As a family child care provider in New York State, you will have to fulfil certain training requirements.

New York State requires at least 30 hours of training covering the required topic areas every 2 years. This applies to all OCFS licensed or registered child care programs in all counties of New York State and the 5 boroughs of New York City.

Provider training requirements:

• 15 hours within the first 6 months of employment and 30 hours every 2 years in the 9 required training topic areas
• Healthy & Safety: Competencies for Becoming a Family or Group Family Day Care Provider 15 hours pre-licensing. Learn more about Health & Safety Training
• Medication Administration Training (MAT): Optional except for programs that choose to administer medications or as otherwise required. Learn more about MAT.
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and First Aid: Each program must have at least 1 person on site who is certified in CPR/First Aid during all hours of operation. Learn more about CPR/First Aid.

Assistant training requirements:

• 15 hours within the first 6 months of employment and 30 hours every 2 years thereafter in the 9 required training topic areas
• Medication Administration Training (MAT): Optional except for programs that choose to administer medications or as otherwise required. Learn more about MAT.
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and First Aid

Substitute training requirements:

• None, but note that each program must have at least 1 person onsite who is certified in CPR/First Aid during all hours of operation.

Volunteer training requirements:

• None required

Health and Safety Training Course

• Before the Office issues an initial registration the person who will be the provider must complete a health and safety training course approved by the Office relating to the protection of the health and safety of children and must demonstrate basic competency with regard to health and safety standards. Such training must comply with the federal minimum health and safety pre-service training requirements.
• If an applicant does not become licensed or registered within two years of successfully completing the health and safety training, the coursework must be repeated.
• All assistants hired after the initial registration of the home must complete a minimum of 15 hours of training during the first six months after becoming an assistant. In either case, this initial 15 hours applies toward the total 30-hour minimum requirement for each two-year period.
• Any person who becomes an assistant after the initial registration of the home will be required to complete 30 hours of training during the first two years of employment with the program and 30 hours of training every two years thereafter.
• Training received after the application has been submitted, but before the application has been approved and the registration granted, may be counted towards the initial 15 hours required. When a program has submitted a renewal application, and the provider and assistant(s) have satisfied the 30- hour training requirement for the current registration period, the provider and assistant(s) will be credited with any additional training hours taken during that time that exceed the 30 hours, toward the new registration period.
• Training received within the ninety (90) day period prior to the two-year mid-point in the four-year registration cycle, may count toward the next two-year period, if the training requirement for the first two years of the registration has been met.
• For the thirty (30) hours of training that must be received every two years after the first period of licensure, any provider or assistant who can demonstrate to the Office basic competency in a particular topic may determine in which of the specified topics he or she needs further study. The Office may also exempt any provider or assistant from participating in training on a particular topic upon demonstration of substantially equivalent knowledge or experience related to that topic. All persons with such exemptions must still complete a minimum of 30 hours of training during each two-year period.
• Each provider or assistant must submit verification of completion of the training requirements to their program’s designated registration office.
• All training that counts toward the required thirty (30) hours must be approved by the Office of Children and Family Services as per Office policies regarding training and trainers.
• Caregivers who will be responsible for administering medications must receive training.
• All child day care programs must have at least one caregiver, who holds a valid certificate in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid, on the premise of the child care program during the program’s operating hours.
• CPR and first aid certificates must be appropriate to the ages of the children in care. The caregiver(s) who holds the valid certification in CPR and First Aid must have their certification available for review during their working hours at the program on file.
• A registrant operating more than one licensed or registered family child care program must complete an Office approved training in the management and administration of multiple child care sites. This training may be counted toward the 30 hours of required training and must be completed within one year of the effective date of these regulations.
• Every assistant, substitute, and volunteer with the potential for regular and substantial contact with children in care must complete Office-approved training that complies with the federal minimum health and safety pre-service or three-month orientation period training requirements.
• Every person in the position of assistant, substitute, or volunteer with the potential for regular and substantial contact with children at the time this regulation becomes effective must complete the Office-approved training by September 30, 2017. Any assistant or substitute who does not complete this training by September 30, 2017 must not be left unsupervised with children in care until such time as the training has been completed. The person supervising the individual must have completed the Office-approved training that complies with the federal minimum health and safety pre-service training requirements.
• Every applicant for the position of assistant, substitute, or volunteer with the potential for regular and substantial contact with children after this regulation becomes effective must complete the Office-approved training pre-service or within three months of starting such position, or by September 30, 2017, whichever is later. Any assistant or substitute who has not completed the training, but will be completing the training within the first three months of starting such position, must not be left unsupervised with children in care until such time as the training has been completed. The person supervising the individual must have completed the Office-approved training that complies with the federal minimum health and safety pre-service training requirements.

