Infant and toddler day care: Regulations and policy implications.

Abstract

Recent research indicates that there are identifiable and important characteristics of the day care environment that influence its quality and, ultimately, the psychological development of infants and toddlers. An analysis of existing licensing requirements reveals great variation among the 50 states in standards for infant and toddler day care. This absence of a uniform standard translates into a wide range of questionable experience for these very young children.