Kansas Daycare Regulations: Licensing, Ratios, and Safety

Kansas daycare regulations require a license for nearly every child care operation serving unrelated children, whether the care happens in a home or a commercial building. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) currently issues those licenses, though a new Kansas Office of Early Childhood is set to take over on July 1, 2026, under House Bill 2294.¹ The rules cover how many children one caregiver can watch, who is allowed on staff, how the building must be laid out, how infants must sleep, and what happens when any of it slips.

Who Needs a License

Any person, company, or organization caring for children under 16 who are not related to them by blood, marriage, or adoption needs a license or a temporary permit.¹ Operating without one is unlawful, and there is no grace period for getting started before applying.

A few narrow exemptions exist. Care by a child’s own relative generally does not trigger licensing, and programs that run only for very brief, infrequent periods may qualify as well. If the arrangement looks like regular child care for unrelated children, though, it almost certainly needs a license.

The Three License Types

Kansas divides licensed child care into three categories based on where the care happens and how many children are served.

A family day care home operates out of the provider’s own residence and is licensed for up to 12 children under 16. The provider’s own children under 10 count toward the cap, and the exact number allowed depends on the ages of the children and whether a second provider is present. A single provider caring for infants tops out at eight or nine children total, depending on how many are under 12 months.²
A group day care home is also capped at 12 children under 16, but requires a second provider once enrollment passes the one-provider limits. Infants can be accepted only when two providers are on duty.²
A child care center is a non-residential facility serving 13 or more children ages two weeks through 15 for more than three but fewer than 24 hours a day. A smaller program can voluntarily license as a center if it meets center-level standards.³

How to Get Licensed and Stay Licensed

Prospective providers begin by attending an orientation session specific to their facility type. After orientation, the applicant submits the formal application and supporting documents to the licensing agency. The state issues a temporary permit while it processes the full application, runs background checks, and completes an initial onsite inspection to confirm the facility meets physical environment and safety standards.

A license is valid only for the person and address printed on it. It cannot be transferred to a new operator or moved to a different location without going through the process again.⁴ After the initial license is issued, the facility must undergo at least one unannounced inspection each year.

Annual Renewal

Kansas child care licenses renew every year. Before the renewal date, licensees submit a renewal application and fee, and every affiliated person must have current background checks. Missing the deadline triggers a late fee equal to the renewal fee itself, and continued failure to renew can result in the facility being shut down.⁵

Staff-to-Child Ratios and Group Sizes

Kansas sets both a minimum staff-to-child ratio and a maximum group size for each classroom. These apply at all times, not only during structured activities. In mixed-age rooms, the ratio for the youngest child in the group controls.⁶

Infants, 0 to 12 months: 1 staff per 3 children with a maximum of 9 per unit, or 1 per 4 with a maximum of 8. Only one of the two options can be used in a single infant room at a time.
Toddlers, 12 to 30 months: 1 to 6, maximum 12 per unit.
Two-year-olds, at least 2 but under 3: 1 to 7, maximum 14 per unit.
Preschool-age, at least 2.5 but under school-age: 1 to 12, maximum 24 per unit.
School-age: 1 to 16, maximum 32 per unit.

A mixed-age unit that includes infants and other children under 6 operates at 1 to 6 with no more than 3 infants per staff member, and a total cap of 12 children including no more than 6 infants.⁶

Staff Qualifications, Training, and Background Checks

Every staff member counted in the ratio must meet minimum age and competency standards. Volunteers can assist starting at age 14, but only those 16 or older can be counted toward the ratio. Any volunteer not counted must be supervised at all times by a non-volunteer staff member whenever children are present.⁶

Centers with more than 100 children must employ a dedicated program director with at least one year of early childhood administration experience. Centers above 160 children also need an assistant program director whose duties cannot be diverted in ways that interfere with core responsibilities.⁶

Each program director, each staff member counted in the ratio, and each volunteer counted in the ratio must complete 16 clock-hours of professional development training every year. At least four of those hours must cover core health and safety topics, and program directors must complete an additional six hours in administration or management. Staff and volunteers who care for infants must dedicate at least four of their 16 hours to infant-specific training, and everyone must hold current pediatric first aid and CPR certification.⁷

Background Checks

Federal and state law require a background check for every person who resides in, works at, or regularly volunteers in a licensed facility.⁸ Kansas Statute 65-516 lists disqualifying offenses; anyone convicted of certain crimes, including those requiring sex offender registration, cannot work in or live at a child care facility.⁹

The check has two layers. Everyone gets a name-based search of Kansas criminal history records and the state’s child abuse and neglect registry. Owners, program directors, and staff with unsupervised access to children also undergo a fingerprint-based check that searches FBI criminal records and the National Sex Offender Registry. Anyone who has lived outside Kansas within the past five years triggers an out-of-state check under federal requirements. Fingerprint-based checks must be renewed every five years, and letting them lapse can cost a provider the license.⁸

Physical Environment Standards

Kansas regulates the building, not only what happens inside it. Every facility must meet local fire protection, water, and sewage requirements. A fire inspector must approve all exits, of which at least two are required with one leading directly outside. The same inspector must approve any second-floor space used for children 2.5 and older, any finished basement used for child care, and any gas heater before it is put into service.¹⁰

Electrical outlets must be covered or made inaccessible whenever they are not in use. Extension cords and power strips are allowed but must be positioned so they do not create a tripping or shock hazard.¹¹

Daily Care Rules

Meals and Snacks

Facilities must feed children on a schedule tied to how long each child is in care:

2.5 to under 4 hours: at least one snack.
4 to under 8 hours: at least one snack and one meal.
8 to under 10 hours: at least two snacks and one meal, or one snack and two meals.
10 or more hours: at least two meals and two snacks.

