OCFP Office of Child and Family Policy	Department of Children and Family Services
	Index No: 99-05	Issuance Date: March 1, 1999
	Origin of Request: Central Office of Licensing
	Distribution: Licensing Staff, Administrative Staff, Office of Child and Family Policy (A,L,P)
	Key Words: 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407, Licensing Standards for Day Care Centers, Full Time Child Care Director
	Approved by:

Interpretation

Applicable To: Licensed Day Care Centers

Policy Citation: Section 407.130 Qualifications for Child Care Director

a) Day care centers licensed for more than 50 children shall employ a full-time child care director to be on site in a non-teaching capacity. The director may be on site in a teaching capacity at the following times:

1) During the first hour and last hour of a program that operates ten or more hours per day; or

2) When attendance falls below 50 children.

b) Day care centers licensed for 50 or fewer children, or half-day programs with children attending no more than three consecutive hours per day regardless of capacity, may employ a child care director who also serves as a member of the child care staff.

1) When the director serves in both capacities, he or she must meet the qualifications of both the director position and the teaching position.

2) When the director attends to non-teaching responsibilities, his or her group must be supervised by a person qualified to be in charge of the group.

j) A staff member who meets the qualifications for a day care center director shall be designated to assume decision-making responsibility whenever the child care director is off site. A record of employees who meet the qualifications for director and who have been designated to assume decision-making responsibility in the director's absence shall be kept at the site. The person designated as alternate director may be in the classroom and counted in the staff/child ratio under the following circumstances:

1) When the center meets the criteria of Section 407.130(b) above; or

2) During the first hour and last hour of a program that operates ten or more hours per day; or

3) When attendance falls below 50 children.

Question: Do the Licensing Standards for Day Care Centers require that a full time Director or a qualified designated Director be present at all times during the operation of a day care center?

Discussion: 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407, Licensing Standards for Day Care Centers, requires that a Director or a qualified designated Director be present at all times during the operation of a day care center regardless of the capacity. The teaching responsibility of the Director or designee varies depending on the capacity of more or less than fifty children, part time programs and the first and last hour of operation for centers operating more than ten hours per day.

To summarize Subsection 407.130(a)(b)&(j), a center with a capacity of fifty or more children must employ a full time director (or a qualified designee) that can act in a teaching role only during the first and last hour of the day and when the capacity falls below fifty. A center with a capacity of fifty or less or which has a half-day program with children attending no more than three consecutive hours per day must employ a full time director (or a qualified designee) who can also act in a teaching role when not performing administrative responsibilities. When performing administrative responsibilities, a qualified teacher must be available in the teaching role.

Response: A full time Director or qualified designated Director is required at all times during the operation of a day care center. The teaching responsibilities of the Director or designee may vary as defined in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407, Licensing Standards for Day Care Centers, Section 407.130.