New York, on the other hand, requires that an administrator have a Bachelor's degree including, or in addition to, twelve credit hours in Child Development or a related field, plus one year teaching experience and one year of supervisory experience. Ohio and North Carolina require only and Associate's degree with at least twelve credit hours in child development or early childhood. State ranking is New York, North Carolina, Ohio, then West Virginia.
3. Child to caregiver ratios. West Virginia has the best staff to child ratio of the four states examined. Some points are lost, however, because the ratio is not regulated by the state. That leaves the door open for abuse of the system. West Virginia also does not accept children six weeks of age and the other states do. State ranking is West Virginia, New York, Ohio, then North Carolina.
4. Space and equipment requirements. There was not an appreciable difference between the states in this category. 25 sq. ft. per child indoors and 75 sq. ft. per child outdoors is pretty much a standard amount. The requirements for equipment are basically the same also. The wording on the licensure requirements is broad and generic and just requests developmentally appropriate items. All four states rank equally in this category.
5. Curriculum requirements. Here again the wording is broad and generic for three of the four states. New York has the most detailed stated program requirements. A center must establish a planned program, which is age appropriate and encourages development in cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and language skills. The children must be provided with a program of self-initiated, group-initiated, and staff-initiated activities, which are intellectually stimulating and foster self-reliance and social responsibility. Each classroom must be arranged to allow children to actively use toys and equipment while interacting with peers and adults, and the environment must be designed to allow a child to choose between quiet activities and active play.
