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Produced by Research Connections
Peer Reviewed JournalCurrent Filters: Resource Type:Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects [remove]; Classification:Child Care & Early Education Quality [remove];
37 results found.|
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Assessing the Effectiveness of State and Local Quality Initiatives An exploration of initiatives designed to improve the quality and supply of child care. Questions include: (1) What initiatives have states and communities funded to improve child care quality and expand child care supply?; (2) How do states and communities assess the effectiveness of these initiatives?; and (3) What assessment tools/methods would be useful to states and communities? Products include a tool-kit of assessment measures and an analysis of selected programs. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Balancing Work and Family During Children's First Three Years A secondary analysis of data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care, consisting of two phases. Phase one explores the relationship between mothers' number of work hours and responsiveness to their children, and how this relationship is moderated by child care quality. Phase two examines how employed mothers balance work and family roles, and how the two are moderated by child care quality. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Child Care Quality and Consumer Education An assessment and rating of the quality of child care providers in four counties, using structural and process measures, and evaluating the impact of ratings on parent choice and the child care market structure, including supply, prices, and turnover. Ratings are made available to parents, in partnership with resource and referral agencies, and parents are surveyed to explore the types of information used to make child care decisions. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Child Care Quality: Does Partnering with Head Start Make a Difference? A three-year investigation of the relationship between Child Care/Head Start partnerships, observed quality, and children's school readiness, conducted in Ohio by the Education Development Center (EDC). The research expands on an existing study to examine: (1) under what conditions child care partnerships with Head Start are related to observed child care classroom quality; (2) whether there is a link between partnerships and children's school readiness; and (3) whether partnerships are associated with observed quality in family child care homes. The study uses data collected on environmental quality and child outcomes, through the use of observational and child assessment instruments, from 67 child care center classrooms, 673 children, and 135 family child care homes, all randomly selected. This research addresses critical questions about the effectiveness of coordination efforts and provides evidence about the outcomes of strategies designed to improve child care quality. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Child Care Subsidies and the Work Effort of Single Mothers Post-welfare reform has introduced a new set of policy questions around child care subsidy receipt. The present study addresses policy relevant questions that seek to better articulate the relationships between single mothers' decisions about work, child care and subsidy access. In addition, the study explores the relative importance of process and structural measures of child care quality in supporting children's development. Sample: Unmarried mothers with at least one child under age 13. Measures: Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) Program Records; National Survey of America's Families (NSAF); Early Childhood Longitudinal Study birth cohort (ECLS-B). |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Child Care Today: Cost and Quality of Family Child Care and Infant/Toddler Care A comparative study of variations in child care quality and cost across types of care, child ages, workforce characteristics, and community/neighborhood factors, using a random sample of 200 family child care homes and 100 centers serving infants and toddlers. This project is part of a larger study funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Child Care Use in Mexican American Families An examination of factors that may influence child care practices of Mexican American families, including: community and employment factors; cultural beliefs and caregiving practices; extended family and non-kin networks; family characteristics; and child care characteristics. The study uses an integrative process-oriented model of minority children's development, and follows two cohorts of Mexican American families: a group with one-month old infants (N=80), and a group with 24-month old toddlers (N=80), for three years. This cross-sectional cohort design focuses on three issues: (1) factors associated with parental child care choices; (2) assessment of the features and quality of child care; and (3) factors associated with the effect of child care on family and child outcomes. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Choice of Care Among Low-Income Working Families: A Study of Latino Families in the New South The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge about child care needs and utilization among Latino low-income working families living in North Carolina, one of the states in the South with the fastest Latino population growth in the last two decades. The majority of Latinos in the South are recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America, whose child care needs and preferences may be somewhat different from those of Latinos in states with long-standing Latino populations. Furthermore, the rapid growth of the Latino population in this part of the country is posing challenges to a child care system that is trying to meet the needs of a group that may not only have different cultural and linguistic characteristics, but also may be unfamiliar with child care options available. The research questions are: (1) How are family characteristics associated with Latino low-income parents' choice of care for their preschool age children?; (2) How are program characteristics associated with Latino low-income parents' choice of non-parental care?; and (3) What are Latino parents' views about the characteristics of quality care? And to what extent do the type and quality of child care used by Latino families meet their child care needs? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Church-sponsored child care: Association of regulatory level with quality for young children The specific aims of this dissertation research are to on explore the quality of church-sponsored center-based child care as observed in three levels of state child care regulation. The first objective is to determine if and how global child care quality and teacher-child interactions vary in infant classrooms and preschool classrooms across three groups of differently-regulated church-sponsored centers. The second objective is to determine if the structural characteristics of group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of state regulation and child care quality. The results will support the CCDF goals of understanding variations in child care quality provided to children from low income families, and the effects of government regulation on quality, and will inform policy makers as they consider future support and regulation of child care quality. Research questions include: (1) Does overall child care quality and teacher-child interaction differ in infant classrooms and preschool classrooms across the three groups of differently regulated centers?; (2) Do group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of regulation and global quality scores?; and (3) Do group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of regulation and teacher-child interaction? