Meeting the Needs of Infants and Toddlers in Child Care

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Meeting the Needs of Infants and Toddlersin
Child Care
Kathy L Reschke, Ph.D., ICF International
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Overview

• Introductions
• Session Goals
• Where infants and toddlers are and why
• Closer look at most common settings
• Strategies
• Infant-Toddler Initiatives potential
  collaborators

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Session Goals

• Gain current understanding of where infants and
  toddlers are being cared for and why
  
• Gain a better understanding of key
  characteristics of common infant/toddler settings
  and caregivers
  
• Identify strategies for working within these
  settings
  
• Identify state/national interest in the
  well-being of infants and toddlers in
  non-parental care

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Where the Babies Are

• Survey of Income and Program Participation
  Child Care Module
  
• Winter 2002
• Estimated 1.57 million infants (
• Estimated 3.6 million toddlers (1-2 yo)
• Table of children in various child care
  arrangements on a regular basis (at least once a
  week)

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TODDLERS 1-2
INFANTS 0-1
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Other Stats

• Early Head Start
• Infants 3 Toddlers 4
• Infants are less likely to be in multiple
  arrangements, more likely to be in one type of
  care for more hours per week
  
• Center-based 33hrs/wk.
• Relative care 27 hrs/wk.
• Costs
• 20 received some type of assistance

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The Choices Parents Make

• Cost of care
• Labor-intensive
• Out-of-pocket infant - 117 toddler - 104
  preschooler - 75
  
• Availability
• Directly tied to cost
• Preferences
• Prefer a home-like environment with one
  caregiver
  
• Characteristics of care rated very important by
  a high percentage of infant parents
  availability and reliability
  

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Closer Look at Centers

• Education/training of caregivers
• As of Sept 06, 16 states had any level of
  preservice training requirements for I/T
  caregivers.
  
• I/T teachers have lowest education level over
  half having no higher than HS diploma
  
• 40 of BA programs required I/T course
• Turnover of caregivers
• 41 turnover of I/T staff in one year
• Quality
• 63 rated as mediocre 8 as poor

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Closer Look at Fathers Providing Child Care

• Fathers as regular child care providers
• Least financially costly option
• Tag Team child care
• Work alternate shifts
• One or both parents working part time
• Unemployed or disabled
• Puts stress on marital relationship

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Closer Look at Grandmothers Providing Child Care

• Motivation is to support adult child
• Care is flexible, no- or low-cost, any time
• Often one of a number of resource exchanges
• Self-perception supporter, expert
• In no way views herself as professional,
  educator
  
• Fuzzy role boundaries can cause tension
• Strong mesosystem influence relationship
  between parent and caregiver is paramount,
  complex and multi-dimensional
  
• More appropriate to take a family support
  approach than an ECE approach
  
• Very few ECE connections more community

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Closer Look at Family Child Care Homes

• Family Child Care Homes
• Very different organization/structure
• Caregiver wears all hats, makes all decisions
• One caregiver, multiple ages of children
• Work long hours, offer care at non-traditional
  hours
  
• Self-perception
• Wide range of views of professionalism
• Widely variable education/training use of
  schedule, curriculum connection to ECE world
  

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Closer Look at Family Child Care Homes

• Connections
• Licensing over half the states (34) allow a
  person to care for 3 or fewer non-related
  children without being regulated
  
• Family child care associations
• Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
• Child and Adult Care Food Program
• Child care assistance program
• Community resources

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Connecting to Caregivers

• How can this knowledge inform the way that you
  initially find and connect to children with
  special needs in these caregiving settings?
  
• What challenges do these unique characteristics
  present in serving children?
  
• What opportunities might they offer?
• What strategies seem most suited to this
  population of children, families and caregivers?

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National/State Activity

• National Initiatives
• National Infant Toddler Child Care Initiative
• Zero-to-Three and Child Care Bureau
• 5-year initiative involving 20 states
  (2002-2007)
  
• Focused on system building
• Work with CCDF administrators and other partners
  in each state
  
• http//nccic.acf.hhs.gov/itcc/
• Website state-specific information and
  resources
  

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State-Level Activity

• Infant-Toddler Specialist Networks
• 17 states funded through CCDF often located in
  regional RR offices
  
• More info on http//nccic.acf.hhs.gov/itcc/
• Infant-Toddler Credential
• 12 states 5 states in development (3/07)
• Early Learning Guidelines for Infant/Toddlers
• 17 states (4/06)
• Infant Mental Health Consultant Networks
• http//www.ehsnrc.org/highlights/mentalhealth.htm

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Other Resources

• Zero-to-Three
• State updates
• Program profiles
• Federal legislative updates
• http//www.zerotothree.org
• Ounce of Prevention
• http//www.ounceofprevention.org

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Questions??

• kreschke_at_icfi.com