TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality disparities in child care for at-risk children
T2 - Comparing head start and non-head start settings
AU - Hillemeier, Marianne M.
AU - Morgan, Paul L.
AU - Farkas, George
AU - Maczuga, Steven A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by grant number R21 HD058124 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This sponsor played no role in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, writing of the report, or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Funding Information:
This study analyzes new, nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). This prospective study was sponsored by the National Center for Educational Statistics. The ECLS-B included a population-based sample of children born in 2001 selected from birth certificates, with oversampling of children born at low birthweight. Assessments were conducted to measure health, development, and the receipt of health care, child care, and other services from birth through kindergarten entry.
PY - 2013/1
Y1 - 2013/1
N2 - The study objectives are to describe child care type and quality experienced by developmentally at-risk children, examine quality differences between Head Start and non-Head Start settings, and identify factors associated with receiving higher-quality child care. Data are analyzed from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Birth Cohort, a prospective study of a nationally representative sample of US children born in 2001. The sample consisted of 7,500 children who were assessed at 48 months of age. The outcome of interest is child care quality, measured by the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (center care) and the Family Day Care Rating Scale (family day care). Results of descriptive and multivariate regression analyses are presented. Less than one-third of poor children were in Head Start. Child care quality was higher in Head Start centers than other centers, particularly among poor children (4.75 vs. 4.28, p<0.001), Hispanics (4.90 vs. 4.45, p<0.001), and whites (4.89 vs. 4.51, p<0.001). African Americans experienced the lowest quality care in both Head Start and non-Head Start centers. Quality disadvantage was associated with Head Start family care settings, especially for low birthweight children (2.04 in Head Start vs. 3.58 in non-Head Start, p<0.001). Lower family day care quality was associated with less maternal education and African American and Hispanic ethnicity. Center-based Head Start provides higher quality child care for at-risk children, and expansion of these services will likely facilitate school readiness in these populations. Quality disadvantages in Head Start family day care settings are worrisome and warrant investigation.
AB - The study objectives are to describe child care type and quality experienced by developmentally at-risk children, examine quality differences between Head Start and non-Head Start settings, and identify factors associated with receiving higher-quality child care. Data are analyzed from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Birth Cohort, a prospective study of a nationally representative sample of US children born in 2001. The sample consisted of 7,500 children who were assessed at 48 months of age. The outcome of interest is child care quality, measured by the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (center care) and the Family Day Care Rating Scale (family day care). Results of descriptive and multivariate regression analyses are presented. Less than one-third of poor children were in Head Start. Child care quality was higher in Head Start centers than other centers, particularly among poor children (4.75 vs. 4.28, p<0.001), Hispanics (4.90 vs. 4.45, p<0.001), and whites (4.89 vs. 4.51, p<0.001). African Americans experienced the lowest quality care in both Head Start and non-Head Start centers. Quality disadvantage was associated with Head Start family care settings, especially for low birthweight children (2.04 in Head Start vs. 3.58 in non-Head Start, p<0.001). Lower family day care quality was associated with less maternal education and African American and Hispanic ethnicity. Center-based Head Start provides higher quality child care for at-risk children, and expansion of these services will likely facilitate school readiness in these populations. Quality disadvantages in Head Start family day care settings are worrisome and warrant investigation.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10995-012-0961-7
DO - 10.1007/s10995-012-0961-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 22392601
AN - SCOPUS:84873410696
SN - 1092-7875
VL - 17
SP - 180
EP - 188
JO - Maternal and child health journal
JF - Maternal and child health journal
IS - 1
ER -