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Community Variations in Child Care for Working Poor Families: Contributions to Child Development and Parental Employment Opportunities A description and comparison of the "child care landscapes" in four communities with diverse subsidy policies, employing an integrated design and using existing data, qualitative data, and quantitative data to identify the community-level variables that are most strongly associated with quality of care and child and family outcomes, and to determine the linkages between child care characteristics and parental work outcomes. The first phase includes 500 parent surveys, 30 community informant interviews, 15 parent focus groups and an analysis of existing community data. The second phase includes assessments of 300 children (30 infants/toddlers and 30 preschoolers in each of 5 communities), their parents, and their child care providers, using measures of child care structural quality, process quality, child development, and parent employment. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Comparative Analysis of Subsidized and Non-Subsidized Relative Child Care in Kansas An assessment of the quality of care in subsidized relative care settings, conducted for the purpose of informing policymakers regarding the efficacy of this investment. The objectives are two-fold: (1) to assess and compare quality of care observed in both subsidized and non-subsidized relative child care settings; and (2) to conduct a needs assessment of subsidized relative child care providers from which governmental agencies can facilitate support mechanisms or quality initiatives meeting the specific and unique needs of these providers. The study gathers quantitative data from sample pools of 30 subsidized and 30 non-subsidized relative child care providers from select Kansas counties, using the Child Care Assessment Tool for Relatives (CCAT-R) to measure the quality in relative care environments. Complementary qualitative data is gathered from focus group interviews of subsidized and non-subsidized child care providers. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Devolution of Subsidized Child Care in Texas A study of the relationship between child care subsidy management policies and the supply, usage, and quality of subsidized care for low-income families in 28 local workforce regions. The study employs a detailed statistical analysis plan to guide increasingly sophisticated analyses throughout the project, and uses administrative data from several state agencies, in combination with other public data, to develop a summary profile for each region, including key policies, demographics, economic characteristics, and child care measures. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Family Income, Infant Child Care, and Child Development An exploration of links among poverty, quality and cost of child care, family outcomes, other key family characteristics, and infant development at 12 and 24 months, using a random sample of 200 infants (100 girls, 100 boys) and their families from 100 centers that care for infants. This project is a collaboration among the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, the Wellesley College Psychology Department, and Abt Associates, and is part of a larger research program addressing important issues of quality and cost in early care and education. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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The Habitat of Family Child Care Providers: The Influences of Caregiver, Contextual and Group Characteristics on Quality Care A study of 67 licensed family child care providers, examining the unique and combined influences of factors, including education and training, psychological well-being, adult attachment style, commitment to care, and social support, that may promote or undermine quality caregiving. Guided by an ecological model, the study explores links between determinants of caregiver behavior and quality of care, hypothesizing that quality is influenced not only by the process and structural components of child care environments, but also by the personal and supportive characteristics of caregivers. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Impact of Literacy of Child Care Providers on Child Language A study documenting the literacy levels of a sample of early care and education providers, examining the relationships among adult literacy level, traditional measures of child care quality, and child language and cognitive outcomes, and analyzing variations in the literacy levels of early care and education providers as it relates to their economic status. The study attempts to replicate the results of a previous study that found provider English literacy to be associated with the quality of the language environment in both child care centers and licensed home-based care in Alameda County, California, using a sample of center and home-based providers whose settings were observed as part of the Child Care and Children's Temperament Study (supplement to the Temperament over Time Study-TOTS). |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Impact of Pre-K Expansion on Child Care for Low-Income Families This study is designed to address questions about the association between prekindergarten (preK) expansion and the supply and quality of child care for low-income families. We are conducting a longitudinal investigation to identify changes in the supply of child care and in the quality of care for low-income working families across different types of providers and for different ages of children. Research questions include: (1) How do changes in state preK funding relate to the overall supply of child care and in the supply of child care for the children of low-income families? How does this change over time differ based on whether the county predominantly delivers preK through public schools or through child care and Head Start providers?; (2) How does the configuration of the child care market change over time as preK programs expand?; and (3) How is expansion of preK programs related to the quality of child care? How do expanded preK programs affect the quality of child care available to low-income families? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Improving the Quality of Child Care Available and Used by Low-Income Working Parents and At-Risk Families through the Development of an Integrated Data Systems Model for Policy Research and Decision-Making The goal of this project is to develop an interagency, integrated data system for the purpose of assessing accessibility and quality of early care and education programs available to and utilized by low-income working parents and at-risk families, as well as the impact of quality initiatives to support the school readiness of children in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Steps to creating the unit include: identifying current data collected at the state and local levels; assessing data quality and gaps; establishing appropriate data sharing and protection agreements; and designing and incrementally building and deploying the system. The data system produced will be a web-accessible, data management system designed to provide reliable data usable by appropriate state, local, nonprofit, academic and other stakeholders, to increase support for policy-level decision-making in Virginia. The following questions are addressed: (1) What types of and what is the quality of child care being used by families in the subsidy program?; (2) Does this vary by locality and family characteristics, such as ethnicity?; and (3) How are these children faring in Kindergarten? