Mississippi Daycare Ratios: Staff-to-Child Ratios and Group Sizes by Age

Mississippi's center ratios come from the Regulations Governing Licensure of Child Care Facilities, the rulebook the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) Child Care Facilities Licensure branch administers.

Under Rule 1.8.2, the staff-to-child ratios are 1:5 for children under 1 year, 1:9 for 1-year-olds, 1:12 for 2-year-olds, 1:14 for 3-year-olds, 1:16 for 4-year-olds, 1:20 for children 5 to 9 and 1:25 for children 10 to 12.

Each ratio is the number of children per staff member for that age band.

The table above reads the chart band by band.

Rule 1.8.3 caps how many children may be placed in one group, separately from the ratio: 10 for infants, 18 for toddlers aged 12 to 24 months, 24 for 2-year-olds, 28 for 3-year-olds, 32 for 4-year-olds and 40 for children 5 to 9.

The chart pairs each maximum group size with two caregivers.

Group size and ratio are different limits: the ratio is the number of children per staff member, while the group cap is a ceiling on the group itself, so a full group still needs the ratio's headcount on the floor.

In a mixed-age group, the age of the youngest child determines the staff-to-child ratio: a room of 3-year-olds that includes one 1-year-old runs at the 1-year-old ratio of 1:9, not 1:14.

The rule also keeps the older bands apart — preschoolers may not be grouped with school-age children during normal classroom, playground or water activities.

Rest periods work the other way: with the exception of children under two years of age, children may be under the direct supervision of 50 percent of the staff the section requires during rest period times, as long as full ratio staff are on the premises.

Like the mixed-age rule, that exception is child-specific: the relief does not apply to children under 2.

Caregiver is the Mississippi rule's term for the lead-teacher role.

A caregiver must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or GED, or hold a CDA or an MDHS Director's Credential, or have three years of documented experience caring for unrelated children under 13 (Rule 1.5.4).

Staff who do not meet one of those routes are caregiver assistants: they may be 16 or older, but they work under direct on-site supervision and may never be the sole caregiver for a group (Rule 1.5.5).

Our research did not confirm whether caregiver assistants count toward the Rule 1.8.2 ratio, so confirm that with the MSDH Child Care Facilities Licensure branch before you build a schedule around them.

One presence rule applies no matter how the rooms are staffed: at least one staff member with valid infant, child and adult first aid and CPR must be present during all operating hours, including arrival and departure, and the certification must come from in-person, hands-on training.

Home care runs on its own thresholds.

Mississippi requires a license for anyone caring for six or more unrelated children under 13, for any amount of time, day or night.

MSDH also publishes two smaller-home rulebooks: one for facilities of 12 or fewer children in the operator's home, and one for child care family homes of five or fewer children, where the total count including the caregiver's own children may not exceed five.

The family-home rulebook sets a single staff-to-child ratio of 1:5.

The in-home rulebook, amended effective February 12, 2022, uses a tighter infant ratio than centers — 1:4 under age 1 and 1:8 for 1-year-olds — with other ages matching the center table.

Here is how the numbers convert into headcount on the floor, as an illustration of the rule rather than a staffing plan for any particular center.

An infant room with four babies runs at 1:5 with one caregiver; a full infant group of 10 needs two.

Among 1-year-olds, a full group of 18 sits at the group cap and works out to two caregivers at 1:9.

Two- and 3-year-old rooms follow the same pattern: a group of 24 two-year-olds needs two caregivers at 1:12, and a full group of 28 three-year-olds needs two at 1:14.

In every band the group-size chart covers, a full group at the cap works out to two caregivers at that band's ratio.

Nap-time is where a room can flex: a 4-year-old group of 32 that needs two caregivers at 1:16 can run with one caregiver in direct supervision during rest periods, because children over 2 may be supervised by 50 percent of the required staff as long as full ratio staff are on the premises.

For children 10 to 12, the center ratio is 1:25 under Rule 1.8.2; children 5 to 9 sit in their own band at 1:20.

The group-size chart our research read lists maximum group sizes from infants through ages 5 to 9 and records no figure for the 10-to-12 band, so confirm the group cap for school-age rooms with MSDH.

In the smaller settings the arithmetic differs: the family-home rulebook sets a single 1:5 ratio within its five-child total, and the in-home rulebook matches the center table at the older ages.

The in-home facility rulebook was amended effective February 12, 2022, and the 1:4 infant ratio on this page is the figure from that amended rulebook.

Our research did not record a revision date for the center rulebook, and rulebooks do change, so confirm the current ratios and group sizes with the Child Care Facilities Licensure branch before you staff a room or set a schedule.