S 278: Removes certain requirements on what the office of children and family services can determine to be an appropriate staff/child ratios for family day care homes, group family day care homes, school age day care programs and day care centers.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 278 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the appropriate staff/child ratios for family day care homes, group family day care homes, school age day care programs and day care centers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2-a of section 390 of the 2 social services law, as added by chapter 416 of the laws of 2000, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (a) The office of children and family services shall promulgate regu- 5 lations which establish minimum quality program requirements for 6 licensed and registered child day care homes, programs and facilities. 7 Such requirements shall include but not be limited to (i) the need for 8 age appropriate activities, materials and equipment to promote cogni- 9 tive, educational, social, cultural, physical, emotional, language and 10 recreational development of children in care in a safe, healthy and 11 caring environment (ii) principles of childhood development (iii) appro- 12 priate staff/child ratios for family day care homes, group family day 13 care homes, school age day care programs and day care centers[, provided 14 however that such staff/child ratios shall not be less stringent than 15 applicable staff/child ratios as set forth in part four hundred four- 16 teen, four hundred sixteen, four hundred seventeen or four hundred eigh- 17 teen of title eighteen of the New York code of rules and regulations as 18 of January first, two thousand] (iv) appropriate levels of supervision 19 of children in care (v) minimum standards for sanitation, health, 20 infection control, nutrition, buildings and equipment, safety, security 21 procedures, first aid, fire prevention, fire safety, evacuation plans 22 and drills, prevention of child abuse and maltreatment, staff qualifica- 23 tions and training, record keeping, and child behavior management. 24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00928-01-5