Evaluation of Head Start Family Child Care
by Louisa Torullo Social Science Research Analyst, Research, Demonstration & Evaluation Branch, ACYF
In the fall of 1992, ACYF funded 18 Head Start family child care demonstration projects for a three-year period. After an initial planning and start-up year, a study was undertaken to determine whether services provided in the Family Child Care (FCC) homes met Head Start Program Performance Standards, and to compare the impact on children and families in family child care with those participating in center-based classroom programs. Participating families were required to be working, in job training or in school, and to have a four-year-old child in the year prior to kindergarten entry.
Children were assigned randomly to family child care or center-based programs. Data was collected in the fall of the Head Start year, in the spring of the Head Start year, and in kindergarten. Data collection staff: (1) interviewed parents to obtain information on child and family background characteristics and perceptions about the services received; (2) observed family child care and center classrooms with comparison group children to evaluate the comprehensiveness and quality of services in both settings; (3) interviewed agency staff and individual caregivers in both settings (as well as reviewing agency records) to learn more about the process of implementing Head Start family child care, to gather information about caregiver background, and to determine compliance with Head Start Program Performance Standards; and (4) conducted individual assessments with participating children to measure cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical growth.
Among other results, the study found that; (1) there were no significant differences between family child care and center classrooms on total number of items passed using the Head Start monitoring instrument (OSPRI), although center classrooms passed significantly more parent involvement items than family child care; (2) children assigned to family child care performed at least as well as those in centers on cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical development measures, both at the end of the Head Start year and in kindergarten; and (3) higher program quality was related to positive child outcomes across all domains.
Based on the data collected in this study, the family child care setting appears to be a viable option for providing Head Start services. The findings demonstrated that family child care can meet Head Start standards of quality and can produce similar outcomes for children and families.
If You're Thinking About Family Child Care...
The following are some things to be considered by Head Start agencies interested in family child care, based on the experience of various Head start communities over the years.
- Assess carefully the availability of family child care in your community, giving consideration to other child care options
for low-income families.
- Designate staff for family child care, knowledgeable in all the Head Start service areas, who can make regular visits to family child care
homes to provide guidance and support to providers.
- Allow family child care providers release time for in service training, record keeping, and home visits.
- Allocate adequate resources to implement successful family child care- including the professional development of staff.
- Think creatively about multiple strategies to achieve meaningful parent involvement when children are enrolled in family child care.
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