Kentucky Daycare Ratios: Staff-to-Child Ratios and Group Sizes by Age
Kentucky sets center staff-to-child ratios in 922 KAR 2:120, which the Cabinet for Health and Family Services administers.
One staff member cares for five infants, six children aged 12-24 months, or ten children aged 24-36 months.
Ratios loosen with age to 1:12 at 3-4 years, 1:14 at 4-5 years, 1:15 for school-age children ages 5-7, and 1:25 before and after school from age 7 on.
Maximum group sizes apply only to Type I centers, and the youngest child in a group sets both the ratio and the group size.
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At a glance
The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which licenses child care centers under 922 KAR 2:090 and sets the ratio rules in 922 KAR 2:120.
One staff member for every 5 infants, with a maximum group of 10 children.
1:6 for children aged 12-24 months (group of 12 children) and 1:10 at 24-36 months (group of 20 children).
In the 3-4 years band, one staff member for every 12 children, with a maximum group of 24 children.
In the 4-5 years band, one staff member for every 14 children, with a maximum group of 28 children.
1:15 for ages 5-7 (group of 30 children); from age 7, 1:25 before and after school or 1:20 for a full day, with a group cap of 30 children.
Maximum group sizes apply only to Type I centers, and the youngest child in a group sets both the ratio and the group size.
Kentucky ratio rules at a glance
- Type I child-care centerLicense
Licensed for 4 or more children in a nonresidential setting, or 13 or more children in space separate from the licensee's residence. The maximum group sizes in the ratio table apply only to Type I centers.
- Type II child-care centerLicense
The licensee's primary residence caring for 7 to 12 children including related children.
- Certified family child-care homeRegistration
Certified under 922 KAR 2:100 for up to 6 unrelated children at one time plus 4 related children; an assistant is required above 4 infants or 6 children under age six.
Kentucky center ratios and group sizes by age
| Age group | Staff-to-child ratio | Maximum group size |
|---|---|---|
| Infants | 1:5 | 10 |
| 12-24 months | 1:6 | 12 |
| 24-36 months | 1:10 | 20 |
| 3-4 years | 1:12 | 24 |
| 4-5 years | 1:14 | 28 |
| School-age 5-7 | 1:15 | 30 |
| School-age 7+ | 1:25 before/after school or 1:20 full day | 30 |
Maximum group sizes apply only to Type I centers, and the youngest child in a group sets both the ratio and the group size.
What are the daycare ratios in Kentucky?
Kentucky child care centers are licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the ratio table sits in 922 KAR 2:120, the cabinet's health and safety standards for centers.
The rule staffs one caregiver with five infants, six children aged 12-24 months, ten children aged 24-36 months, twelve children at 3-4 years, and fourteen children at 4-5 years.
School-age rooms run one staff member for every 15 children aged 5 to 7.
From age 7 the rule is 1:25 before and after school or 1:20 for a full day.
The table above lists every band with its maximum group size.
“Toddler 24 to 36 months | 1 staff for 10 children | 20”
Maximum group sizes by age
Every ratio band in Kentucky carries a maximum group size: 10 infants, 12 children at 12-24 months, 20 at 24-36 months, 24 at 3-4 years, 28 at 4-5 years, and 30 for school-age rooms.
These caps apply only to Type I child-care centers.
Kentucky defines a Type I center as licensed for 4 or more children in a nonresidential setting, or 13 or more children in space separate from the licensee's residence; a Type II center is the licensee's primary residence caring for 7 to 12 children.
Within any group, the youngest child sets both the ratio and the group size, so two toddlers aged 24-36 months in a group of 3-4-year-olds put the whole group on the toddler numbers of 1:10 and a group of 20 children.
“Maximum Group Size shall be applicable only to Type I child-care centers.”
Mixed-age and nap-time rules in Kentucky
The youngest-child rule raises the staffing cost of mixed-age grouping: a group with a single infant runs at the infant ratio of 1:5 and the infant group cap of 10 children, whatever the older children's ages.
Kentucky also caps mixed-age activity directly.
An infant or toddler under 24 months may not take part in an activity with older children for more than one hour per day, except approved transitions.
On rest time, centers must give rest time to non-school-age children who are in care more than four hours, and rest time may not exceed two hours for a preschool-age child unless the child attends during nontraditional hours.
“an infant or toddler under twenty-four (24) months of age shall not participate in an activity with an older child for more than one (1) hour per day.”
Who can count in ratio
Kentucky counts staff family members in the ratio too: a child related to the director, an employee or a person under the supervision of the licensee is included in the staff-to-child ratio when the child receives care at the center.
Staff under 18 count toward ratio only when working with a qualified staff person.
