Ohio Daycare Staffing Requirements — Assistants, Substitutes, and Night Care

The staffing rules for Ohio home daycares create a decision point that many providers do not think about until it is too late — when they need to step away for an appointment, want to scale beyond 7 children, or are considering overnight care. Each scenario has specific state requirements, and getting them wrong can result in operating out of compliance without realizing it.

When You Need a Second Staff Member

A Type B home can operate with a single provider caring for up to 7 children. The moment you cross that threshold — serving 8 or more children — you need a Type A license and a second child care staff member. This is not optional during certain hours or contingent on the children's ages. If more than 7 children are present, two staff must be actively supervising at all times.

The second staff member must meet the applicable child care staff requirements, including:

• At least 16 years of age (staff members under 18 have additional supervision limits)
• High school diploma or GED
• CPR and First Aid training within 90 days of hire, kept current before being left alone with children
• BCI/FBI background checks cleared through WebCheck (using BCI Reason Code 5104.013 and FBI Reason Code CCDBGA)
• Registered on the Ohio Professional Registry (OPR)
• Family child care staff orientation training within 30 days of starting, plus required annual professional development hours

This is the staffing requirement that makes the Type B to Type A transition more than just a paperwork change. You are taking on payroll, employer tax obligations, and the ongoing responsibility of ensuring your assistant's certifications and training hours stay current.

Substitute Caregiver Rules

Every home daycare provider needs a plan for when they cannot be present — illness, medical appointments, personal emergencies. Ohio licensing rules allow substitute caregivers, but the substitute must meet background check and training requirements before they can provide care.

A substitute must have:

• Completed BCI and FBI fingerprint background checks, cleared and on file with the licensing agency
• A profile registered on the Ohio Professional Registry
• CPR and First Aid training within 90 days of hire, kept current before being left alone with children

The substitute does not need to complete the full pre-licensing training that the primary provider completed, but must complete the family child care staff orientation training within 30 days of starting and the required health training within 90 days before being left alone with children. They must also be familiar with your emergency plan, the children's medical care plans, medication administration protocols, and your daily operational procedures. During any period when a substitute is providing care, all staff-to-child ratios must be maintained — the substitute counts as your staffing, not as additional capacity.

The practical implication: identify and prepare your substitute before you need one. Getting someone through the background check process takes time (fingerprinting appointments, BCI/FBI processing), and you cannot legally leave children in the care of someone who has not cleared those checks. Many providers line up a family member or trusted colleague and process their clearances well in advance.

If a substitute is not available and you cannot provide care on a given day, you must close for the day. Operating without a qualified caregiver present — even for an hour while you run an errand — is a serious risk violation that can result in license revocation.

Household Member Complications

Staffing requirements extend beyond people you hire. Every household member aged 18 or older who lives in the home where care is provided must pass BCI and FBI background checks, regardless of whether they have any contact with the children. This includes adult children living at home, spouses, partners, roommates, and any other permanent residents.

Under OAC Rule 5180:2-13-05, if a minor household member under 18 has been adjudicated delinquent for a violent or registry-eligible offense, the license application must be denied. This is one of the most anxiety-producing requirements for applicants, because it means your licensing eligibility depends partly on the records of people you live with, not just your own.

If an adult household member's background check returns a potentially disqualifying offense, the individual receives Form DCY 01177 and has 14 business days to submit Form DCY 01178 to request a review. Ohio does have a rehabilitation review process, but the outcome is not guaranteed.

Night Care and Extended Hours

Ohio does not issue a separate "night care license." If you want to provide overnight care, you operate under the same Type A or Type B license, but with additional requirements under OAC Rule 5180:2-13-21 for the sleeping environment, lighting, and supervision.

The safe sleep rules under OAC 5180:2-13-20 apply around the clock. Infants must sleep in CPSC-compliant cribs with firm mattresses and no loose bedding. Older children may use individual sleeping arrangements — a bed, couch, cot, or mat assigned to the child, with clean bedding.

For overnight care, the provider or a child care staff member must remain awake until all children are asleep, and the home must have adequate lighting so children can be seen. If you plan to offer overnight shifts, the staffing math changes: you need to plan for the physical demands of meeting the awake-until-asleep requirement or hire staff to cover overnight hours (which triggers the same assistant requirements listed above).

The demand for overnight and nontraditional-hour care is growing as more Ohio families work second and third shifts, but the operational reality — meeting the awake-until-asleep, lighting, and other licensing requirements — makes it a challenging service model for a solo provider.

Staffing Costs and Revenue Planning

Before adding staff, run the numbers. A part-time assistant working 20–30 hours per week at $12–$15/hour costs $12,500–$23,400 annually in wages alone, plus employer payroll taxes (Social Security, Medicare, Ohio unemployment insurance). The additional children you can serve with a Type A license need to generate enough revenue to cover that cost and still improve your take-home income compared to operating at Type B capacity.

Review the reimbursement rate situation carefully: Rule 5180:6-1-10 reduced Type A PFCC reimbursement rates to match Type B rates, which has made the Type A financial model harder for subsidy-heavy programs.

For a full analysis of the costs and revenue potential at each license level, see our posts on Ohio daycare startup costs and home daycare income in Ohio. And if you are ready to work through the licensing process step by step, our complete Ohio daycare guide covers everything from eligibility through ongoing compliance.

See more Ohio guides →