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This study examines the prevalence of home-based child care providers who report serving at least one child whom they identify as having a disability. Although many families choose home-based child care, researchers know very little about how many home-based providers care for young children with disabilities. Through secondary analysis of the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) data about home-based child care providers, we examined the prevalence and predictors of serving children with provider-reported disabilities among listed and unlisted home-based providers. Descriptive analyses showed that 21.7% of listed providers, 20.5% of unlisted paid providers, and 10.1% of unlisted unpaid providers reported serving at least one child whom they identified as having a disability. These providers reported relatively low rates of connecting families to outside resources and utilizing outside resources to support them in their work with children. Providers who reported higher enrollment and who received child care subsidies were more likely to report serving a child with a disability.

This research uses focus group methodology to examine how a specific subset of family childcare providers--those participating in a voluntary quality rating and improvement system and serving a high percentage of children receiving childcare subsidy--define quality. The study builds on the limited existing research about family childcare quality, especially research focused on understanding quality from the perspective of the childcare provider. A total of 28 family childcare providers participated in three focus groups where they were asked to define quality and to describe high- and low-quality programs. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes: relationships, supporting children's learning, the physical and temporal environment, and personal professionalism. These results can inform how quality improvement initiatives and professional development systems support and engage family childcare providers.

Research Findings: Parents make child care decisions based on their existing perceptions of early care and education (ECE) arrangements. Through secondary analysis of the National Survey of Early Care and Education data on parents of preschooler (n = 1674), an exploratory latent profile analysis was conducted to identify distinct profiles of parents based on their ratings of three regular ECE arrangements: center-based child care, family child care (FCC), and family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care. The findings did not indicate a clear preference for a specific type of arrangements among preschool parents. Rather, two distinct profiles emerged: "favorable across all settings" and "less favorable, prefer FFN care". For both profiles, FCC was rated lower than FFN care across almost all dimensions. A set of family demographics predicted the profile membership, such as family income, parental employment, and subsidy receipt. Practice or Policy: The reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 requires states to develop consumer education programs to support families in their ECE search. Given that parents have to make tradeoffs when making ECE decisions, state government agencies need to provide credible, updated, and culturally-responsive information to help parents make informed choices.

The quality of early care and education affects a wide range of children's experiences and developmental outcomes. Family Child Care (FCC) is no exception, and attention to increasing the quality of Family Child Care is needed. The purpose of the current study was to examine an experimental case of intensive Professional Development (PD) in FCC programmes focusing on domain-specific quality (language and literacy) and global quality. Forty-nine FCC providers in two states participated in the study. Thirty-eight FCC providers received intensive PD support, including five three-hour training workshops on early language and literacy, weekly onsite technical assistance, and monthly Community of Practice meetings. Eleven FCC providers served as a comparison group. The Child/Home Environmental Language and Literacy Observation (CHELLO) and Family Child Care Environmental Rating Scale (FCCERS-R) were used to measure the quality of FCC. Results showed significant improvement in the high-intensity PD group on both measures. The study presents a promising model of PD that may be an appropriate approach to embed within Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) in early child care and education.

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.

Gender segregation in early-childhood social play is a pervasive pattern in North America, and child-development scholars have suggested it is a human universal. But very few researchers have looked at gender segregation in small-scale societies, particularly those of hunter-gatherers, whom the authors here call foragers. The authors present their observations of fifty-six, one- to four-year-old children living in two small-scale cultures--Bofi farmers and Bofi foragers--in Central Africa. They examined gender and age variation in the social play of these two groups and found that three- to four-year-olds became more segregated by gender than one- to two-year-olds and that boys in particular showed a tendency to play with other boys. The authors also found that cultural differences became more manifest as gender segregation grew more prominent among the children of Bofi farmers than Bofi foragers. (Contains 1 figure.)

