Child care in a provider's home is the most prevalent form of child care for young children with employed mothers in the United States today. The quality of family care and relative care is of concern partly because of growing public recognition that child care experiences are children's education before school. As the first in-depth, observational study of family child care and relative care in more than a decade, this study focuses on 820 mothers and 225 of their children in the homes of 226 providers in the communities of San Fernando/Los Angeles, California; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Key findings from the study are in the following areas: (1) definitions of quality; (2) effect of quality of child development; (3) predictors of quality, including job commitment, professional development, planning, regulation, and conformance; and (4) causes for concern. The study found that care in the home of a provider is offered by three distinct groups: (1) regulated family child care providers; (2) nonregulated family child care providers; and (3) nonregulated relatives who provide care. Parents and providers agree about what is most essential: the child's safety, the provider's and parents' communication about the child, and a warm, attentive relationship between the provider and child. Family child care providers who intentionally seek out opportunities to learn more about child care and education are also those people who create the most nurturing and educational environments. These are intentional providers who offer warmer and higher-quality child care. (Contains 62 references.) (BGC)