A Snapshot of Quality in Child Care Centers That Partner with Early Head Start Programs: Insights from Baby FACES 2018

This brief uses data from Baby FACES 2018 to provide a snapshot of quality in partner classrooms—that is, classrooms in child care partner centers that included at least one child enrolled in EHS. These child care partner centers had formal partnerships with EHS programs. This includes, but is not limited to, partnerships supported by EHS-CC Partnership grants.

This brief provides useful insights about both the structural and process quality of partner classrooms and teachers in child care centers partnering with EHS programs.

• Most teachers in classrooms from child care centers partnering with EHS programs (“teachers in partner classrooms”) had at least an associate’s degree, a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, or a teaching certificate or license and were specialized in early childhood education or infant and toddler development.
• Teachers in partner classrooms received a variety of professional development across a range of topics. Seventy-eight percent of teachers had a coach, and about one-third of those met with their coach at least weekly.
• Almost all teachers in partner classrooms used at least one curriculum and child assessment. Creative Curriculum was the most commonly used curriculum. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) and the Creative Curriculum’s Teaching Strategies Gold were the most commonly used child assessments.
• The average group sizes and child-to-adult ratios met the requirements of the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS).
• Teacher—child relationship quality was in the midrange (indicating moderate levels of quality) in partner classrooms, as measured by two classroom observation tools. Classrooms were stronger in providing social and emotional support than they were in supporting language and learning.

This brief draws on data collected from Baby FACES 2018, a nationally representative, descriptive study of Early Head Start. The analyses focused on 92 child care partner centers and 171 classrooms and teachers serving EHS children in those child care partner centers.

Data were collected in the spring of 2018 and included multiple observational measures of classrooms and teachers and teacher report measures. It also included surveys of children’s parents, teachers, and center and program directors, and teachers’ reports on children’s development. The analyses included descriptive statistics such as means and percentages, which were weighted to represent partner classrooms, teachers in these classrooms, child care partner centers, and EHS children and families served in child care partner centers.

Xue, Yange, Del Grosso, Patricia, and Carlson, Barbara (2022). A Snapshot of Quality in Child Care Centers That Partner with Early Head Start Programs: Insights from Baby FACES 2018. OPRE Brief 2022-121. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.