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Research on immigrant populations shows that child care choices are dependent on the population’s region of origin. While the Russian immigrant population in the United States comprises the largest group of immigrants from Eastern Europe and is likely to increase in the future, there is virtually no research on Russian immigrant families’ child care search and selection criteria. This qualitative study applies the theoretical model of Pungello and Kurtz-Costes (1999), which illustrates how factors such as parental demographic characteristics, environmental context, child characteristics, and parental beliefs play into families’ child care selection. The study draws from semi-structured interviews with 11 Russian immigrant families residing in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States to examine their child care search processes and selection criteria. Results revealed that most parents found child care through friends’ recommendations, Internet search, and online reviews. Nine themes describing child care criteria valued by Russian immigrant families emerged from the analysis. Specifically, parents mentioned culture and personal beliefs, child characteristics, convenience, cost and subsidy, education and learning, program features, facilities and environment, teacher characteristics, and rating and reputation as the major factors in selecting child care. Understanding Russian immigrant parents’ child care information sources and selection criteria will allow for early care and education (ECE) providers to accommodate the needs of Russian immigrant population and for policymakers to facilitate access to ECE programs for these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Child Temperament as a Moderator of Promoting First Relationships Intervention Effects Among Families in Early Head Start." The original article was published on January 21, 2022, and was not initially available as open access. However, the authors later decided to make it open access on November 29, 2023, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The correction notice confirms that the original article has been corrected. The publisher, Springer Nature, remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. The authors of the article are Jason T. Hustedt, Alison Hooper, Rena A. Hallam, Jennifer A. Vu, Myae Han, and Melissa Ziegler. [Extracted from the article]

Background: A Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) is one widespread method to provide a framework for quality improvement in early care and education. However, there is little research examining the relationship between QRIS supports and quality changes in family child care programs. Objective: This study aims to examine the associations between supports offered through Delaware's QRIS and global quality changes in family child care programs. Delaware's QRIS supports included financial incentives and on-site technical assistance. Method: Data were extracted from the administrative database on 139 family child care programs participating in the QRIS. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance was used to examine the effects of time and Delaware's QRIS supports. Results: Results showed significant relationships between QRIS supports and the improvement of global quality in family child care programs as measured by the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale-Revised. Specifically, the amount of on-site technical assistance was significantly associated with changes in the Interaction and Program Structure subscale scores. Additionally, grants received through the QRIS were significantly associated with quality improvements in the home environment. Conclusion: Considering that the amount of technical assistance alone was effective in improving the global quality of family child care programs, professional development strategies that aim to articulate and enhance the technical assistance that is provided to programs would be useful. Further, various types of financial incentives are encouraged to assist family child care programs in improving the structural quality of their environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family Child Care (FCC) is an important sector of the early care and education system, and is included in most state-wide Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). The sparse data on the literacy opportunities available in FCC are concerning from a QRIS perspective. Currently, there are no data on the relationship between global, and literacy specific measures of quality, and how these correspond to QRIS ratings in FCC settings.Objective: To provide empirical, descriptive data on the language and literacy opportunities found in FCC programs participating in statewide QRIS, and to explore the relationship between measures of global quality, literacy quality and QRIS ratings.Method: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study based on 66 FCC programs participating in QRIS in two states. Observational data were collected via the FCC Environmental Rating Scale-Revised and the Child/Home Early Language and Literacy Observation and compared with state administrative data on QRIS Level. It was hypothesized that global quality, literacy quality and QRIS scores will be positively related.Results: The global and domain-specific quality measures were positively correlated with each other, and both were positively correlated with QRIS rating.Conclusions: While the relationship between global quality and literacy quality and QRIS ratings was expected, the level of quality of the literacy environment was modest. While FCC programs were equipped with books, other literacy features, in particular writing opportunities were lacking. Discussion and guidance regarding global and domain specific measurement and the ways these shape QRIS supports for FCC are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Although