9 Required Training Topic Areas

Each provider and assistant must complete a total of 30 hours of training every two years. This training must address the following topics:

• Principles of childhood development, focusing on the developmental stages of the age groups for which the program provides care: Principles of childhood development include such things as meeting the physical, social and developmental needs of children, including those with special needs; behavior management and discipline; promoting play and physical activity; individual development variation and learning styles; infant and toddler brain development and cross cultural skills and knowledge.
• Nutrition and health needs of infants and children: Nutrition and health needs of infants and children include such things as healthy menu planning, obesity prevention, benefits of and how to encourage breastfeeding for mothers returning to work, training in infectious diseases, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation(CPR), first aid, health and safety practices, preventive techniques in sudden infant death syndrome, medication administration training.
• Child day care program development: Child day care program development topics include such things as the benefits of continuity of care practices, staff supervision and coaching, program variety and activity; infant, toddler, pre-school, and school age quality programming, promoting children’s language development and social and emotional skills, and establishing nurturing, stimulating environments; rest time policies and procedures including meeting the needs of children who do not nap; hand washing; meeting the program needs of mixed age groups in family day care and group family day care.
• Safety and security procedures: New York State Child Day Care Regulations (effective March 20, 2017) Safety and security procedures include such things as communication between parents and caregivers, emergency preparedness and response practices and procedures, fire safety, pool and water sports safety, playground safety, supervising daily activities and family engagement techniques.
• Business record maintenance and management: business record maintenance and management includes such things as training in New York State and Federal requirements as a business owner and employer, child day care record keeping and documentation requirements, time maintenance, organizational skills, scheduling and coverage, staff supervision and coaching.
• Child abuse and maltreatment identification and prevention: child abuse and maltreatment identification and prevention includes such things as reporting protocol; how to make a report to the state central register; documenting incidents and daily health checks; child abuse policy/procedure including safety plan.
• Statutes and regulations pertaining to child day care: statutes and regulations pertaining to child abuse and maltreatment; statutes and regulations pertaining to child abuse and maltreatment includes such things as Mandated Reporter training; responsibilities of a mandated reporter; and education and information on the identification, diagnosis, and prevention of shaken baby syndrome.

Source: New York State Child Day Care Regulations Part 417 Family Day Care Homes (page 34 – 37)

Types of training

Source: Office of Children and Family Services New York State

Training costs

The cost of training varies from one organization to another. Some training activities are free of charge while others may cost thousands of dollars. OCFS sponsors several training activities that are available at no cost, such as:

• Videoconferences
• e-Learning courses
• Mandated Reporter training

How to access training

You have many options for finding training. You can find educational activities and meet your training requirements through:

• Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies provide the bridge between parents, providers, community leaders and policymakers through direct services and planning expertise. They provide information to new and prospective child day care providers about many aspects of program start up and maintenance, such as program design, referrals, insurance, budgeting, record keeping, zoning and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
• Colleges and universities. The Early Childhood.org website contains information where providers can learn about degree programs related to early care and education available at colleges and universities in New York State.
• Distance learning and online programs are an alternative way to obtain training. Non-credit bearing distance learning courses need to be reviewed and approved by OCFS before they can be taken to satisfy OCFS requirements.
• In-service training in your child care program, when conducted as per Office policy.
• Local conferences and workshops.
• The Professional Development Program (PDP) is the entry point for many OCFS-funded training opportunities. It’s home to the:
  • Early Childhood Education and Training Program (ECETP)
  • ECETP Videoconference trainings
  • ECETP Videoconference Trainings are award-winning, interactive videoconferences offered across the state. They cover a wide range of topics, are free of charge, and count toward your training requirements.
  • Medication and Administration (MAT) Program
  • MAT Brochure / MAT Brochure (Spanish)
  • Health and Safety Program
  • Various Early Childhood e-Learning courses
• The Early Care & Learning Council (ECLC) offers Early Care Management Training, New Director’s Institute and other Center Director workshops for child care center and school-age program directors. For more information, visit: http://www.earlycareandlearning.org/programs—services.html
• Small business development centers (SBDCs) provide a vast array of technical assistance to small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs.
• Statewide and national associations:
  • National Association for the Education of Young Children
  • New York State Association for the Education of Young Children
  • Family Child Care Association of New York State, Inc .

Starting your own in-home child care program? This post is a part of our New York State series on family child care licensing. More on licensing in New York:

New York State Family Child Care Licensing: An Overview
License Eligibility
Types of Licenses
The Licensing Process
Home Requirements for Licensing