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Two elements of child care programs consistently predict children's cognitive, language, and social development, says UW Madison education professor Deborah Lowe Vandell: Does the child care meet structural/caregiver standards and process quality standards?

Structural/caregiver standards for child care include child-to-adult ratios and guidelines for staff specialized training and education. Process quality standards include the experiences that children have with caregivers, peers, and materials.

Child care quality seems to have larger effects in children who are at risk because of poverty, maternal depression, or poor parenting. Substantial hours spent in care, beginning in infancy, is associated with less sensitive mother-child interactions and with more behavior problems in children.

For more information, see http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/childcare/.