What to Look For

Adult to Child Ratio:

The number of children compared to the number of adults is called the child to staff ratio. A smaller number of children per adult is particularly important for infants and younger children. When the child to staff ratios are lower, caregivers can spend more time with your child. For example, in New Jersey, the ratio for adults to infants is 1:3 (1 adult for every 3 infants). 

Group Size

Research shows that smaller group sizes work best for child development and safety.  The fewer children in a group, the more attention each child will receive from caregivers. Most programs will try to be fully enrolled to reduce costs, but you can check to be sure your child is not changing groups or caregivers often just to keep within the licensing limits. Ask about it! Stable and consistent relationships with caregivers are important to healthy child development!

Health & Safety

Children should be safe in child care. NJ requires annual inspections of child care centers and family child care homes to check all aspects of health, safety, and fire standards.  Violations in those areas are cited on inspection reports. Federal law requires that inspection reports are publicly posted for child care centers, family child care homes, and summer camp programs. To find an inspection report on a child care program, go to the NJ Division of Family Development’s web site. After searching for a program by name, zip code, type, etc., click on: Inspection Reports/View. You can then view or download the most recent inspection reports for that program.

Education of Child Care Provider

High-quality child care is related to the level of education, early childhood competencies, and experience of the child care provider. Studies show that being assigned to providers with early childhood competencies is related to the healthy development of children. Trained providers understand how children grow and learn and they know how to provide the materials and activities that are most appropriate to the ages and interests of the children. Ask child care providers if they have a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or an A.A. in early childhood. Ask about their experience in working with children.

Staff Turnover

When employees leave their jobs or change classrooms often in child care, children are affected. Children may feel uncomfortable, confused or insecure without a consistent adult to provide their care. It is important to know that while teachers may come and go, excessive staff changes in child care can be a problem for your child. If you are looking at a child care center, ask the director about staff turnover. Some turnover, as with any field, is expected. But, high turnover could be a warning sign that staff are unhappy, which impacts the experience your child will have in the program.

Grow New Jersey Kids

Grow NJ Kids, New Jersey’s Quality Rating and Improvement System, is New Jersey’s program to improve the quality of child care and early learning across the state.  Research shows that children who are in quality child care and early learning programs when they are young are better prepared for kindergarten with stronger reading skills, more math skills and larger vocabularies. Child care providers participating in GNJK receive support and coaching to help achieve and sustain high-quality settings for children. Ask if your child care provider is participating in GJNK!