Informal and Formal Child Care Focus of New Harvard Study
August 1, 2017
By: Christina Samuels
Source: Education Week
Several research papers have dug into the effects of child care and prekindergarten on young children, from the venerable Perry Preschool study that tracked participants into middle age, to newer research on programs such as those in Boston and in Tennessee.
But millions of children aren’t enrolled in formal child care or preschool programs; they’re being watched through informal arrangements their parents may have set up with friends or relatives. And of those children who are attending licensed programs, only a portion—a 2006 government report estimated well under 50 percent—are believed to be enrolled in programs that offer “a lot” or “a fair amount” of positive caregiving.
Researchers at Harvard University are launching…