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Background: Compliance with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the United States is monitored through review of cross‐sectional reports from three discrete, age‐defined programmes (early intervention [EI], early childhood special education [ECSE)] and school‐age special education [SE]) to promote the timely, efficient and effective delivery of appropriate services to all eligible children. Analysis of longitudinal data is required to discern how children use services across programmes to provide the necessary context for IDEA oversight and to identify areas for programme or policy interventions to reduce barriers to service use and promote equity. Methods: We applied sequence analysis to a data linkage across five public record systems among 15 626 New York City children born in 1998 who had records from birth through third grade. Results: Five predominant patterns of service use were identified: (1) multiple therapies across EI/ECSE/SE (13%), (2) EI without transition to Department of Education schools or services (24%), (3) EI and intermittent ECSE/SE (16%), (4) older entry into EI and both speech and occupational therapy throughout ECSE/SE (9%) and (5) limited EI use and mostly speech therapy in ECSE/SE (38%). Each pattern had distinct demographics (e.g., pattern 2 was disproportionately White and from low poverty neighbourhoods; pattern 4 was disproportionately male and Black; pattern 5 was disproportionately Latino) and academic outcomes (e.g., pattern 1 had largest proportion in a SE school and not tested in third grade; pattern 3 had third grade tests scores that were similar to overall citywide mean scores). Conclusions: The differences in demographic profiles across the five patterns of service use illustrate the systemic inequities in the delivery of these important services. Delayed entry and limited use of EI services among children of colour underscore the need for equity goals to increase early referral and optimize service use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• FCC teachers are struggling with the managerial demands of their programs. • FCC and center teachers are equally underpaid and economically stressed. • Teachers in both settings are not rewarded for advanced training and education. • FCC and center teachers share beliefs about child development and pedagogies. • Both workshops and coaching are highly valued by FCC and center teachers. As the provision of publicly funded pre-kindergarten has expanded in recent years, public programs for infants and toddlers have received relatively little policy attention. However, federal, state, and local governments are now trying to promote quality in family child care and center-based programs that serve infants and toddlers, often with an emphasis on workforce development. Despite the developmental importance of the first years in a child's life, infant and toddler teachers in family child care and centers remain greatly under-studied in the research literature. This descriptive study seeks to help fill that gap by comparing the characteristics and views of family child care and center-based infant and toddler teachers in the context of New York City, where ambitious policies to promote the quality of infant and toddler programs have focused on workforce development in both settings. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected in 2019 via online surveys of 32 center-based and 30 family child care teachers, and then analyzed quantitatively to identify similarities and differences between the two groups. The results can inform the design of policies in New York City, other cities, and states that seek to promote the quality of infant and toddler care in different settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]