Kentucky child care, camp and ratio rules

Child care licensing

Child-care centers must be licensed: Type I centers care for 4 or more children in a nonresidential setting (or 13 or more in space separate from the licensee's home), and Type II centers care for 7 to 12 children in the licensee's own home. Family child-care homes are regulated separately through certification (922 KAR 2:090; 922 KAR 2:100).

After-school and recreation programs: Exempt from center licensing: summer camps permitted by the Cabinet as youth camps that serve school-age children; K-12 private schools while in session; programs regulated by the Kentucky Department of Education; after-school programs that continue the school day, are run and staffed by an accredited school, and don't take Child Care Assistance Program funds; instructional programs open no more than 20 hours a week that a child attends no more than 10 hours a week; and religious summer programs a child attends for 2 weeks or less (922 KAR 2:090, Section 3).

Licensing agency: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS): Office of Inspector General, Division of Regulated Child Care (licensing and inspections), with rules set by the Department for Community Based Services, Division of Child Care

Sources: 922 KAR 2:120 Child-care center health and safety standards (LII mirror); 922 KAR 2:090 Child-care center licensure (effective 7/18/2025, LII mirror)

Staff-to-child ratios in licensed centers

Rule: 922 KAR 2:120, Section 2(2). Kentucky's bands: preschool 3 to 4 years 1:12 (max 24), 4 to 5 years 1:14 (28), school-age 5 to 7 years 1:15 (30), and 7 and older 1:20 for full-day care or 1:25 before and after school (max 30). The youngest child in the group sets the ratio and group size, and group-size limits apply only to Type I centers. Younger: infants 1:5 (max 10), 12 to 24 months 1:6 (12), 24 to 36 months 1:10 (20).

Work out your staffing with the ratio calculator

Summer camps

A Cabinet youth camp permit is required to operate a day, primitive, or residential camp for 5 or more children (902 KAR 10:040); permits are issued after inspection, expire December 31, and day camps file an extra day-camp application. Instructional studios, vacation Bible schools, and youth troop trips under 72 hours are not youth camps. Summer camps permitted as youth camps that serve school-age children are exempt from child care licensing (922 KAR 2:090, Section 3).

Sources: 902 KAR 10:040 Kentucky youth camps (LII mirror); 922 KAR 2:090 Child-care center licensure, Section 3 exemptions

Background checks

Child care staff (owners, directors, employees present while children are in care, adult household members in home-based programs, and anyone with supervisory control or unsupervised contact) must clear checks before starting: Kentucky's child abuse and neglect central registry, the Kentucky and national sex offender registries, and a fingerprint-based Kentucky State Police and FBI check with rap back. Checks are repeated at least once every 5 years and after a break of 180 days or more from Kentucky child care work (922 KAR 2:280). Youth camp staff, contractors, and volunteers need a Cabinet child abuse and neglect records check (or a 922 KAR 2:280 check or a state and national criminal check) before working at camp (902 KAR 10:040, Section 14).

Sources: 922 KAR 2:280 Background checks for child care staff members (LII mirror); 902 KAR 10:040 Kentucky youth camps, Section 14

Giving medication

Prescription and over-the-counter medicine may be given only with a written request from the parent or the child's prescriber and according to the label; the center keeps a written log of time, date, amount, staff member, child, and medicine. Medicine must be in the original bottle, properly labeled, not expired, and stored in a separate locked place out of children's reach (epinephrine and rescue medicine have their own rules) (922 KAR 2:120, Section 7).

Free medication administration log

Sources: 922 KAR 2:120 Section 7 First aid and medicine (LII mirror)

Reporting child abuse

Kentucky law requires any person who suspects child abuse, neglect, or dependency to report it (KRS 620.030); the federal Child Welfare Information Gateway lists Kentucky as an all-persons reporting state. Licensed child-care centers must report abuse or neglect to the Cabinet under KRS 620.030 (922 KAR 2:090, Section 13).

Sources: Child Welfare Information Gateway: Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect; 922 KAR 2:090 Section 13 Reports; 922 KAR 1:330 Child protective services (24-hour hotline)