In Delaware, daycare is licensed by the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), part of the Delaware Department of Education, not the federal government. The agency sets a minimum infant staff-to-child ratio of 1:4 (a maximum group size of 8), inspects programs, and publishes the results. Delaware runs licensing under the DELACARE regulations and layers the Delaware Stars for Early Success quality rating on top.
Daycare in Delaware is licensed by the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), part of the Delaware Department of Education. There is no federal daycare license anywhere in the US, so this state agency is the body that grants permission to operate, sets the rules through the DELACARE regulations, inspects programs, and can fine, suspend, or revoke a license.
The OCCL writes the DELACARE rules for centers and for family and large family child care homes. The same office handles complaints and posts inspection findings, so one agency carries the whole licensing system statewide.
Most programs that care for children from more than one family must be licensed in Delaware. Licensing covers center-based daycare and, in most cases, family and large family child care homes run out of a provider's residence. The DELACARE regulations define which arrangements need a license and which are exempt.
Every state, Delaware included, exempts a few narrow categories, such as care by a close relative and some very small or occasional home arrangements. License-exempt does not automatically mean unsafe, but it does mean no routine state inspection. If a program is exempt, ask why, and weigh that the state is not checking ratios or background screening on a schedule.
Delaware sets the infant staff-to-child ratio at 1:4 for children up to 12 months, with a maximum group size of 8, per the DELACARE center regulations. Ratios are the single most important safety rule a program must hold at all times, including nap, transitions, and outdoor play.
Confirm the exact age cutoffs against the current DELACARE rules, because Delaware sets separate ratios for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, and the maximum group size matters as much as the staff ratio.
| Requirement | What Delaware requires |
|---|---|
| Infant staff-to-child ratio | 1:4 for children up to 12 months |
| Maximum infant group size | 8 |
| Background checks | FBI fingerprint, state criminal, child-abuse registry, and sex-offender registry checks (federal CCDBG floor) |
| Pre-service training | Pediatric CPR, first aid, and the federally required health and safety topics |
| Inspections | At least one per year per the federal CCDF rules, plus complaint visits |
| Quality rating | Delaware Stars for Early Success (Delaware's voluntary quality rating) |
For the full 50-state picture, see our daycare ratios by state reference.
Every staff member at a licensed Delaware program must clear a comprehensive background check before unsupervised contact with children. Under the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, that means an FBI fingerprint check, a state criminal records check, a state child-abuse and neglect registry check, and a sex-offender registry check, applied in Delaware through the DELACARE rules.
This is a federal floor, so it is consistent across states. If a program cannot tell you that its staff have cleared these checks, treat that as a serious warning sign.
Delaware requires staff to hold current CPR and first aid certification and to complete the federally required health and safety training topics, per the DELACARE rules. The Child Care and Development Block Grant also requires ongoing training in roughly ten health and safety topics, including safe sleep, medication administration, emergency preparedness, and recognizing child abuse.
Under the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) rules, every licensed program that receives federal child care funds must get at least one inspection per year, and Delaware OCCL licensing staff also respond to complaints with unannounced visits. Inspectors check ratios, posted documents, staff records, safe-sleep practice, food handling, and building safety.
A clean inspection is reassuring, but read two to three years of history rather than a single visit. Per the American Academy of Pediatrics, Caring for Our Children, 4th edition, the findings that matter most are supervision failures, ratio violations, sleep-safety violations, and background-check failures. A repeated high-severity finding of the same type is the clearest red flag.
Delaware layers a quality rating, Delaware Stars for Early Success, on top of licensing. Licensing is the legal floor; the quality rating signals where a program sits above that floor on things like staff credentials, classroom environment, and family engagement. Higher-rated programs can also earn enhanced child care subsidy reimbursement through Delaware's Purchase of Care program.
A high rating is a genuine positive signal. The absence of one is not automatically a negative, because participation is voluntary and many strong programs are still working through the star levels.
Use the Office of Child Care Licensing provider search through the Delaware Department of Education to pull a program's license status, recent inspection reports, and any violations. Search by the program's name, confirm the license is current, then read the inspection history before you tour.
If you cannot find a program online, ask the director directly: "Where is your most recent Delaware licensing inspection report posted, and can I see the last 24 months?" Delaware requires the current report to be available to families on request.
The honest part: a Delaware license is necessary, not sufficient. It tells you the state has not removed a program's permission to operate. It does not tell you how warm, attentive, or stable the staff are. Good programs clear the floor easily; weak ones can technically meet it too. Read the inspection history, then tour in person and trust what you see.
Center-based daycare in Delaware is licensed by the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), part of the Delaware Department of Education. The agency sets minimum health and safety standards, inspects programs, investigates complaints, and enforces the DELACARE regulations for early care and education and school-age centers.
Delaware sets the infant ratio at 1:4 for children up to 12 months, with a maximum group size of 8, per the DELACARE center regulations. Ratios loosen as children get older, and the program must hold the ratio at all times.
No. A license is the legal minimum, not a quality grade. Delaware layers the Delaware Stars for Early Success quality rating on top of licensing to signal quality above the floor, but the in-person tour is still the most reliable check a parent can do.
Use the Office of Child Care Licensing provider search through the Delaware Department of Education. Search the program by name, then read its current license status, recent inspection reports, and any violations. Delaware requires the most recent report to be available to current and prospective families on request.
For the broader framework, see our pillar on daycare quality and safety and the national overview in daycare licensing in the US, explained. When you are ready to tour, our safety walk-through is built around the same standards a Delaware inspector checks. Local programs and costs are on the Delaware state page.
The full safety and quality framework, from licensing to ratios to illness.
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