Minimum Standards

Chapter 42 of the Texas Human Resources Code requires the Health and Human Services Commission to regulate child care and child-placing activities in Texas and to create and enforce minimum standards. Chapter 42 also requires the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate alleged child abuse and neglect in child-care facilities.

Charged with this task, the HHSC Child Care Regulation Department (CCR), Regulatory Services Division, develops rules for child-care in Texas. Once proposed, reviewed and adopted, these rules become part of the Texas Administrative Code. (Read the child care licensing rules.) Each set of Minimum Standards is based on a particular chapter of the Texas Administrative Code and the corresponding child-care operation permit type(s). For example, Chapter 746 is the Minimum Standards for Child-Care Centers and Chapter 749 is the Minimum Standards for Child-Placing Agencies. The Minimum Standards mitigate risk for children in out-of-home care settings by outlining basic requirements to protect the health, safety and well-being of children in care.

Each of the Minimum Standards has been assigned a weight — high, medium, medium-high, medium-low or low — based on the risk that a violation of that standard presents to children. Weights are noted at the end of each standard or subsection. Only those standards which can be cited as a deficiency are weighted. For example, definitions are not weighted.

Assigning weights to the Minimum Standards takes into account the relative importance of standard violations and helps facilitate a clear and common understanding of risk among providers, consumers and CCR staff. With a clear and common understanding regarding the risk associated with each standard deficiency, child-care providers and CCR staff can use this information as a guide in correcting deficiencies and setting priorities when making corrections.

HHSC may recommend or take an enforcement action on a child care operation to help that operation come into compliance with state laws, rules and minimum standards while reducing risk to children in child care settings. Learn more about Child Care Regulation Enforcement Actions.
HHSC gathers data regarding the most frequently asked questions about Child Day Care and Residential Child Care operations. Learn more about Child Care Regulation Statistics.
HHSC publishes a notice regarding rulemaking actions in the Texas Register, a publication of the Texas Secretary of State. Learn more about the HHS Rulemaking Process.

What's New in Child Care Regulation?

CCR has posted important compliance information for legislation resulting from the 88th Legislative Session below.

88th Legislative Session (2023)

Child Care Regulation Overview of Rule Changes

87th Legislative Session (2021)

Liability Insurance Requirements

Liability Insurance Requirements for Licensed Operations, Registered Child Care Homes and Listed Family Homes (PDF)

86th Legislative Session (2019)

Day Care Operations

Chapter 742

Chapter 743

Chapter 743 Shelter Care (PDF)
- October 2021 Revision Memo for Chapter 743 (PDF)
- Display of October 2021 Changes for Chapter 743: Voluntary Maintenance and Administration of Unassigned Epinephrine Auto-Injectors in Child Care (PDF)

Chapter 744

Chapter 746

Chapter 747

24-Hour Residential Care Operations and Child-Placing Agencies