Parent-caregiver communication and quality of care in diverse child care settings

The relationship between parent-caregiver communication and child care quality was investigated in 12 child care centers representing different types of sponsorship. Perceptions of one-way (school to home communication), two-way (school and home communication exchanges), and three-way (exchanges between school, home, and a community resource) communication patterns were determined by questionnaire responses of 201 parents and 49 caregivers in 4 each of subsidized, contracted subsidized, and nonsubsidized child care settings. Compared to parents, caregivers rated all forms of parent-caregiver communication as more frequently occurring and as more important. Greater frequency of communication was associated with increased importance of communication for each mode. Frequency of parentcaregiver communication and quality of child care were positively correlated. Nonsubsidized private profit centers were of lower quality and respondents reported less frequent parent-caregiver communications than in contracted subsidized and subsidized programs.

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