These are minimums, and a facility can always offer more.¹²

Safe Sleep for Infants

The safe sleep rules for children under 12 months are detailed and strictly enforced. Every infant must sleep in an individual crib or playpen on a firm, fitted mattress with a fitted sheet and nothing else: no blankets, pillows, bumpers, stuffed animals, or toys. Infants must be placed on their backs. Once a baby can roll independently in both directions, staff may let the child settle into a preferred position, but wedges and positioners are never allowed. Swaddling is prohibited.¹³

If an infant falls asleep somewhere other than a crib or playpen, staff must move the child promptly. No crib manufactured before June 28, 2011 may be used, and every crib must meet the manufacturer’s age, height, and weight guidelines. Facilities are responsible for monitoring consumer recalls and removing any recalled crib or playpen from service immediately.¹³

Medication

Before giving any medication to a child, a caregiver must complete medication administration training and have written permission from the parent or guardian. Both prescription and non-prescription medications must be kept in their original containers. The prescription label functions as the doctor’s order, so staff give exactly what the label says, to the child named on it, and nothing more.¹⁴

Every dose given must be documented on a state-provided form kept in the child’s file, with a copy available to the parent or guardian. Non-prescription medications still need a container labeled with the child’s name.¹⁴

Emergency Preparedness

Every licensed facility must develop and post an emergency preparedness plan covering fire, severe weather, a missing child, and other scenarios that fit the facility’s location. The plan must identify a shelter-in-place area within the building and an off-site relocation point for evacuations. Staff must know these plans before they are left alone with children; a poster on the wall no one has read does not count.

Facilities also need written procedures for children with chronic medical conditions, severe allergies, and other special health needs, along with reporting obligations when a child or staff member contracts an infectious or contagious disease.

Penalties for Operating Outside the Rules

Running a child care facility without a license is a misdemeanor in Kansas. On conviction, the fine runs from $5 to $50, but each day of continued operation counts as a separate offense, so small daily fines add up quickly. If an operator still refuses to comply 30 days after a final conviction or license revocation, the state can hold a hearing and order the building closed until the violation is corrected.¹

On top of the criminal penalty, the licensing authority can impose civil fines of up to $500 per violation for any regulatory breach that significantly harms the health, safety, or sanitation of children in care. A continuing violation means a separate $500 fine for every day it persists.¹

Other Rules That Apply on Top

State licensing is not the only law reaching into a Kansas daycare. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, providers must make reasonable changes to policies and practices so that children, parents, and guardians with disabilities can participate. A center cannot refuse enrollment based on assumptions about what a child with a disability can or cannot do; the law requires an individualized assessment made in consultation with the child’s parents and health care professionals.¹⁵

A child who needs one-to-one attention cannot be turned away on that basis alone, and higher insurance rates are not a valid reason for excluding children with disabilities. Facilities must also remove physical barriers to access when doing so is readily achievable, meaning it can be done without significant difficulty or expense.¹⁶ The only recognized exceptions are situations where a child would pose a direct threat to the safety of others, or where accommodating a child would fundamentally alter the program.

Kansas requires workers’ compensation coverage for any non-agricultural employer with annual gross payroll above $20,000.¹⁷ Most centers with even a small staff hit that threshold quickly. Home-based providers who work alone generally fall below it, but adding a paid assistant can push them over. General liability and professional liability insurance are not licensing requirements, but a single injury claim can dwarf years of premiums.

On the tax side, any child care business that hires employees or operates as a corporation, partnership, or LLC needs an Employer Identification Number from the IRS, obtained through Form SS-4. Any change to the responsible party listed on the EIN must be reported within 60 days on Form 8822-B.¹⁸ Sole proprietors running a family day care home without employees can use their Social Security number, though many still choose an EIN to keep business and personal finances separate. Home-based providers can deduct a portion of housing costs, food, supplies, and equipment tied to the business, which makes detailed record-keeping worthwhile from the first day of operation.

1
Kansas State Legislature. Substitute for House Bill No. 2294
2
Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Kansas Laws and Regulations for Licensing Family Child Care Homes
3
Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Types of Licensed Care
4
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 75-7709 – Licenses; Contents; Limitations; Posting; Inspections; Temporary Licenses or Permits
5
Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Kansas Laws and Regulations for Licensing Preschools and Child Care Centers
6
Legal Information Institute. Kansas Code K.A.R. 28-4-428 – Staff Requirements
7
Legal Information Institute. Kansas Code K.A.R. 28-4-428a – Education and Training Requirements
8
Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Background Check Information
9
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 65-516 – Restrictions on Persons Maintaining or Residing, Working or Volunteering at a Child Care Facility
10
Kansas Secretary of State. Kansas Code K.A.R. 28-4-423 – Physical Plant
11
Legal Information Institute. Kansas Code K.A.R. 28-4-423 – Physical Plant
12
Legal Information Institute. Kansas Code K.A.R. 28-4-116 – Daily Care of Children
13
Kansas Secretary of State. Kansas Code K.A.R. 28-4-116a
14
Kansas Secretary of State. Kansas Code K.A.R. 28-4-132 – Child Care Practices
15
ADA.gov. Commonly Asked Questions About Child Care Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act
16
ADA.gov. Equal Access to Child Care
17
Kansas Department of Labor. Workers Compensation Division
18
Internal Revenue Service. About Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number (EIN)