What is Quality Childcare?

By Dawn Klein, Coordinator, Quality Child Care Alliance, Dubuque County Empowerment

Choosing a child care provider is one of the most important decisions parents make for their child. Quality child care is more than babysitting. It is both a care provider and an environment that support your child’s physical, emotional, social, and intellectual growth.

Some characteristics of quality child care programs include the following:

• Regulation by the state as a licensed child care center or a registered child development home.
• A safe and healthy environment.
• Caregivers with specialized training and education in early childhood development.
• A stimulating learning environment with a variety of toys and learning opportunities appropriate for a child’s age.
• Parental involvement and an open invitation to parents to visit any time.

How Do I Find Quality Care?

1. Consider your needs, including your child’s age, hours of care needed, location of care, and type of environment, such as home- or center-based care.

2. Contact your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency for a list of potential providers. In Dubuque County, call CCR&R at (563) 557-1628.

3. Make appointments to visit center or home providers. You may want to take along a checklist, such as the one from the National Association for Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, www.childcareaware.org/docs/38IndicatorsChecklist.pdf.

4. During your visit –

LOOK: What are the toys and learning materials available? Is the environment safe? Do the providers enjoy working with children? How many children are there for each adult?

LISTEN: How do providers in the program talk to the children? Do they pay attention to each child? Do they engage children in conversations?

ASK QUESTIONS: What are the experience and education qualifications of the child care providers? How many children do they care for at one time? What is the daily routine? What are providers doing to improve the quality of their program? Ask yourself, “would I feel comfortable with my child in care here?”

Once you’ve found quality child care, your work has just started. It is important to communicate regularly with your provider, discuss any concerns, and be involved as much as possible.