Research on Quality in Infant-Toddler Programs (continued)

Longitudinal Studies of Effects. Research suggests that high-quality care is associated with "better language and mathematics skills, better cognitive and social skills, and better relationships with classmates" ("In Early-Childhood Education and Care: Quality Counts," 2002). The Syracuse Family Development Research Project reported long-term beneficial effects of a high-quality infant-toddler care program serving low-income, low-education, single-parent families. The results included decreased juvenile delinquency rates and less severe delinquency during adolescence, compared with a control group (Lally, Mangione, & Honig, 1988). Ramey and colleagues (2000), in a follow-up of 111 African American infants from at-risk families who attended high-quality early care in the Abecedarian Project, reported that at age 21, twice as many program graduates had fewer children of their own and were still in school compared with the control group.†

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has supported an ongoing national study of the development of more than 1,000 children (followed from birth) in 10 early child care sites (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2002, p. 135). Participation in centers, and particularly in higher-quality centers, was a better predictor of academic skills and language ability for children at 4 years of age than participation in other forms of infant-toddler care. This study uses careful and frequent observational assessments of quality. The major NICHD finding is that choice of high-quality care is critical for children's learning, language, and behavioral outcomes.†

Regulated Care. Research shows that infant care regulated by a state agency is of higher quality than unregulated care, and that stricter state regulations are associated with better quality (Clarke-Stewart et al., 2002). For example, official licensing agencies require more than 35 square feet of space per child. In an unlicensed facility, with less than 25 square feet per child, children have been observed to be more aggressive and destructive, and to engage in random physical activity. Clarke-Stewart (1992) notes that the purpose of regulation should be to "identify a reasonable floor of quality and eliminate or modify care that fell below that floor" (p. 123). Among infants of working parents, 23% are placed in a child care center. Most infant-toddler nonparental care is provided by relatives (29%), family day care providers (18%), and nannies (6%), and these settings are less likely to be regulated than are centers (Clarke-Stewart & Allhusen, 2002).†

Other Variables to Consider in Infant-Toddler Care

Research has not yet fully addressed a number of other variables related to the particular vulnerabilities of infants and toddlers in center care. For example:†
Length of stay could affect an infant's experience of child care. Separation anxiety and acute distress resulting from being away from the primary caregiver (usually the mother) are quite common in babies, reaching a peak at about 18 months and gradually decreasing after age 2 (Kagan, Kearsley, & Zelazo, 1978). Thus, even a high-quality center may be stressful for a toddler left for 8 or more hours a day.†