This dissertation is a multiple case study of organizational dynamics and their influence on parent-teacher partnerships in four child care programs participating in the Strengthening Families initiative. The goals of this study are to 1) identify how the Strengthening Families initiative in one state influenced changes in child care programs, 2) identify theorized characteristics of conventional and relational bureaucratic child care organizations, and 3) test the hypothesis that these distinct organizational types influence the quality of family partnerships. Data sources include interviews with 60 child care program staff, 20 hours of observation at each program, and program documents. Qualitative analysis techniques include the use of descriptive and interpretive coding, cross case comparisons, and a pattern matching technique in which a theoretically derived pattern of organizational characteristics is compared to the empirical data. (author abstract)