All citation explainers

§416.8(a): Supervision of children

Children must be supervised at all times. The state's wording defines this as awareness of what each child is doing, with every child in a caregiver's range of vision except where the rule allows otherwise, and a caregiver close enough to step in. The public record does not describe what was seen.

The state's wording

Children cannot be left without competent supervision at any time. Competent supervision includes awareness of and responsibility for the ongoing activity of each child. It requires that all children be within a caregiver's range of vision except as provided in section 416.8(b) of this Part and that the caregiver be near enough to respond when redirection or intervention strategies are needed. Competent supervision must take into account the child's age, emotional, physical and cognitive development.

This is the text the state (OCFS) attaches to the citation. It is a template, so it can sound harsher or vaguer than the finding behind it.

Worth asking the provider

How are the children supervised during naps, meals and outdoor play?

Reading it on a record

Look at whether the citation is marked open or corrected, how long ago it was cited, and whether the same section shows up on several inspections. One corrected citation is common. The same one on visit after visit is worth a direct question. Our guide to checking a daycare and methodology explain the rest.

Look up a home daycare and read its record

Related sections

• §416.14(m): CPR and first aid certification
• §416.4(b)(1): Evacuation drills

Counts are from the inspection records we hold, as of 2026-10-18. The plain-English note was written by NYC Daycare Check from the city's wording; the citation on each provider's page is the record.