Defining and measuring quality in group care settings has become a central issue in the field of early care and education in the United States, particularly as states develop systems to improve child care quality. Most research and policy definitions of quality rely on a top-down perspective focusing on structural and environmental features of the child care context. This pilot study, based on Lilian Katz's multidimensional framework of child care quality (Phi Delta Kappan, 76(3), 200-206, 1994), documents the social ecology of individual toddlers' experiences in one classroom, in relation to a global quality measure of the same classroom. Research questions were (1) What is the frequency of teacher-child interaction in the target child care classroom for each of the four focus children? (2) Does teacher-child interaction vary by classroom context? (3) How does focal child interaction data compare with a global measure of classroom quality? Findings included low levels of interaction between the individual toddlers and the caregivers throughout the classroom day. This multi-method approach illuminates the complexity of measuring quality and the potential value of considering children's daily experiences as an important element of quality assessment. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.)

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.

Twenty-six Head Start preschool classrooms participated in a yearlong intervention designed to link the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework with authentic assessment practices. Teachers in intervention and pilot classrooms implemented an assessment approach that incorporated the use of a curriculum-based assessment tool, the development of portfolios aligned with the mandated Head Start Child Outcomes, and the integration of this child assessment information into individual and classroom instructional planning. During the intervention period, comparison classrooms continued to use the assessment approach adopted by the local Head Start program, which included the use of a standardized assessment tool and the use of an agency-developed lesson plan form. Intervention and pilot classrooms demonstrated significant improvements on some dimensions of classroom quality as measured by the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) toolkit, whereas comparison classrooms exhibited no change in classroom quality. Implications for practice are discussed.

Kindergarten has become increasingly academically oriented, and U.S. kindergarten teachers are increasingly called upon to implement policies that require assessment and promote accountability. However, little recent research has focused on kindergarten teachers' beliefs about kindergarten readiness. The authors examined teachers' beliefs related to what entering kindergartners should be able to do, and beliefs about using assessment data, based on results from statewide surveys of Delaware kindergarten teachers conducted in 2000 (N = 171), in 2011 (N = 185), and again in 2013 (N = 257). Chi-squared tests were employed to investigate potential changes in teacher beliefs over time. Results show that kindergarten teachers increasingly prioritize assessment information across all broad domains of development at kindergarten entry. However, when ranking specific readiness skills, they continue to believe that nonacademic skills are most important. These findings suggest that though policies promote an academic emphasis in kindergarten, teachers, as policy enactors, take a more nuanced view and continue to recognize nonacademic skills as a key component of kindergarten readiness. This has potential implications for early care and education programming, teacher preparation programs, and teachers' practices in kindergarten classrooms.

Toddlers' engagement with their social and physical environment is an important aspect of their experience in early care and education programs. The purpose of this research study was to examine how global quality relates to children's engagement in toddler child care classrooms. Additionally, this study explored how toddlers' group engagement levels vary across classroom contexts, including free play, group activities, meals, transitions, and personal care routines. Thirty toddler child care classrooms participating in a statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) were observed using two observational measures. Results indicate that a strong positive relationship exists between engagement and global quality. Group engagement varied significantly by classroom context, with the highest levels of engagement documented during mealtime and free play and the lowest levels of engagement documented during transitions. The findings point to the importance of using multiple measures to understand toddler experiences in group care settings. Further, the variation of children's engagement across classroom contexts suggests that more attention is needed in understanding and supporting teachers in increasing child engagement, especially during classroom transitions.

Research Findings: The current study is a mixed-methods investigation of family child care provider participation in voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) in 2 states. Study 1 is an analysis of matched QRIS and child care licensing administrative data extracted from both states in May, 2014. Poverty and population density variables were added to the dataset by aligning U.S. Census data and Rural Urban Commuting Area codes (RUCA) to the matched state child care data. Participation patterns differed in the 2 states relative to provider characteristics (subsidy receipt, years licensed, and location). Study 2 consists of focus groups with participating (n = 22) and non-participating (n = 19) providers. Professionalism and financial incentives emerged as significant in attracting family child care providers to QRIS. Although family child care providers identified several clear benefits to QRIS, many more challenges emerged that negatively impact their participation. Practice or Policy: As most states are employing a QRIS framework to integrate quality improvement efforts, perspectives from this sector of early care and education are often overlooked. Study findings suggest that QRIS can be more responsive and effective with family child care providers if more consideration of their unique features are considered in systems design and implementation.

