Title: Research federal, state, and other regulatory agencies governing the early childhood education industry.
Course: Introduction to Early Childhood Education (19153-36) > Section: Exploring Early Childhood Education

Research should include

- describing selected federal regulations and the monitoring practices that affect early childhood education providers
- identifying state-regulated child care program types
  - licensed day centers
  - family day home providers
  - unlicensed but regulated (e.g., voluntarily registered family day homes, religiously exempt child day centers, certified preschools
  - approved by local ordinance (e.g., centers regulated by Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax counties)
  - unlicensed and unregulated
- identifying agencies that enforce regulations
- giving examples of how the regulations are carried out by local providers.

Process/Skill Questions:

Thinking

- What are the federal, state, and local standards, policies, regulations, and laws related to working with children?
- How are standards enforced within the industry?
- What national association writes policy for the education of young children? What is their role in helping educators and families?

Communication

- What practices ensure confidentiality?
- What national or state resources are available to help families locate high-quality child care centers?
- What agency rates child care centers?

Leadership

- What resources and training are needed to meet the requirements of the child care educator?
- What are the legal and ethical consequences of meeting and of failing to meet standards for working with children?

Management

- What record-keeping and management procedures are required by early childhood centers?
- How will child care programs ensure that guidelines are followed and manage the consequences if errors are reported?