5.1 Licensing Requirements

Each Lead Agency must ensure it has in effect licensing requirements applicable to all child care services provided within the State/Territory (not restricted to providers receiving CCDF funds). 5.1.1 Providers subject to licensing For each category of care listed below, identify the type of providers subject to licensing and describe the licensing requirements. a. Identify the center-based provider types subject to child care licensing: A Certified Child Care Center is defined as a child care facility that is certified to provide care and education of children, generally in a commercial or nonresidential setting, that is not a Certified Family Programs child care home. Certified School-Age Centers is defined as a child care center that provides care only for School-Age children eligible to be enrolled in kindergarten or above in the next school year, and which does not include night care as defined by these rules, in a nonresidential setting. Certified Outdoor Nature Based (ONB) Child Care Programs are defined as child care programs that care for preschool through school aged children in a primarily outdoor natural space utilizing a curriculum philosophy in which nature in central to children’s learning and development. ONB programs do not include night care as defined by rule. Certified School-Age Centers, Certified Child Care Centers, and ONB Programs are required to follow a comprehensive list of licensing requirements that includes all critical areas of child health and safety as required by CCDF. Licensing requirements cover training, personnel, protection from hazards, health, sanitation, background checks, staff qualifications, record keeping, enrollment, emergency preparedness response planning and practice, guidance and discipline, nutrition, premises/outdoor safety, safe sleep for infants, if applicable, and transportation. All staff are required to complete a 2 hour Introduction to Child Care Health and Safety, Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect, Pediatric First Aid/CPR, New staff orientation to the program's policies and procedures, Safe Sleep training if they work with infants, Food handler's training if they are involved in food prep or serving, or making baby bottles, Annual Health and Safety training, and 15 hours annually of ongoing training hours for teachers, directors, program leaders, program coordinators, and aide II staff. In January of 2023, DELC promulgated rules specifically for Certified School-Age Centers. These rules address the unique needs of children ages 5 through 12 and eliminate rules that are not relevant to the age group (health and safety requirements for infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children). Some key differences between these rule sets: Supervision can be by sight or sound; reduced schedule and activity planning when children are only in care after school; modifications to education and experience for qualified staff; flexibility in how information is shared/available to families; considerations for programs that do not have direct control over their physical spaces (such as operating in a public-school cafeteria). Rules for Certified Outdoor Nature Based Child Care programs became effective in July 2025 and include the training and qualifications as Certified Child Care Center directors, teachers, and aide staff, with the addition of nature education specific training for directors and teachers, and additional staff qualifications and competencies, depending on the programming of the specific ONB Program. Are there other categories of licensed, regulated, or registered center providers the Lead Agency does not categorize as license-exempt? [ ] Yes. If yes, describe: [x] No. b. Identify the family child care providers subject to licensing: "Certified Family Child Care Home" means: a child care facility located in a building constructed as a single-family dwelling that has certification to care for a maximum of 16 children at any one time. The provider’s children ages 10 and younger are included in the capacity of the home. "Registered Family Child Care Home" means the residence of the provider, who has a current family child care registration at that address and who provides care in the family living quarters. This type of care has a smaller capacity than the Certified Family Programs home. This license type has a maximum of 10 children including the provider's own children who are under 10 years of age. Additionally, because certified families typically care for a larger number of children, they employ staff. They have higher qualifications to be the provider, have more required annual training, and must have an environmental health inspection annually. Family child care homes are required to follow a comprehensive list of licensing requirements that includes all critical areas of child health and safety as required by CCDF. Licensing requirements cover training, provider and staff qualifications, hazards protection, health, sanitation, background checks, staff qualifications, record keeping, enrollment, emergency preparedness response planning and practice, nutrition, lead testing of water, transportation safety, and care of children with special needs. Additionally, because certified families typically care for a larger number of children, they employ staff. They have higher qualifications to be the provider, have more required annual training, and must have an environmental health inspection annually. Are there other categories of regulated or registered family child care providers the Lead Agency does not categorize as license-exempt? [ ] Yes. If yes, describe: [x] No. c. Identify the in-home providers subject to licensing: N/A Are there other categories of regulated or registered in-home providers the Lead Agency does not categorize as license-exempt? [ ] Yes. If yes, describe: [x] No. 5.1.2 CCDF-eligible providers exempt from licensing Identify the categories of CCDF-eligible providers who are exempt from licensing requirements, the types of exemptions, and describe how these exemptions do not endanger the health, safety, and development of children. -Relative providers, as defined in CCDF, are addressed in subsection 5.8. a. License-exempt center-based child care. Describe by answering the questions below. i. Identify the categories of CCDF-eligible center-based child care providers who are exempt from licensing requirements. Oregon has two, typically center-based, categories of care that are exempt from licensing but still CCDF-eligible providers. Preschool Recorded Programs are not required to be licensed but may be CCDF- eligible if also going through an inspection to become a Regulated Subsidy Programs program. While typically center-based, programs operating under the