Which staff members meet Kentucky's qualification requirements is a separate question that Kentucky answers in its center licensure rule, 922 KAR 2:090, not in the ratio table.
“If a child related to the director, employee, or person under the supervision of the licensee is receiving care in the center, the child shall be included in the staff-to-child ratio.”
Home daycare capacity in Kentucky
Family child-care homes in Kentucky are certified rather than licensed, under 922 KAR 2:100.
A certified home may care for at most 6 unrelated children at one time, plus up to 4 related children, for a maximum of 10 children.
An assistant is required once the home serves more than 4 infants or more than 6 children under age six.
Certification itself becomes mandatory at 4 to 6 unrelated children under KRS 199.8982, and stays optional at 3 or fewer.
A home caring for 7 to 12 children is a different category: Kentucky licenses those in-home programs as Type II centers.
“The maximum number of unrelated children in the care of a certified family child-care home provider shall not exceed six (6) at any one (1) time.”
Staffing example for a typical center
Take a Type I center with one room per band as an illustration of the arithmetic.
A full infant group of 10 children at 1:5 needs two staff members on the floor; a group of 12 children aged 12-24 months at 1:6 needs two; a preschool group of 24 children at 3-4 years at 1:12 needs two.
Mixing ages moves the numbers through the youngest-child rule: two toddlers aged 24-36 months together with ten children at 3-4 years form a 12-child group at the toddler 1:10 ratio, so the room needs two staff members rather than the one the 1:12 ratio would allow.
Because Kentucky counts a staff member's own child in ratio, a staff parent's child fills one of those slots like any enrolled child.
This is arithmetic on the table, not a staffing plan; a center confirms its own roster with the cabinet.
School-age ratios: before- and after-school vs full day
Kentucky splits its school-age staffing rule by age and program length.
Children aged 5 to 7 are staffed at 1:15 with a maximum group of 30 children.
From age 7, the ratio is 1:25 before and after school or 1:20 for a full day, with the same group cap.
The 1:20 full-day figure is the one that governs when school-age children are in care all day rather than only around the school day, so a room's roster can change with the school calendar.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Kentucky 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 Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services publishes. For the rest of the picture in Kentucky, see daycare teacher requirements in Kentucky and daycare licensing steps in Kentucky.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the infant ratio in Kentucky daycare centers?
Kentucky centers staff infant rooms at a ratio of 1:5 — one staff member for every five infants — with a maximum group size of 10 children in a Type I center.
The numbers come from 922 KAR 2:120.
Because the youngest child in a group sets both the ratio and the group size, an activity that mixes infants with older children runs on the infant numbers, and Kentucky limits that mixing to one hour a day, except approved transitions.
A staff member's own infant attending the center counts in ratio too.
How many children can a home daycare have in Kentucky?
A certified family child-care home may care for at most 6 unrelated children at one time, plus up to 4 related children, for a maximum of 10 children.
An assistant is required above 4 infants or 6 children under age six.
Certification is required at 4 to 6 unrelated children and optional at 3 or fewer.
Homes caring for 7 to 12 children are licensed as Type II centers instead.
Do staff members' own children count in the Kentucky ratio?
Yes.
Kentucky includes a child related to the director, an employee or a person under the supervision of the licensee in the staff-to-child ratio when the child receives care at the center.
Staff under 18 count toward ratio only when working with a qualified staff person.
For rostering, that means a staff parent's child takes a slot in the room's count just like an enrolled child.
What is the Kentucky ratio for after-school programs?
School-age children aged 5 to 7 are staffed at 1:15 with a maximum group of 30 children.
From age 7, the rule is 1:25 before and after school or 1:20 for a full day, with the same group cap.
A center running all-day care when school is out staffs those rooms at the tighter full-day ratio rather than the before-and-after-school figure.
Do Kentucky group size limits apply to every daycare?
No. Kentucky's maximum group sizes apply only to Type I child-care centers — programs for 4 or more children in a nonresidential setting, or 13 or more children in space separate from the licensee's residence.
Instead, a Type II center is defined by a capacity of 7 to 12 children, and a certified family child-care home by its cap of 6 unrelated plus 4 related children.
Within licensed centers, the youngest child in a group sets both the ratio and the group size.
More Kentucky Resources
Sources
- Kentucky General Assembly — child-care center health and safety standards (Kentucky Administrative Regulations) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Kentucky General Assembly — certified family child-care homes (Kentucky Administrative Regulations) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Kentucky General Assembly — child-care center licensure (Kentucky Administrative Regulations) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Kentucky General Assembly — Kentucky Administrative Regulations, child care titles (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Kentucky General Assembly — House Bill 6 enrollment (family child-care certification threshold) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
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 Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.