"Ask yourself the questions posed in this book, whether you are searching for child care or wondering why our smallest and most important citizens don′t have more quality early education programs available in a more equitable manner. This is a great teacher′s guide for those entering the field and a great staff development idea for ECE centers."
—Denise Humphries, Preschool Principal
John F. Kennedy American School, Queretaro, Mexico

"I cannot think of anything pertaining to high-quality child care programs that isn′t covered in this book. The organization is clear, consistent, and easy to follow."
—Diane Salverson, Inclusion Specialist
Early Childhood Direction Center, Buffalo, NY

A guide to creating and sustaining a high-quality, successful early child care program!

With most families today needing at least two sources of income, there is a critical need for quality, affordable child care throughout our country. This book discusses the qualities of an effective early child care program and the need to provide children with experiences that will prepare them for future emotional, social, and academic success.

By examining high-quality early care within a real-life setting, this resource illustrates how to build a successful program, handle the inevitable challenges, and achieve and sustain positive results. Using their experience in child development and child therapy, the authors demonstrate how to:

• Create environments that foster healthy relationships for children and adults
• Build on children′s sense of wonder and joy for learning in preparation for later academic experiences
• Use families′ ethnic and cultural diversity as a teaching tool
• Maintain professional standards for administration and staff

Developing Quality Care for Young Children is invaluable not only for early childhood educators, administrators, and trainers, but also for anyone striving to make a difference in the lives of our youngest learners.

“Ask yourself the questions posed in this book, whether you are searching for child care or wondering why our smallest and most important citizens don’t have more quality early education programs available in a more equitable manner. This is a great teacher’s guide for those entering the field and a great staff development idea for ECE centers.” -- Denise Humphries, Preschool Principal

“The book is well connected to literature, the author’s own research and perspective, and an eye toward the future with tools for creating places for child care that are good for kids. If only we could bottle up Rosa Lee Young and give it to all children.”

Nettie Becker has devoted her entire professional life to working with young people, first as a teacher and counselor of high school students, and for the past 20 years in the field of infant and early child care. She has designed, set up, and implemented a movement program of adaptive physical education at a school for special children and has worked as a child development consultant for day care programs in New York City. She has also taught parenting classes in the continuing education department at Molloy College in New York. She currently conducts workshops in child development and movement through play for parents and their children in community library programs in Nassau County, New York. She has also introduced a community program for the parents of infants to help them engage with their babies through motor, sensory, and emotional stimulation in their first year of life. Becker is a fellow emeritus in early childhood group therapy at the Child Development Center of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services and was part of the program’s continuing education committee that served as a consulting group for child care professionals. She is the coauthor of A Comprehensive Guide for Caregivers in Day Care Settings (1999). Becker holds a master’s degree in professional studies, majoring in dance/movement therapy that combined movement and psychology in the development of young children. She is a full member of the Academy of Dance Therapists Registered and has also been trained in the Kestenberg movement profile analysis that evaluates movement patterns and personality. Paul Becker, a high school teacher for many years, is now a writer and editor. He is the author of many articles and has edited a number of publications in the field of education and public policy. Along with Nettie Becker, he is the coauthor of A Comprehensive Guide for Caregivers in Day Care Settings. For several years, he was the editor of Between the Lines, a newsletter for writers in New York and currently is the editor of a monthly newsletter on American industry for an economic research firm in New York.