Author(s): Rena A. Hallam [sup.1] , Kaitlin Bargreen [sup.2] , Hillary N. Fouts [sup.3] , Laura Lessard [sup.4] , Christine Skrobot [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 0454 4791, grid.33489.35, [...], 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.

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.

The assessment of young children in early childhood special education is a central area of educational practice. The results of child assessments often have significant implications for young children, their families, and the programs that serve them, including eligibility for special education services, instructional planning, and documentation of child outcomes. The array of early childhood assessment types and purposes can be challenging to disentangle at the practitioner and policy level. At this time, different types of assessment tools (e.g., norm-referenced and criterion-referenced) are being used to document the development and learning of children and little attention has been paid to the parallel information produced from different assessment types. The purpose of this study is to compare the assessment results from two types of developmental instruments commonly used ("Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System Second Edition" [AEPS 2nd ed.] and "Battelle Developmental Inventory II" [BDI-2]) to determine their congruence in determining a child's developmental status (e.g., "on track" or delayed). Results indicate substantive difference between the two measures highlighting the potential for mismeasurement and misinterpretation of child assessment data. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

The Buffering Toxic Stress Consortium was created by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families to test preventive interventions for Early Head Start families facing toxic stress, as conceptualized by Shonkoff, Boyce, and McEwen in their influential 2009 article. Because relationships between children and their primary caregivers are believed to be the most important buffer for children facing high stress, each promising preventive intervention targets parenting. Consortium projects aim to validate empirical assessments of toxic stress, test the value added of supplemental parenting services, and assess implementation and long-term sustainability of these services.

This study is a secondary analysis of a statewide sample of licensed family child care providers in the Tennessee Child Care Evaluation and Report Card Program ("N"?=?1,145) that describes the general quality of family child care programs in the state and examines the relationships between provider education and global quality. Study findings suggest that state-sponsored, coordinated professional development linked to program quality standards is the strongest predictor of quality when compared to general educational level or higher education in early childhood. As many states are developing new professional development systems to improve child care quality, building infrastructures to support coordinated professional development is recommended to improve family child care quality.

The study of transition process for young children with disabilities and their families is complex. This complexity is reflected in efforts by researchers and policy makers to understand the phenomenon and determine ways to improve the transition experiences and outcomes of young children with disabilities and their families. This article synthesizes the literature from early childhood special education as well as general early childhood in an effort to exemplify the current understanding of transition processes and practices. Future directions for more integrated approaches to transition research, policy, and practice are presented. (Contains 1 figure.)

Research Findings: A statewide study of preschool classroom quality was conducted using 3 distinct classroom observation measures in order to inform a statewide quality rating system. Findings suggested that Tennessee preschool classrooms were approaching "good" quality on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) and provided a mid-to-high emotional and engaging climate as indicated by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) domains of Emotional Support and Student Engagement. However, classrooms were only minimal on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extension and the CLASS Instructional Support domain. Past performance on a state quality rating assessment consistently predicted the current quality of preschool classrooms as assessed by all 3 measures. Lead teachers' education in early childhood and experience were also predictors across quality measures. Practice or Policy: Tennessee preschool classrooms scored higher on the ECERS-R, which is the measure utilized in the statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System. However, classrooms generally performed poorly on measures of instructional support and curriculum. This finding illuminates the importance of the tool selected to measure quality in state quality rating and improvement systems and has implications for policy as states work to build systems that enhance quality in early care and education. (Contains 6 tables.)

