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Quality Disparities in Child Care for At-Risk Children: Comparing Head Start and Non-Head Start Settings

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Abstract

The study objectives are to describe child care type and quality experienced by developmentally at-risk children, examine quality differences between Head Start and non-Head Start settings, and identify factors associated with receiving higher-quality child care. Data are analyzed from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Birth Cohort, a prospective study of a nationally representative sample of US children born in 2001. The sample consisted of 7,500 children who were assessed at 48 months of age. The outcome of interest is child care quality, measured by the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (center care) and the Family Day Care Rating Scale (family day care). Results of descriptive and multivariate regression analyses are presented. Less than one-third of poor children were in Head Start. Child care quality was higher in Head Start centers than other centers, particularly among poor children (4.75 vs. 4.28, p < 0.001), Hispanics (4.90 vs. 4.45, p < 0.001), and whites (4.89 vs. 4.51, p < 0.001). African Americans experienced the lowest quality care in both Head Start and non-Head Start centers. Quality disadvantage was associated with Head Start family care settings, especially for low birthweight children (2.04 in Head Start vs. 3.58 in non-Head Start, p < 0.001). Lower family day care quality was associated with less maternal education and African American and Hispanic ethnicity. Center-based Head Start provides higher quality child care for at-risk children, and expansion of these services will likely facilitate school readiness in these populations. Quality disadvantages in Head Start family day care settings are worrisome and warrant investigation.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grant number R21 HD058124 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This sponsor played no role in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, writing of the report, or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Policy and Administration, Pennsylvania State University, 504S Ford Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Marianne M. Hillemeier

  2. Department of Educational Psychology, School Psychology, and Special Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Paul L. Morgan

  3. Department of Education, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    George Farkas

  4. Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Steven A. Maczuga

Authors
  1. Marianne M. Hillemeier
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  2. Paul L. Morgan
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  3. George Farkas
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  4. Steven A. Maczuga
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Correspondence to Marianne M. Hillemeier.

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Hillemeier, M.M., Morgan, P.L., Farkas, G. et al. Quality Disparities in Child Care for At-Risk Children: Comparing Head Start and Non-Head Start Settings. Matern Child Health J 17, 180–188 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-0961-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-0961-7

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