Circular Letters

From time to time, the Maryland State Department of Education’s Office of Child Care publishes written guidelines to help its Regional Licensing Offices interpret regulations consistently and respond to questions from providers and facility operators. These guidelines are known as "Circular Letters". This section contains Circular Letters that have been published since 1996.

Please note that prior to July 1, 2005, the Office of Child Care was known as the Child Care Administration, which was housed within the Department of Human Resources. Therefore, all Circular Letters issued before that date still refer to the Child Care Administration (CCA) and the Department of Human Resources (DHR).

The Circular Letters listed below are in .pdf format. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. If you do not already have the Reader, click the image.

To select a document for viewing, click on the Circular Letter number. Wait for the document to load fully before printing a copy.

After the title of each Circular Letter, the following indicators are used to show what type of child care facility the Circular Letter applies to:

(HOME) - family child care homes

(CTR) - child care centers

(HOME/CTR) - family child care homes
and child care centers

(CTR/LOC) - child care centers and letter
of compliance facilities

(ALL) - centers, homes, and letter of
compliance facilities


03-01	Child Care Practicum Students in Regulated Child Care Programs (HOME/CTR)

00-02	Group Supervision by Assistant Group Leaders (CTR, School-Age)

00-01	Staff/Child Ratios and Supervision at Naptime (CTR/LOC)

99-02	Unannounced Inspections - Registration Off-Year (HOME)

99-01	Home Instruction (HOME)

98-02	Investigations into Allegations of Child Abuse and Neglect in Child Care Facilities (ALL)

98-01	Staff Variances (CTR)

97-06	Barriers to Protect Children from Life-Threatening Safety Hazards (ALL)

97-05	Evening and Overnight Care in Child Care Centers (CTR/LOC)

97-04	Dual Licensure of Foster Homes and Family Day Care Homes (HOME)

97-03	Supervision of Children Enroute To and From School (ALL)

97-02	Change of Licensee/Letter Holder (CTR/LOC)

96-09	Animals in Child Care Facilities (ALL)

96-08	Volunteers in Child Care Facilities (ALL)

96-06	Overnight Care in Family Day Care Homes (HOME)

96-04	Fire Inspections and Family Day Care Home Registration Renewals (HOME)

Contact Information

Maryland State Department of Education

200 West Baltimore Street

Baltimore, MD 21201

Licensing Branch

	Licensing Branch Overview
	Regional Licensing Offices
	Finding the Right Child Care
	Parent's Guide to Regulated Care
	Una Guía para Padres (en español)
	Opening a Child Care Center
	Opening a Family Child Care Home
	Provider Grant Program
	Partners Newsletter
	Circular Letters
	Forms
	Formularios de Licencia (en español)
	Family Day Care Manual
	Resource Documents
	Enforcement Actions and Appeals
	Internet Links
	Regulations

Office of Child Care

	Licensing Branch
	Child Care Subsidy Branch (Purchase of Care Program)
	Program Development Branch
	Credentialing Branch
	Grants Programs
	Child Care Resource Centers
	Guidelines - Healthy Child Development
	Early Childhood Curriculum Project
	Issues / Complaints
	CCATS - Child Care Automated Tracking System