The number of children participating in public school preschool programs has steadily increased over the last two decades. While the use of specific practices to support the transition to kindergarten has received a great deal of attention, there are little data on the use of transition practices by public school preschool teachers to support children's entry into the public school preschool setting. This article presents findings from a national sample of 2434 public school preschool teachers on the use of 25 transition practices to support the transition of young children into public school preschool programs. The study represents a collaborative extension of the National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL) Kindergarten Transition Survey [Pianta, R. C., Cox, M. J., Taylor, L., & Early, D. (1999). Kindergarten teachers' practices related to the transition to school: Results of a national survey. "Elementary School Journal, 100"(1), 71-86]. Public school preschool teachers reported using an average of 12.81 of the 25 transition practices included in the survey, with a total of 12 of the 25 transition practices reportedly in use by 70% or more of teachers responding to the survey. Findings from this study indicate that three variables--training on the use of specific transition practices, classroom composition, and school context--were related to the use of transition practices by public school preschool teachers. (Contains 5 tables.)

Data from a statewide billing and information system for early intervention are used to examine the influence of multiple factors on the level and intensity of services provided in a state early intervention system. Results indicate that child and family factors including entry age, gestational age, Medicaid eligibility, access to third party insurance, and children's developmental skill areas influence the level and the intensity of early intervention services provided. In addition, findings show that county demographic factors also influence service provision, specifically the interaction between rural and poverty status. Implications for social policy are discussed. (Contains 8 tables, 3 figures and 3 notes.)

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate technical assistance and training of Head Start teachers and assistant teachers on the use of a contemporary curriculum-based assessment. A description of the technical assistance process used and the procedures for determining interrater agreement and assessment fidelity are presented. During the study, participating practitioners reliably scored assessment protocols and administered the curriculum-based assessment with fidelity within their classrooms. (Contains 2 figures.)

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.

Individualized family service plans (IFSPs) should reflect the concerns and priorities of the families for which the plan is written. Families with low incomes that live in rural areas may have unique concerns and priorities due to their financial circumstances and where they live. In this study, qualitative methods were used to examine the concerns of five rural, low-income families of young children with disabilities and the content of their IFSP documents. The families identified three categories of concerns: parenting a child with a disability, health issues of the child, and family issues. The families' IFSP documents primarily addressed concerns related to parenting a child with a disability. Findings from this study suggest a potential disconnect between family-identified concerns and family outcomes and supports outlined on the IFSP. (Contains 3 tables.)

Data from a statewide survey were used to examine the relationship between the professional backgrounds of early intervention service coordinators and their reported knowledge of and interaction with community resources relevant to early intervention services. Early intervention service coordinators with human service backgrounds were more likely to report higher levels of knowledge or interaction with social service agencies, such as community action agencies, family resource centers, and local charities, whereas service coordinators with professional backgrounds in health areas reported higher levels of knowledge of interaction with health-related services, such as Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment, Medicare, and private health insurance. Service coordinators with professional backgrounds in education were more knowledgeable about traditional educational services, including state at-risk preschool programs and private child care. Implications for professional development are discussed.

Describes the growth of Early Head Start (EHS) programs, focusing on one EHS partnership with child care providers in Delaware to serve infants, toddlers, and their families. Includes discussion of partnership strategies that promote quality programming, ways the early care and education coordinator supports child development, strategies for meeting family needs, and suggestions for overcoming barriers to collaboration. (KB)

Describes Project CREATE (Caregiver Recruitment, Education, and Training Enhancement), designed to improve the quality of community-based child care programs in Delaware, and provided in three 1-credit modules at no cost to participants. Identifies barriers to providing education to infant and toddler caregivers. Presents preliminary evaluation results from project's first year. Discusses implications for the education community. (KB)

A study of 189 family childcare providers found providers who had experience with children with disabilities were more likely to be willing to care for them in the future. Barriers identified included: lack of knowledge, limitations on caring for other children, and the need to purchase special equipment. (Contains extensive references.) (Author/CR)

A survey of 289 special and regular educators examined perceptions of ability to positively affect students, understanding of inclusion, self-efficacy in inclusive settings, the need for inservice training, and availability of supports to promote inclusion. Special educators rated their efficacy, ability, understanding, and resources higher than did regular educators. (Author/CR)