Mississippi child care, camp and ratio rules

Child care licensing

A license is needed for any place that cares for six or more unrelated children under age 13 for any part of the day. This covers day care centers, preschools, school-age programs and summer day camps unless an exemption applies. Homes caring for five or fewer children can register voluntarily, and homes caring for 12 or fewer children in the operator's home have their own regulations.

After-school and recreation programs: Programs run inside an accredited elementary or secondary school are exempt. Accreditors include the Mississippi Department of Education, SACS, the Mississippi Private School Association, AACS, ACSI and Accelerated Christian Education. Also exempt: programs that run three weeks or less a year (such as vacation Bible school or scout day camps), care offered no more than two days a week as respite, and national membership groups such as Boys & Girls Clubs or the YMCA that charge only a nominal yearly fee ($600 or less) and meet their national standards (Miss. Code Ann. § 43-20-5).

Licensing agency: Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), Child Care Facilities Licensure Branch

Sources: MSDH Child Care Facilities Licensure; MSDH Regulations Governing Licensure of Child Care Facilities (effective Feb. 26, 2026); MSDH Child Care Regulations and Guidelines page; MSDH How to Get a Child Care License (exemptions list)

Staff-to-child ratios in licensed centers

Rule: Miss. Admin. Code Title 15, Part 11, Subpart 55, Ch. 1, Rule 1.8.2 (ratios) and Rule 1.8.3 (group size); school-age group sizes repeated in Rule 1.22.3. Mississippi uses a single 5-through-9-years band (1:20, group of 40). Children aged 10-12 are 1:25 with a maximum group of 50. In a mixed-age group, the youngest child sets the ratio, and preschoolers may not be grouped with school-age children. A five-year-old counts as school-age only if they turned 5 by September 1. Rules effective February 26, 2026.

Work out your staffing with the ratio calculator

Summer camps

Overnight youth camps need an MSDH youth camp license under the Mississippi Youth Camp Safety and Health Law (Miss. Code Ann. Title 75, Ch. 74). This applies to camps on a permanent site running four or more consecutive 24-hour periods for 20 or more children aged 6 to 18. Athletic camps and hunting or fishing camps are excluded. Day camps are generally covered by child care licensing, which has specific summer day camp rules (Rule 1.22), unless an exemption applies, such as running three weeks or less a year.

Camp agency: Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), Child Care Facilities Licensure Branch

Sources: MSDH Child Care Facilities Licensure (licenses day care facilities and youth camps); MSDH Youth Camp Regulations (Title 15, Part 11, Subpart 55, Ch. 4); MSDH Child Care Facility Laws page; MSDH child care regulations (Rule 1.22, school-age and summer day camp programs)

Background checks

All operators, employees and prospective employees of a licensed child care facility need a comprehensive fingerprint-based check before starting work. It covers the FBI and Mississippi criminal history, the state child abuse registry, the national and state sex offender registries, and other states when applicable. Staff can't start until MSDH issues a Letter of Suitability. The check is repeated every five years, and again after a break in service of more than 180 days. Volunteers who work 120 or more hours a year need the same check (Rule 1.5.2). The MSDH youth camp regulations do not include their own background check requirement.

Sources: MSDH child care regulations, Rule 1.5.2; MSDH Comprehensive Background Checks

Giving medication

The child's file must hold a parent's signed written authorization to give medication (Rule 1.6.7), and the facility's written procedures for storing and giving medication must be shared with parents before enrollment (Rule 1.4.1). Each dose must be logged with the date, time and the signature of the staff member who gave it (Rule 1.6.3). Staff who give medication must be able to read the directions and dispense it correctly (Rule 1.5.1).

Free medication administration log

Sources: MSDH child care regulations (Rules 1.4.1, 1.5.1, 1.6.3, 1.6.7)

Reporting child abuse

Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-353 lists professionals, including child caregivers, school employees and ministers, and then adds 'any other person' with reasonable cause to suspect abuse or neglect, so everyone must report. The report must be made right away by phone or otherwise, with a written report following as soon as possible.

Mississippi child abuse hotline: 1-800-222-8000 (how to report). In an emergency, call 911.

Sources: MDCPS Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect; MDCPS online reporting; Child Welfare Information Gateway, Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (current through May 2023)