Child Care - Quality

HIGH QUALITY CHILD CARE: Encourages healthy social, emotional, cognitive and physical development in the young child. Working parents are more stable and productive employees when their children are in a quality environment.

High quality child care has five essential elements:

1. Personnel - Caregivers are experts at nurturing, teaching and playing with children. They should have training in early childhood education, experience and ongoing child development training. High quality centers provide the good wages and benefits necessary to recruit and retain qualified staff. Staff retention is essential to the continuity of care, which is vital to child’s developmental well-being.
   
   
2. Caregiver/Child Ratios - Group size and ratios of caregivers to child should be low enough to facilitate positive interaction between adults and children. National Accreditation standards for adult-to-child ratio’s are 3:1 infant; 4:1 toddler; 8:1 preschool; 14:1 school-age.
   
   

3. Physical Environment- The indoor and outdoor environment of the center or home should be safe, clean, functional, attractive and challenging.

4. Program- The social, emotional, and cognitive needs of each child should be met by offering a variety of age-appropriate materials and activities supporting the child’s natural desire to explore, experiment and problem solve. Find an arrangement which fits your personal philosophy for your child’s care.
   
   
5. Parent/Caregiver Partnership- Parents should be encouraged to actively participate in the child’s development and care by promoting a partnership with the caregiver that supports the child’s individual needs and respects the family’s values and culture.