1. Child Care Quality and Children’s Development in Indiana Low Income Working Families James Elicker, Carolyn Clawson, & Soo-Young Hong Purdue University Child Care Resource and Referral In the 21st Century Conference October, 2004

2. Thank you to CCCRP Advisory Board Members Lanier DeGrella, Indiana Families and Social Services Administration Nancy Flennery, Step Ahead Marsha Hearn-Lindsey, Child Care Answers Jan Levy, Child Care Professional Network Shelley MacDermid, Purdue University Cheryl Miller, Indiana Head Start Association David Sisk, Step Ahead Charles Smith, St. Joseph County Division of Family and Children Sharon Sullivan, Indiana Families and Social Services Administration Marsha Thompson, Indiana Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Dianna Wallace, Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children Maria Klein, Indiana Youth Institute Lisa Henley, IACCRR, Better Baby Campaign

3. Community Child Care Research Project (CCCRP) General goals of our project How are the low-income working families and children from the families doing, post welfare reform in 1996?low-income working families Quality of the child care that these families are using Does child care quality make a difference for these families? Children’s development Parents’ employment or education

4. Low-income Working Families Family income – Less than $35,000 a year Parents – Work, go to school, or in job training Have a child between 6 months and 6 years old in out-of-home care

5. Description of CCCRP 4 urban communities in Indiana St. Joseph, Marion, Allen, & Lake Counties Talked to parents to get a permission to observe their child Talked to caregivers to get a permission to go into their child care setting Observation (child care quality) + assessment of each child (cognitive and socioemotional competence) Questionnaires to caregivers and parents about each child’s development

6. Questions Asked What is the quality of the child care? Does child care quality differ for infants/toddlers and preschoolers? Does quality differ among types of care settings? Is children’s development linked with the quality of the child care?

7. General Description of Sample N = 307 children Center based programs (63% of children): Licensed child care centers/preschools (n = 117) Child care ministries (n = 48) Head Start programs (n = 28) Home based programs (37% of children): Licensed family child care (n = 74) Unlicensed family child care (n = 24) Relative care (n = 16) Age of children: Infants/Toddlers (n = 121) Preschool age children (n = 186)

8. Sample (Percent of children) Back

9. Child Care Quality Measures Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R) OR Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS) Parent-Caregiver Relationship Scale (PCRS- parent and caregiver reports) Student Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) Caregiver Talk

10. Child Care Global Quality Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R) OR Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS) Score can range from 1 to 7 1: Inadequate; 3: Minimal; 5: Good; 7: Excellent Subscales Classroom space and furnishings Personal care routines Language - Reasoning Activities provided Adult-child and child-child interactions Program structure Issues related to parents and staff

11. Distribution of Global Quality ECERS-R or FDCRS 1234567 Child Care Quality 0 5 10 15 20 25 Mean = 3.8 Std. Dev. = 1.4 N = 307

12. Distribution of global quality: Infants/Toddlers vs. Preschoolers 1234567 Child Care Quality 0 5 10 15 20 25 Mean = 3.06 Std. Dev. = 1.17 N = 121 Infants/Toddlers 1234567 Child Care Quality 0 5 10 15 20 25 Mean = 4.3 Std. Dev. = 1.4 N = 186 Preschoolers

13. Global Child Care Quality: ECERS-R/FDCRS Scores for Infants/Toddlers and Preschoolers

14. Global Child Care Quality: ECERS-R/FDCRS Scores by Type of Care

15. Child Care Quality-- Relationships Parent Caregiver Relationship Scale (PCRS) Parents and caregivers rate statements about their relations Examples: “I work closely with my child’s caregiver in order to gain a better understanding of my child;” “I have different values concerning how to best meet the child needs.” Score can range from 1 to 5 1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree

16. Child Care Quality: Parent-Caregiver Relationship

17. Child Care Quality– Caregiver-Child Relationship Student Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) Caregivers rate statements about their relationship with child Examples: “I share an affectionate, warm relationship with this child;” “Dealing with this child drains my energy” Score can range from 1 to 5 1: Definitely does not apply; 5: Definitely applies

18. Child Care Quality: Caregiver-Child Relationship (STRS) for Infants/Toddlers and Preschoolers

19. Child Care Quality: Caregiver-Child Relationship (STRS) by Type of Care

20. Child Care Quality- Caregiver Talk Caregiver Talk Children are observed in child care and adult talk to the child was coded and categorized 3 categories (%) High level talk: question, description, prompt/suggestion, and expansion Low level talk: praise, directive, and social No talk

21. Types of Caregiver Talk (% of the time observed) Back

22. Children’s Learning and Development Infants/Toddlers Mullen early learning composite (M = 85.24) Visual reception Fine motor Receptive language Expressive language Socioemotional competence Parent report Caregiver report

23. Children’s Learning and Development Preschool Age Children Early Academic Skills Receptive vocabulary Name, Age, Date of birth Color names Counting Academic Attitudes Social-emotional competence Parent report Caregiver report

24. Higher quality was linked to better early learning of infants/toddlers

25. Higher quality was linked to better early academic skills of preschool age children

26. Better parent-caregiver relationship was linked to: Preschoolers’ academic attitude Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by caregivers Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by caregivers Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents

27. Better parent-caregiver relationship was linked to preschoolers’ socioemotional competence as reported by caregivers

28. Better caregiver-child relationship was linked to: Preschoolers’ early academic skills Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by caregivers

29. Better caregiver-child relationship was linked to preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents

30. Higher level caregiver talk was linked to: Infants/Toddlers’ early learning composite Infants/Toddlers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents Infants/Toddlers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents Preschoolers’ early academic skills Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by caregivers

31. Higher level caregiver talk was linked to infants/toddlers’ socioemotional competence

32. Conclusions Child Care Global Quality (ECERS-R/FDCRS) Infants/Toddlers received significantly lower quality care. Head Start > Licensed center care > Child care ministries, Licensed family care, Unlicensed family care > Relative care Parent Caregiver Relationship Most parents and caregivers rated their relationship quality high. Parents and caregivers in home-based care (relative and family care) had more positive relationships than in center-based care (centers, ministries, Head Starts).

33. Conclusions Caregiver Talk High level talk observed more than Low level talk. Preschoolers experienced more high level talk than infants/toddlers. No child care setting differences were found. Caregiver-child relationship Caregivers rated caregiver-child relationships positively. Caregiver-preschooler relationship quality was more positive than caregiver-infant/toddler relationship quality Licensed center care & Head Start had more positive caregiver-child relationships than Licensed family care, Unlicensed family care, Child care ministries, & Relative care

34. Conclusions Relation between Child Care Quality and Child Development Higher global child care quality was linked to: Infants/toddlers’ early learning levels Preschoolers’ early academic skills Better parent-caregiver relationships were linked to: Preschoolers’ academic attitude Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents and caregivers

35. Conclusions Relation between Child Care Quality and Child Development (cont.) Better caregiver-child relationships were linked to: Preschoolers’ early academic skills Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents and caregivers Higher level caregiver talk was linked to: Infants/toddlers’ early learning composite Infants/toddlers’ socioemotional competence reported by parents Preschoolers’ early learning skills Preschoolers’ socioemotional competence reported by caregivers

36. Summing Up: Child care quality for low income working families in these 4 counties is generally low  Their choices are limited in many ways Head Start and licensed centers provide higher quality care  Impact of standards Infant care is lowest quality  Needs attention! Child care quality is associated with children’s cognitive and social-emotional development  Efforts to improve quality will have an impact!

37. Thank you!