Delaware Daycare Ratios: Staff-to-Child Ratios and Group Sizes by Age
Delaware sets its daycare ratios by age: a licensed center keeps infants under 12 months at a 1:4 staff-to-child ratio with no more than 8 in the group, and the ratio loosens step by step to 1:15 for school-age children.
The Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) administers the schedule in the state's center regulations.
Alongside the ratios, Delaware caps group sizes, applies a youngest-child rule in mixed-age rooms, relaxes staffing at nap time for children 1 and older, and licenses family child care homes on capacity tiers rather than the center ratios.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
The Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), which sits under Title 14 (Education); the center rules are 14 DE Admin. Code 933.
1:4 for infants under 12 months, with a maximum group size of 8.
1:6 for 1-year-olds and 1:8 for 2-year-olds.
1:10 for 3-year-olds, with a maximum group size of 20.
1:12 for 4-year-olds, with a maximum group size of 24.
1:15 for school-age children, with a maximum group size of 30.
Set for every band, from 8 for infants to 30 for school-age children; the limits do not apply when 12 or fewer children are in the center.
Delaware ratio rules at a glance
- Center ratios by age bandRequirement
Set for six bands under 14 DE Admin. Code 933 §27.1, from 1:4 with a group of 8 for infants under 12 months to 1:15 with a group of 30 for school-age children.
- Mixed-age ruleRequirement
The ratio and the group size follow the youngest child present, and group size limits do not apply when 12 or fewer children are in the center.
- Nap-time relief (age 1 and older)Requirement
At least half of the required staff stay present and directly observing; infant ratios must be kept at all times.
- Teacher-to-lower-staff mixRequirement
One early childhood teacher for every four assistant teachers, caregivers, interns and aides.
- Family child care home — Level ILicense
Up to 5 or 6 children depending on the ages served, with limits on children under 12 and 24 months.
- Family child care home — Level IILicense
Up to 9 children under the family child care rules, 14 DE Admin. Code 934.
- Large family child care homeLicense
Up to 12 children, the largest home tier before a program counts as a licensed center.
Delaware center ratios and group sizes by age
| Age group | Staff-to-child ratio | Maximum group size |
|---|---|---|
| Infants (under 12 months) | 1:4 | 8 |
| 1-year-olds | 1:6 | 12 |
| 2-year-olds | 1:8 | 16 |
| 3-year-olds | 1:10 | 20 |
| 4-year-olds | 1:12 | 24 |
| School-age | 1:15 | 30 |
Delaware sets a ratio and a group-size cap for each band; the infant band is under 12 months and the two-year-old band is 24 through 35 months.
What are the daycare ratios in Delaware?
Delaware's center ratios come from the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), which sits under Title 14 (Education), in the state's center regulations, the DELACARE rules for early care and education and school-age centers.
A licensed early care and education center in Delaware is a program serving 13 or more children, counting children related to the licensee.
The ratio schedule is set by age band, from the youngest room to the oldest: 1:4 for infants under 12 months; 1:6 for 1-year-olds; 1:8 for 2-year-olds; 1:10 for 3-year-olds; 1:12 for 4-year-olds; and 1:15 for school-age children.
Each band also carries a maximum group size, which the next section covers.
“Older toddler (2 year old) 24 through 35 months 1:8 16”
Maximum group sizes by age
Group size is a separate lever from the ratio: the ratio sets how many staff must be on the floor, while the group-size cap limits how many children can be assigned to one group even when staffing is sufficient.
Delaware sets a cap for every band, and at each age it is twice the ratio's child count: 8 for infants under 12 months, 12 for 1-year-olds, 16 for 2-year-olds, 20 for 3-year-olds, 24 for 4-year-olds and 30 for school-age children.
The caps carry a stated exception — group size limits do not apply when 12 or fewer children are in the center.
Mixed-age and nap-time rules in Delaware
In a mixed-age group, both the ratio and the group size follow the youngest child present.
A group of 3-year-olds that includes a child under 12 months, then, runs at the infant band — a 1:4 ratio with a maximum group of 8 — because that youngest child sets the band for the whole group.
Group size has its own carve-out: the limits do not apply when 12 or fewer children are in the center.
Nap time relaxes staffing only for older rooms.
During nap for children 1 and older, at least half of the required staff must be present and directly observing the children, while infant ratios must be kept at all times.
