Social policy and its effects on the daily experiences of infants and toddlers in family day care in Israel

Abstract

Eighty-two infants and toddlers, their mothers, and their caregivers participated in this study. Mothers and caregivers were interviewed, caregiver and child interaction was observed, and the caregiving environment was rated in 41 family day care (FDC) homes. The data were used to assess the effects of social policy decisions for standards and criteria underlying the FDC program on the daily experiences of infants and toddlers in these services. The findings show that, while on average the standards were maintained, individual homes varied sufficiently to allow an examination of the effects of policy. Standards requiring individual supervision of caregivers were the best predictors of quality of care, which then determined the children's behavior. Caregiver selection criteria had relatively little effect on children's daily experiences. Criteria that determined group composition had an effect on the quality of care as well as on the behavior of children. The study highlights the effects of a group care environment on experiences which contribute to the social and cognitive development of young children and points to the need for further study on the contribution of specific environmental conditions to certain aspects of development. The study suggests that, with adequate training and individual supervision, the quality of care in family day care could be significantly improved.