How many children is too many for a child care provider to manage?
A bill to increase ratios of children to staff in licensed child care programs came before the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee last week. Proponents and opponents of Senate Bill 142 agreed that solutions are needed to address Montana s shortage of affordable child care, but opponents said increasing the number of children in programs without adding more staff could endanger children.Â
The bill would increase the number of children allowed in a licensed family day care home from the current range of three to six children with one caregiver to a maximum of 10 children. It would also increase ratios in group day care homes from a range of seven to 12 children with two caregivers to 11 to 20 children with the same staffing.