(1) Before hiring a new program director, a licensee or licensee designee shall submit a completed BCHS-CC 001 form, titled Child Care Licensing Information Request, and the credentials of the proposed program director to the department for review and approval.
(2) A
program director shall be present in the center in the following manner:
(a) Full time for programs operating less than 6 continuous hours.
(b) At least 50% of the time children are in care but not less than a total of 6 hours per day for programs operating 6 or more continuous hours.
(3) All
program directors are responsible for the general management of the center, including the following minimum responsibilities:
(a) Developing, implementing, and evaluating program and center policies.
(b) Administering day-to-day operations, including being available to address parent, child, and staff issues.
(c) Monitoring staff, including annual evaluations.
(4) If absent from the center, the program director shall designate a child care staff member to be in charge.
(5) A substitute program director shall be appointed for a program director who has left employment or has a temporary absence that exceeds 30 consecutive workdays until return or replacement. A substitute program director shall at least meet the qualifications of lead caregiver. The department shall be notified when a substitute program director is appointed.
(6) A
program director shall have all of the following qualifications:
(a) Be at least 21 years of age.
(b) Have earned a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED).
(7) Early childhood
program directors shall meet 1 of the following qualifications shown in Table 1:
| TABLE 1 Early Childhood Program Director Qualifications |
| Education | Coursework in Early Childhood Education or Child Development | Hours of Experience |
| (a) | Bachelor's degree or higher in early childhood education or child development |
| (b) | Bachelor's degree or higher in a child-related field including [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 18 semester hours and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 480 hours |
| (c) | Montessori credential | 18 semester hours and | 480 hours |
| (d) | Associate's degree in early childhood education or child development including [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 18 semester hours and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 480 hours |
| (e) | Valid child development associate credential with [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 18 semester hours and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 960 hours |
| (f) | Sixty semester hours with [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 18 semester hours and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 1,920 hours |
(8) School-age
program directors shall meet 1 of the following qualifications shown in Table 2:
| TABLE 2 School-Age Program Director Qualifications |
| Education | Coursework in a Child-Related Field | Hours of Experience |
| (a) | Bachelors degree or higher in a child-related field |
| (b) | Montessori credential with | 12 semester hours and | 480 hours |
| (c) | Associates degree in a child-related field and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 480 hours |
| (d) | Valid Michigan school-age youth development credential with | 12 semester hours and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 480 hours |
| (e) | Valid child development associate credential with [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 12 semester hours and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 480 hours |
| (f) | Sixty semester hours with [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 12 semester hours and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 720 hours |
| (g) | High school diploma or GED with [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 6 semester hours and [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] | 2,880 hours |
(9) All program directors shall have at least 2 semester hours or 3.0 CEUs in child care administration or have an administrative credential approved by the department. These semester hours may satisfy a portion of the requirements of subrules (7) and (8) of this rule. The program director may also use 30 hours of administrative training from MiRegistry to meet these requirements.
(10) Any potential program director previously employed as an approved and qualified program director is exempt from meeting subrule (9) of this rule.
(11) An early childhood program director or school age program director employed as a program director for more than 10 years without a break in service is exempt from the requirements in subrules (7) and (9) of this rule.
(12) A program director is exempt from the requirements of subrule (9) of this rule with verification that all duties required by subrule (3)(a) and (c) of this rule are handled by a central administrator, and the central administrator meets the requirements of subrule (9) of this rule. Verification of the duties and education of the central administrator must be made available to the department upon request.
(13) Verification of the education, credentials, and experience of the program director must be kept on file at the center or made available online at MiRegistry.
(14) A
program that has only a before
school program or an afterschool
program, but not both, serving
school-aged children may have a
program director that meets the qualifications of a
site supervisor, as specified in
R 400.8119.
