Multiple perspectives regarding the definition of quality child care, and how child care quality can be improved, were examined using a focus group methodology. Participants were representatives from stakeholder groups in the child care profession, including child care center owners and directors (3 groups), parents (3 groups), child caregivers (3…

Quality Rating System (QRS) initiatives define levels of quality based on research and then support providers with funding and technical assistance to increase their quality. Each program is assessed and given a number of "stars" to indicate to parents what level of quality the program has reached. In this article, the author describes…

Published annually since 1997, Newark Kids Count tracks key trends in child health and well-being in New Jersey's largest city with the latest statistics available. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: population and demographics, family economic security, affordable housing,…

The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of daycare by examining interactions between caregivers and young children. Across 49 Israeli daycare centers, 299 children aged 18-30 months were observed naturalistically in groups of four to eight, together with their main caregiver. Caregivers' behavior was defined in terms of mediation and…

Far less is known about predictors of quality for family child care homes than for child care centers. The current study of 120 randomly-selected family child care providers in four Midwestern states examined distal, state policy-level variables (family child care regulations and the concentration of children cared for who received public child…

The current study evaluates the Workforce INcentive Project (WIN), a programmatic effort to increase child care workforce stability in center- and home-based child care providers via the provision of bi-annual cash incentives based on educational attainment. Five hundred and thirteen center-based teaching staff (304 WIN and 209 comparison) and 167…

In 1990, the Settlement Music School Kaleidoscope Preschool Arts Enrichment Program, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, created a preschool program to teach music and other creative arts to three- to five-year-olds. This article describes how the program works: how music teaches language and math, how dance teaches action words and spatial concepts,…

In a series of New Jersey Supreme Court decisions known as Abbott v. Burke, the 28 (now 31) urban school districts serving the state's poorest students were ordered to create systems of high-quality preschool for all three- and four-year-old children, beginning in the 1999-2000 school year. The Abbott Preschool Program now serves approximately…

This report provides an evaluation of the effectiveness of the integrated inspection arrangements put in place by the Care Commission and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) to evaluate the quality of early years' day care and education services. It is based on the first round of inspections of these services which were carried out…

Children's language development is significantly affected by the quantity and quality of language input, particularly during infancy and toddlerhood. The purpose of this study was to compare the language environment in an accredited child care program with data collected by Hart and Risley (1995). Fourteen toddlers (mean age 24.4 months) were…

Do children with intellectual disabilities (ID) show attachment behavior towards their professional caretaker? Five children, varying in chronological age, developmental age and DSM-diagnosis, were observed in a day care setting. Their attachment behavior was described by means of the Attachment Q-sort. Attachment behavior varied within and…

The authors of this article describe two model programs aimed at improving the quality of infant and toddler child care in the state of Delaware. Project CREATE provided college-level coursework to classroom teachers. Project INSITE provided technical assistance to child care centers that was customized to meet the needs of the individual program.…

Few research projects have captured the voices of childcare professionals about their personal beliefs in relation to teaching and learning. Using a qualitative case study approach with an emphasis on social constructivism, this descriptive study aimed to understand beliefs and practices as part of an underlying system, rather than as separate…

In this study of the multiple determinants of professional caregiving, 237 caregivers (age range: 18-56 years) from 64 Dutch child care centers were extensively observed during their interactions with the children (0-4 years) in their usual care group. The choice of potential determinants of the caregiving quality was guided by Belsky's [Belsky,…

This study examined the extent to which characteristics of early childhood teachers and settings predicted observed teacher sensitivity. Participants included 41 head teachers at child care centers located in Northern California. Accreditation status, center size, and program quality were uniquely associated with teacher sensitivity. Accreditation…