Excerpt:
Every family knows the struggle to find childcare for the summer.
Researchers at NDSU’s Challey Institute argue the search is harder in North Dakota compared to other states.
“North Dakota is incredibly strict,” said Ricky Feir, a research specialist with the Challey Institute.
Feir is one of the co-authors of the 2026 State Childcare Regulations Index.
He and his team looked at the 17 most popular regulations that have been tested in academic literature.
“The minimum child-to-staff ratio, maximum group size, required education for the director of a center, and the required education for a teacher,” Feir said, naming off some of the criteria.
Based on those factors, they ranked all states in order of greatest to least for what they call “childcare freedom.”
It’s basically in order of least strict to most strict regulations. North Dakota ranks 37th.
“There’s a lot of evidence that costs go up when regulations are strict, and a lot of evidence that availability decreases,” Feir said.
Feir said a low child-to-staff ratio requirement often means paying staff less and charging families more.
That can make it harder to retain staff, limits openings and can price families out of childcare, he said.
“I think North Dakota needs some structural long-term solutions, and that looks like allowing a more moderate child-staff ratio for regulations,” Feir said.
Currently, North Dakota has one of the most strict child-to-staff ratios at 7 to 1. The median across all states is 10 to 1.
Read the full article at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.
Read the State Childcare Regulations Index report here.
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
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