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

Child Care Licensing (CCL) in the Division of Social Services of the Nevada Department of Human Services sets center ratios and group sizes in NAC 432A.5205.

From 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., the staff-to-child ratios are 1:4 for children under 9 months, 1:6 from 9 months to 2 years, 1:9 from 2 to 3 years, 1:12 at ages 3 to 4, 1:13 at ages 4 to 5, and 1:18 at ages 5 and up, each paired with the maximum group size in the table above.

After 9 p.m., a separate night schedule applies: 1:6 for children under 3 in a group of 12, and 1:10 at ages 3 and up in a group of 20, with night staff required to stay awake.

Which agency's table applies also depends on where the center sits: a county or city with its own child care licensing agency and ordinance licenses facilities there instead of the state Division, and local standards must be no less restrictive than the state's.

Group size is the maximum number of children one group may hold, separate from the staff-to-child ratio.

Nevada caps daytime groups at 8 children under 9 months, 12 from 9 months to 2 years, 18 from 2 to 3 years, 24 at ages 3 to 4, 26 at ages 4 to 5, and 36 at ages 5 and up.

The two numbers work together: a group at its cap still has to meet its band's ratio, which is what sets the minimum number of caregivers in the room.

Night groups are capped too, at 12 for children under 3 and 20 at ages 3 and up.

More children than the cap means more than one group, not a larger one.

Mixed rooms follow the youngest child: where a group mixes ages, the ratio and group size for the youngest child apply, so a single child under 9 months sets the room to 1:4 with a maximum group of 8.

Nap time is the second daily pressure on the schedule, and Nevada does not relax the count while children sleep — the staff needed to meet the ratio for napping or sleeping children must be on the same floor of the same building.

Sleeping children must also be checked at least every 15 minutes.

A caregiver must be at least 16 years old to count in the ratio.

Two further limits shape how teen staff fit a Nevada schedule: caregivers under 18 must work under the supervision of an employee 18 or older, and no more than 50% of a center's caregivers may be under 18.

Field trips add staffing on top of the table: one additional caregiver or adult volunteer per group must be present on field trips away from the facility, though the extra person is not required for a group made up entirely of school-age children.

Homes run on capacity bands, not the center table.

A family child care home is licensed for 5 to 6 children and operates with one caregiver on duty; it may care for no more than two children under 1 year or four children under 2 at any given time, and the provider's own children count toward the licensed total only when they are under age 4.

A group child care home is licensed for 7 to 12 children and follows its own caregiver table: 1:2 for children under 1 year, 1:4 for children 1 to 3, and for ages 3 and up the codified line reads '2 caregivers for every 6 children', rising to three caregivers when 8 or more children in care have special needs.

Both home types may also, with written permission, care for as many as three additional school-age children aged 6 to 15 for up to 3 hours before and after school, on top of the number stated on the license.

The arithmetic below shows how the table converts to caregivers on the floor; it is an illustration of the rule, not a schedule and not a compliance plan for any center.

An infant room at its 8-child group cap runs at 1:4, so two caregivers are on the floor.

A room of 12 toddlers needs two at 1:6, a full group of 24 children aged 3 to 4 needs two at 1:12, and 36 school-age children need two at 1:18.

Mixed ages move the headcount: 6 toddlers alone need one caregiver at 1:6, but add two children under 9 months and the youngest-child rule sets the whole group of 8 to 1:4, so two caregivers are required.

Nap time does not release those caregivers to another floor, and a field trip adds one additional caregiver or adult volunteer per group beyond the ratio — unless the group is made up entirely of school-age children.

In centers, the table's oldest band applies from age 5 up: 1:18 with a maximum group of 36, so a full group takes two caregivers.

Licensed homes have a separate provision: with written permission, a family or group home may care for as many as three additional school-age children aged 6 to 15 for up to 3 hours before and after school, beyond the number stated on the license.