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Training and education of infant and toddler caregivers is one important factor associated with the quality of child care they provide. In response to research showing that high-quality care supports positive development in young children, policymakers have established training and education requirements for licensed providers and launched numerous initiatives to train and educate caregivers. Caregivers themselves believe training and education to be important, including relative and unregulated family child care providers, many of whom express interest in accessing training although not required by regulation to do so. What approaches to caregiver training and education are the most likely to improve the quality of care for children under age 3 in family child care homes and centers? To help answer to this question, this brief describes research findings on a small number of training initiatives targeting infant and toddler caregivers where quality was observed before and after training. While it is too soon to draw firm generalizations from this young and scattered body of research, findings from these studies raise pertinent considerations for policymakers. (Contains 11 endnotes and lists 1 resource.)

With over half the nation's infants and toddlers in regular, non-parental child care, the quality of that care is a priority concern for policymakers. Many studies show that high-quality child care supports the positive social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children. The research summarized in this policy brief identifies factors that tend to predict higher quality within arrangement types--family child care, center care, and relative care--and describes the range of quality found in each type. A list of resources is included. (Contains 36 endnotes.)

The Research-to-Policy Connections series summarizes current research on key topics in child care and early education and discusses implications for policymakers. An examination of employed parents' child care arrangements for their infants and toddlers while working, at school, or otherwise unavailable to provide parental child care, and secondarily what factors influence the types of child care arrangements for children in the United States under the age of 3 are reported. (Contains 6 endnotes.)