“For mixed age groups, the staff/child ratio and group size requirements are for the age of the youngest child present.”
Who can count in ratio
Delaware's staffing rules name the titles that make up a room: early childhood teachers on one side, and assistant teachers, caregivers, interns and aides on the other.
Across those titles the rule sets a composition requirement — one early childhood teacher for every four assistant teachers, caregivers, interns and aides — so the mix of titles on the schedule matters, not just the headcount.
Interns get their own line: an early childhood intern may count in the staff/child ratio at 16, or at 15 in a high school early childhood education program, must be under direct observation, and must be at least four years older than the children in their care.
The qualification minimums for the teacher and assistant teacher titles are set in the same regulations.
“An early childhood intern may count in the staff/child ratio.”
Home daycare capacity in Delaware
Family child care homes in Delaware are licensed in three tiers, and the numbers are capacity caps rather than staff-to-child ratios: Level I homes may have up to 5 or 6 children depending on the ages served, Level II homes up to 9, and large family child care homes up to 12.
Within Level I the age mix drives the count — up to 4 preschoolers plus 2 school-age children to a maximum of 6, with no more than 2 of the children under 12 months, or up to 5 preschoolers with no more than 2 under 12 months and no more than 3 under 24 months.
The home caps sit in the family child care rules, a separate chapter from the center ratios, so a center ratio is not the number to staff a home by.
Staffing example for a typical center
The ratios turn into hiring math like this — an illustration of the rule's arithmetic, not a compliant schedule.
A licensed Delaware center serves 13 or more children; consider one with an infant room of 8, a 2-year-old room of 16 and a 4-year-old room of 24.
At 1:4, the infant room needs 2 staff on the floor; at 1:8, the 2-year-old room needs 2; at 1:12, the 4-year-old room needs 2 — 6 staff across the three rooms at full ratio.
At nap time, the 2-year-old and 4-year-old rooms each keep at least half of their required staff present and directly observing — 1 of the 2 in each — while the infant room keeps both, because infant ratios hold at all times.
The title mix matters too: a roster of 8 assistant teachers, caregivers, interns and aides stands alongside 2 early childhood teachers under the one-to-four rule.
For what a real schedule adds — breaks, transitions, a mixed-age afternoon — confirm with OCCL.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Delaware licensing rules, agency pages and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state staff-to-child ratios series, current as of October 2026. It is not a substitute for the instructions the Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), under the Delaware Department of Education publishes. For the rest of the picture in Delaware, see daycare teacher requirements in Delaware and daycare licensing steps in Delaware.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the infant ratio in a Delaware daycare?
Delaware sets the infant ratio at 1:4 for children under 12 months, with a maximum group size of 8.
It is also the one band with no nap-time relief: infant ratios must be kept at all times.
The Office of Child Care Licensing administers the ratio under the state's center regulations, 14 DE Admin.
Code 933.
Does the Delaware ratio relax during nap time?
Only for children 1 year and older.
During nap time, Delaware requires at least half of the required staff members to be present and directly observing the children, so up to half of a room's required staff can step away.
The relief does not reach infant rooms: infant ratios must be kept at all times.
What is the ratio for 3-year-olds in Delaware?
Three-year-olds are staffed at 1:10, with a maximum group size of 20.
In a mixed-age group the youngest child present sets both numbers, so a 3-year-old group that includes a child under 12 months runs at the infant band's 1:4 ratio and 8-child group cap instead.
Can a 16-year-old count in ratio in a Delaware daycare?
Yes, as an early childhood intern.
Delaware lets an intern count in the staff/child ratio at 16, or at 15 when enrolled in a high school early childhood education program.
The intern must be under direct observation and must be at least four years older than the children in their care.
How many children can a home daycare have in Delaware?
Delaware licenses family child care homes in three tiers: Level I homes may have up to 5 or 6 children depending on the ages served, Level II homes up to 9, and large family child care homes up to 12.
In a Level I home the age mix decides — 4 preschoolers plus 2 school-age children, or 5 preschoolers, with limits on how many are under 12 or 24 months.
More Delaware Resources
Sources
Sourced from the documents listed above. Verified October 2026. This is career and employer information, not licensing or legal advice. Confirm current rules with the Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), under the Delaware Department of Education.