THE PREDICTION OF PROCESS QUALITY FROM STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF CHILD-CARE

The purpose of this study was to identify structural characteristics o f center child care that are associated with observed child care quali ty from a large multi-state project. Hierarchical regressions examined the relations between quality of care and selected characteristics of the lead caregiver, classroom, center, and director. Nonprofit and fo r-profit centers (228 infant/toddler and 521 preschool classrooms) wer e randomly sampled in four states. Interviews, questionnaires, and obs ervations were used assess structural and process quality. Overall, pr ocess quality was higher in states with more stringent child care regu lations, nonprofit centers, and preschool classrooms. In infant/toddle r classrooms, process quality was higher in classrooms with moderately experienced and better paid teachers, and more experienced directors. In preschool classrooms, process quality was higher in classrooms wit h teachers with more education, a moderate amount of experience, and h igher wages. The findings suggest the need to increase the stringency of state child care regulations and to rearrange the budgets of child care programs.