervision of the staff responsible for the care of children. Workloads and
			   assignments must be arranged to provide consistency of care to children and to
			   allow staff to fulfill their respective responsibilities.
(d) No person under 18 years of age may be
			   left alone to supervise a group of children at any time, including in an
			   emergency.
(e) A group teacher,
			   meeting the qualifications of section
			   418-1.13  of
			   this Subpart, is required for every group of children.
(f) An additional group teacher or an
			   assistant teacher is required when the number of children in the group dictate
			   that a second teacher be present to meet the teacher/child ratio.
(g) Whenever the child day care center is in
			   operation and the director is away from the premises, there must be a staff
			   person designated to act on behalf of the director, who is knowledgeable about
			   the programs operation and policies.
(h) A staff person who is qualified to
			   perform the duties of an absent staff member must be provided when needed to
			   comply with the applicable teacher/child ratios.
(i) In other than emergency situations such
			   as illness or accident, parents must be notified in writing two weeks prior to
			   any long-term absence of the teachers. This notice must include specific start
			   and end dates of the absence and who will be taking the teacher's place in the
			   day care program.
(j) When a child
			   care center is in operation, an adequate number of qualified teachers must be
			   on duty to ensure the health and safety of the children in care.
Minimum Supervision Ratios
					   Based on Group Size for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers
Age of Children
Teacher/Child Maximum
Maximum Group Size
under 6 weeks***
1:3
6
6 weeks to 18 months
1:4
8
18 months to 36 months
1:5
12
3 years
1:7
18
4 years
1:8
21
5 years
1:9
24
Minimum Supervision Ratios Based on
					   Group Size for School-aged Children
through 9 years
1:10
20
10-12 years
1:15
30
***Such care is only permitted pursuant to the
				provisions of section
				418-1.15(b)(30) 
				of this Subpart.
(k) The
			   supervision ratios are as follows:
(1) for
			   children under six weeks old who have been approved to attend day care by the
			   office:
(i) there must be one teacher for
			   every three children;
(ii) the
			   maximum group size is six children.