Child Care: Lessons from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project January 2003

Why Study Child Care in Early Head Start?  Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers recommended: Many families need child care, regardless of program model  All Early Head Start children need child care of good quality, whether the program provides it or not  Performance Standards provide high bar for quality for children in group care

Child Care Data Came From 3 Sources  Early Head Start Implementation Study: 3 site visits to 17 research sites  Parent services data 7,16, and 28 months after program enrollment (program and control)  Observations of child care settings when children were 14, 24, and 36 months old using measures of child care quality

Policy and Economic Context Increased the Need for Child Care  Welfare reform enacted July 1996, as research programs began enrolling families  Strong economy with low unemployment rates  Increase in needs for child care  Some programs changed their approach based on family child care needs

Programs Had Alternative Approaches to Providing Child Care  Center-based: on-site Early Head Start centers  Home-based: some partnerships with community centers and home providers  Mixed-approach: some on-site Early Head Start centers; some partnerships with community centers and home providers  All approaches: some families found other care

Programs Took Steps to Enhance Child Care Quality & Quantity  NAEYC accreditation  Formal partnerships between EHS programs and community child care partners  Staff changes and building renovations to meet the Performance Standards  Ongoing quality monitoring  Visiting EHS children in community centers  Training for child care staff: EHS and community  Community collaborations  New resources

Child Care Use Increased as Children Got Older

Center Care Was Most Common, Followed by Relative Care at Age 3 Percentage of Families

Several Other Trends Were Discovered  Nonstandard hours  Concurrent arrangements (15%)  Movement in and out of child care

Most Parents Were Satisfied with Child Care  Most very satisfied with their program arrangement  29% would change if cost were not a factor  80% of those who would change would choose a center  Reasons for choosing a center: parents wanted their child to learn better or be with other children

Quality Good in EHS Centers, Lower in Community Centers, Lowest in Family Child Care Homes Mean ITERS, ECERS-R, FDCRS

Child-Adult Ratios in Center-Based Care Bettered Performance Standards 6= 6 to 1 ratio; 4= 4 to 1 ratio

Early Head Start Families Used More Child Care Than Control Families Percentage of Families

EHS Children More Likely to be in Good Quality Center Care Percentage of Families

Quality Mattered for Early Head Start Children’s Development  Higher quality – better cognitive development at 24 months and better language development at 36 months.  More time in center care – better cognitive development at both 24 and 36 months; better language at 36. Overall, more time in center care not related to child aggressive behavior.

Conclusions  Most Early Head Start children are in child care.  Early Head Start programs consistently delivered good quality in on-site centers.  Early Head Start programs are enhancing quality in community settings.

Conclusions (cont.)  Quality in community centers went up over time and as children got older, but quality in family care remains a concern.  Early Head Start increased the chances of children receiving quality center-based care.  Quality matters for children’s development.

How Can Early Head Start Build on a Good Beginning?  Rely on the Head Start Performance Standards as a basis for quality  Build and fine-tune partnerships with community providers  Focus on supports for quality among relative caregivers, in family child care homes, during nonstandard hours, and in children’s secondary as well as primary arrangements  Support stability in child care  Measure quality in all settings and use assessments for continuous improvement  CELEBRATE GOOD WORK IN THE AREA OF CHILD CARE!

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