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Investigating the Impact of a State-Wide Unified Professional Development System on Quality Environments and Child Outcomes A study building on the current evaluation of the state KIDS NOW Initiative by conducting research investigating the degree to which a statewide unified professional development system impacts the educational level of early care and education providers and subsequent classroom quality. The influence of these indicators are examined to determine their impact on child outcomes. The research design includes a multi-site, mixed-methods design with 213 centers, 265 classrooms and teachers that represent three types of classroom settings (child care, Head Start, and state preschool). Child level outcome data are collected on 357 4-year-old children across settings. The primary objective of this research is to determine: (1) the degree to which a unified professional development system developed at the state level results in positive child outcomes; and (2) the degree to which the educational level of early care and education providers enhances the quality of classroom environments. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Learning Outcomes for Low-income Children: Child Care Quality and Social Knowledge An examination of the relationship between child care quality, child social knowledge and competence, and child learning outcomes for low-income preschoolers. The first hypotheses examines whether observed classroom quality relates to child social knowledge and competence. The second hypothesis investigates the relationship between social knowledge and competence and learning outcomes. The study aims to inform child care providers and administrators about strategies to enhance children's development, and to inform policy makers interested in implementing cost-effective strategies that might positively relate to low-income children's pre-academic skills. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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A Longitudinal Study of Legal, Unregulated Family Child Care Providers Who Participate in the Child Care Subsidy Program A study following legal, unregulated family child care providers for three years, focusing only on providers who participate in the subsidy system, and assessing the quality of care, the continuity of care, and the effects of participating in quality improvement activities on quality of care over time. Providers are interviewed every three months in order to provide accurate information on variables such as continuity of service provision and continuity of care for children. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Maryland Cooperative Agreement to Merge Data Files to Research the Effect of Subsidy Programs on School Readiness A recent shift of the child care subsidy program to the Maryland State Department of Education in 2006 has allowed for increased collaboration among the child care licensing, subsidy, and credentialing offices and the State education system. The goal of this project is to examine associations between child care subsidy receipt and kindergarteners' school readiness. The three main components of this project include: (1) enhancing and analyzing administrative data; (2) contextualizing findings from administrative data through findings from focus groups; and (3) building a research consortium with the goal of refining early childhood education policy. Research questions include: (1) How do children who received a child care subsidy the year prior to kindergarten perform on assessments of school readiness upon kindergarten entry? How do these children compare with children from low-income families who did not receive a subsidy?; (2) How do parents and community-based child care providers define high quality care and school readiness? What challenges and supports do providers experience when preparing children for kindergarten?; and (3) What is the quality of providers who accept child care subsidies, and those who actually serve subsidized children throughout the state? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Midwest Child Care Research Consortium A study that undertakes four tasks: (1) piloting and validating four linked state child care Quality Rating Systems (QRS); (2) identifying what training providers at different levels in the QRS select; (3) measuring the effects of training on child care quality; and (4) assessing provider attitudes about professional development, and parent attitudes about quality ratings. Methods include interviews and observations involving four hundred child care centers and family child care homes, 600 classrooms, 2,200 child care providers, and 200 child care center directors in 8 randomly selected communities (one rural and one urban community from each state), in addition to interviews and focus groups with subsidy-receiving and non-subsidy-receiving parents. The study informs child care policy and program choices about investments in child care quality and provider training and professional development, and outcomes that relate to alternative child care subsidy policies. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Midwest Child Care Research Partnership A partnership formed to establish a baseline of child care quality in the Midwest region using performance indicators, and to track changes in quality over time. The study addresses, in a large representative sample, questions concerning the quality of care that child care subsidies are buying, and includes parent surveys and focus groups conducted to better understand parent perceptions of child care quality. The work is linked with Early Head Start research and evaluation in three States (Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri) as well as to a Missouri study of quality in over 500 early childhood settings, and builds on small but important studies within the Midwest region. The performance indicators, data collection strategy and technology are intended for transfer to the States so that they can track quality of care through their subsidized child care programs. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Mixed Methods Investigation of Quality Rating Systems' Influence on Program, Classroom, and Teacher Quality In an effort to improve and unify early care and education, policymakers in numerous states have developed quality rating and improvement systems, a policy that establishes common quality standards for early childhood programs. This study explored the relationship between Colorado's Qualistar Rating System and process and structural dimensions of quality as measured by the ECERS. By analyzing the association between program characteristics and changes in quality as well as by assessing the transcendence of quality definitions, I also investigated how it is unifying the early care and education system. The research questions are: (1) In what ways, if any, does participation in Colorado's QRIS relate to classrooms' process quality?; (2) In what ways, if any, does participation in Colorado's QRIS relate to classrooms' structural quality?; and (3) In what ways, if any, is Colorado's QRIS impacting the emerging ECE system? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Partnering for Quality: The Impact of Partnerships on Child Care Quality and Accessibility An examination of the approaches to child care partnerships in existence across the country, and the impact of child care/Head Start partnerships on quality and access. Phase 1 analyzes an existing database of quantitative and qualitative data to describe current approaches. Phase 2 involves a correlational study of data from a random sample of child care centers and a comparison group not engaged in partnerships, using surveys of parents, teachers, and directors of child care and Head Start programs over three points in time. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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