infants increasingly spend time in community-based child care centers, little attention has been paid to their physical activity experiences while in group care. In particular, the use of devices to restrict infant mobility, such as bouncy seats, high chairs, cribs, and stationary activity centers, has received little attention in the physical activity literature. The current study examines the presence and use of these confinement devices in infant classrooms. Methods A secondary analysis of observational data in child care centers participating in Delaware’s Quality Rating and Improvement System was conducted. Quality assessment observations were coded for the use of confinement devices and the actual amount of time the confinement device was employed per child. The sample consisted of 38 infant classrooms serving a total of 162 infants in the statewide system. Results Findings suggest a high level of utilization of confinement devices in infant child care classrooms with each classroom averaging three pieces of equipment used during the observations and 22% of observed children being confined 30 min or longer during the observation period. Conclusions for Practice The reliance on confinement devices in group child care is a potential concern in the quest to prevent childhood obesity by ensuring adequate physical activity and mobility for infants in group care settings. More research is needed to understand the implications of the use of confinement devices on physical activity in group care settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the U.S., experiences of infants and toddlers in group care are often overshadowed by the policy and research focus on preschool education just prior to formal school entry. When infant-toddler care is studied, it is often described relative to the global quality of classroom environments. Little research has focused on the day-to-day experiences of very young children in routine situations and contexts in group care. The current study sought to examine the experience of a small group of toddlers (n = 11) in low-income child care centers that were deemed high quality by the state's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Using a focal observation technique in combination with qualitative methods, young toddlers were observed during a typical mealtime experience in their classroom. Data from this pilot study suggest that minimal teacher-child interactions occurred during observed mealtimes. Of particular concern is the low level of teacher vocalizations and responses to children during meals. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing emphasis on accountability in early care and education has created an opportunity for programs to revisit their child assessment practices. This article presents a model for using authentic assessment practices to document children's progress toward a set of program standards, specifically the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework, as well as describe how authentic assessment processes can inform curriculum planning. Programmatic implementation issues are discussed and a case study is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the call to improve early care and education environments heightens across the United States, individual states have developed an array of approaches to enhance out-of-home care experiences for young children. As a part of the larger evaluation study of Kentucky's early childhood initiative, KIDS NOW , the current study gains perspectives from child care providers regarding their experiences with a comprehensive statewide early care and education initiative. Through a series of focus groups, child care providers highlighted their need for adequate information regarding the initiative as well as their varying perceptions of different types of initiative components. These findings highlight the need for continual stakeholder involvement as policy changes unfold within a state. Additionally, providers' perspectives on the implementation of the initiative underscore the complexity inherent to affecting change in early care and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As availability of parent-child interaction curricula increases, Early Head Start (EHS) provides a relevant context to test research-based parenting models as part of everyday practice. We trained EHS staff to incorporate the Promoting First Relationships (PFR) intervention into ongoing weekly home visits with mothers and their young children (n = 102) enrolled in EHS. Children had a mean age of 19.75 months and were 56% Hispanic, 23% Black, and 14% White. Families were randomly assigned to an intervention group where they participated in PFR as an EHS enhancement, or to a waitlist-control group where they received only typical EHS services. To explore the possibility that effectiveness of parent-child curricula may differ based on child characteristics, we used linear regression to examine children's temperament as a potential moderator of PFR efficacy on outcomes related to parenting stress, family functioning, and parent-child interaction. While we did not find a significant main effect of PFR for the full sample, there were several significant moderated effects. For families where children showed higher levels of surgency, mothers' parenting stress was significantly reduced after PFR participation. Also, when children showed higher levels of negative affect, mothers demonstrated higher sensitivity in parent-child interactions after participating in PFR. Given findings from our exploratory study, agencies should consider the characteristics of families served and the match with intervention priorities, when selecting intervention programs. When delivered as a home visitation enhancement, PFR may be a valuable support for certain enrolled families, based on child characteristics including high levels of surgency or negative affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]