Title: Child Care: Lessons from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project
1Child CareLessons from the Early Head Start
Research and Evaluation Project
January 2003
2Why 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
3Child 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
4Policy 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
5Programs 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
6Programs 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
7Child Care Use Increased asChildren Got Older
8Center Care Was Most Common, Followed by Relative
Care at Age 3
Percentage of Families
9Several Other Trends Were Discovered
- Nonstandard hours
- Concurrent arrangements (15)
- Movement in and out of child care
10Most 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
11Quality Good in EHS Centers, Lower in Community
Centers, Lowest in Family Child Care Homes
Mean ITERS, ECERS-R, FDCRS
12Child-Adult Ratios in Center-Based Care Bettered
Performance Standards
6 6 to 1 ratio 4 4 to 1 ratio
13Early Head Start Families Used More Child Care
Than Control Families
Percentage of Families
14EHS Children More Likely to be in Good Quality
Center Care
Percentage of Families
15Quality Mattered for Early Head Start Childrens
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.
16Conclusions
- 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.
17Conclusions (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 childrens development.
18How 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 childrens 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!
19For More Information
http//www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/core/ongoing_resea
rch/ehs/ehs_intro.html