37.97.207    CHILD CARE AGENCY: CHILD/STAFF RATIO

(1) Each child care agency, except maternity homes, must maintain the minimum youth to awake staff ratios:

(a) from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., 8 youth to 1 staff; and

(b) from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., or any other reasonable eight-hour period of time when residents are generally sleeping, 10 youth to 1 staff.

(2) Maternity homes must maintain a minimum youth to awake staff ratio of 8 youth to 1 staff.

(a) The youth to staff ratio in a maternity home includes any child who is not being properly cared for by the youth parent who is a resident of the maternity home.

(b) Additional staff must be available for duty within 30 minutes of contact.

(3) Child care agencies must use the actual number of children in care each day to compute the youth to awake staff ratio.

History: 52-2-111, 52-2-622, MCA; IMP, 52-2-111, 52-2-622, 53-2-201, MCA; NEW, 1978 MAR p. 88, Eff. 1/26/78; AMD, 1983 MAR p. 742, Eff. 7/1/83; AMD, 1986 MAR p. 2080, Eff. 12/27/86; TRANS, from Dept. of SRS, 1987 MAR p. 1492, Eff. 7/1/87; AMD, 1993 MAR p. 403, Eff. 3/26/93; TRANS, from DFS, 1998 MAR p. 663; AMD, 2011 MAR p. 387, Eff. 3/25/11.