​​​​​​​​​The Division of Child Care and our partners are committed to providing resources to child care programs and families to assist in preventing suspension and expulsion of children.

It is important to understand the difference between suspension and expulsion in child care programs:

It can be difficult to understand that infants, toddlers and preschool-age children may be suspended or expelled from child care programs because of their behavior. For families, this experience can bring a wide range of emotions, including fear, judgement and anxiety.
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Families may be asked to remove their child from a program for various reasons. The Division of Child Care and its partners are committed to:

Suspending or expelling a child based upon what may seem like “behavior problems” is not a good solution. Children from birth to 5 years old are developing quickly. Ninty percent​ of brain development happens before the age of 5. 

What may seem like a disruption, may be a normal response. For example, some programs have a strict “no biting” rule for toddlers. But this is a normal reaction (developmentally appropriate) for a toddler who is teething, frustrated, tired, hungry or upset. Families should ask their child care program to explain what their policies are around discipline. 

Programs with strict discipline policies that include suspension and expulsion may be excluding children that have developmental delays. Additional information concerning developmental delays and milestonesis available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Simply removing a child keeps them from receiving the evaluations or referrals they need to obtain services.