One of the most significant components of child care is the quality of care that children receive. Quality of child care is linked to a multitude of factors: job commitment from providers, professional development of providers, proper planning, involvement with other providers, regulation of child care, ratios and size of group, compensation, and parent fees.

• Commitment is determined as the provider's reason for becoming a provider, their perceptions of their work, and their commitment to their jobs. The level of job commitment from providers is directly related to the level of quality offered to children in their care. In other words, the higher the level of work commitment, the higher the quality of child care.

• Professional development is defined as the formal training and/or education related to child care and early childhood development. Providers with more child care training and higher levels of education are rated as providing good child care in relation to providers with little or no training and less than a high school diploma.

• Planning experiences for children prior to their arrival offer better quality care. "It is the difference between simply watching children' and caring for and educating them," (Galinsky, Howes, Kontos, & Shinn; 1994).

• Involvement with other child care providers is essential in maintaining up to date information and ideas for better child care, networking for referrals for children who need care, and avoidance of feeling isolated from other adults. Involvement also initiates professionalism within the child care career by truly caring about one's job.

• Regulated child care providers exhibit quality through their involvement with other providers, their likeliness to plan experiences for children, and their training in child care. They also tend to provide more warmth and attention to the children.

• Regulated child care providers have a determined adult:child ratio. Regulations help to prevent homes from reaching an unmanageable point which is potentially harmful to the children. For more information on child:provider ratios, look at our Licensing/Accreditation Issues page.

• Compensation is directly related to the quality of child care given by providers. Higher incomes from child care create a sense of dignity within this career. Regulated providers charge more than nonregulated providers, and also provider better quality care.

• Parent payments for child care is related to the quality of care received. Providers who charge more also give more. Higher payments are related to the provider's intent to provide high-quality care

Information gathered for Quality Family Child Care was retrieved from:
Galinsky, Ellen, Howes, Carollee, Kontos, Susan, and Shinn, Marybeth. The Study of Children in Family Child Care and Relative Care . Families and Work Institute, New York,1994

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