preschool four hours or less a day exemption they may be home-based rather than center-based. Regulated Subsidy Programs: Center-Based Programs receiving child care subsidy payments through the ERDC program may be operated by the public school district, political subdivision or governmental agency or a Preschool Recorded Program. ii. Describe the exemptions based on length of day, threshold on the number of children in care, ages of children in care, or any other factors applicable to the exemption. Recorded Preschool Programs must: (1) Provide care for only preschool-age children (36 months until the summer months prior to being eligible to enroll in kindergarten. (2) No child can be onsite more than 4 hours per day and (3) the program must be primarily educational. Recorded Programs may choose to become acknowledged as Regulated Subsidy Programs in order to eligible to receive CCDF funds. Regulated Subsidy Programs: Center-Based Programs may be operated by the public school district, political subdivision or governmental agency or a Preschool Recorded Program (If Preschool Recorded, the program must meet the requirements listed in section 5.1.2.b.i). Regulated Subsidy Programs does not have restrictions on the number of hours per day. Specific ratios include: Six weeks through 23 months of age, the minimum number of staff to children is one to four. The maximum number of children in a group is eight. 24 months through 35 months of age, the minimum number of staff to children is one to five. The maximum number of children in a group is 10. 36 months of age to attending kindergarten, minimum number of staff to children is one to 10. The maximum number of children in a group is 20. Attending kindergarten and older, the minimum number of staff to children is one to 15. The maximum number of children in a group is 30. In a mixed-age group of children, the number of staff and group size shall be determined by the age of the youngest child in the group. iii. Describe how the exemptions for these CCDF-eligible providers do not endanger the health, safety, and development of children. Both program types, when accepting federal child care subsidies from DELC, are regulated by the state, but not licensed. They receive an annual health and safety inspection covering critical health and safety areas as required by CCDF, including comprehensive background checks. They also must comply with CCDF training requirements including the director and staff members who work with children in care and volunteers who may have unsupervised access to children. The pre-service trainings include Introduction to Child Care Health & Safety, Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect, pediatric CPR & First Aid training. After approval, they must complete 6 hours of ongoing education each two-year period. All training must be accepted by the Oregon Center for Career Development and be part of OCCD’s 10 Core Knowledge Categories. Two hours must be in ￿Human Growth and Development￿, two of the hours in ￿Understanding & Guiding Behavior￿. The individual can self-select the category(ies) of the final two hours. b. License-exempt family child care. Describe by answering the questions below. i. Identify the categories of CCDF-eligible family child care providers who are exempt from licensing requirements. A family provider is exempt from licensing if: caring for three or less children at a time, if the children they care for are all from one family, or if they are related to all children in care within the fourth degree per Oregon Revised Statute 329A.250. ii. Describe the exemptions based on length of day, threshold on the number of children in care, ages of children in care, or any other factors applicable to the exemption. A family provider is exempt from licensing if caring for three or less children at a time, if the children they care for are all from one family, or if they are related to all children in care within the fourth degree per Oregon Revised Statute 329A.250. There is no age, ratio, length of day, or other factors applicable to this exemption to licensing. iii. Describe how the exemptions for these CCDF-eligible providers do not endanger the health, safety, and development of children. When accepting federal child care subsidies from DELC, these home-based providers are regulated by the state, but not licensed. They receive an annual health and safety inspection covering critical health and safety areas as required by CCDF, including comprehensive background checks. Non-relative providers are required to complete pre-service trainings which include Introduction to Child Care Health & Safety, Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect, Infant/Toddler CPR & First Aid training. After approval, they must complete 6 hours of ongoing education each two-year period. All training must be accepted by the Oregon Center for Career Development and be part of OCCD’s 10 Core Knowledge Categories. Two hours must be in ￿Human Growth and Development￿, two of the hours in ￿Understanding & Guiding Behavior￿. The individual can self-select the category(ies) of the final two hours. Relative providers must complete the Introduction to Child Care Health & Safety as a pre-service training. c. In-home care (care in the child’s own home by a non-relative). Describe by answering the questions below. i. Identify the categories of CCDF-eligible in-home care (care in the child’s own home by a non- relative) providers who are exempt from licensing requirements. A non-relative provider would be considered Regulated Subsidy Programs, even though care is provided in the child’s home. ii. Describe the exemptions based on length of day, threshold on the number of children in care, ages of children in care, or any other factors applicable to the exemption. A provider is exempt from licensing if caring three or less children at a time, if the children they care for are all from one family, or if they are related to all children in care within the fourth degree per Oregon Revised Statute 329A.250. There is no age, ratio, length of day, or other factors applicable to this exemption to licensing. iii. Describe how the exemptions for these CCDF-eligible providers do not endanger the health, safety, and development of children. When accepting federal child care subsidies from DELC, these home-based providers are regulated by the state, but not licensed. They receive an annual health and safety inspection covering critical health and safety areas as required by CCDF, including comprehensive background checks. In-home providers have the same training requirements as providers who care for children outside of the child’s home and their requirements are determined by if the provider is a relative or non-relative Regulated Subsidy Programs provider.