National Health and Safety Standards: Family Child Care Homes Compared With Child Care Centers

Introduction: The study objectives are to describe the national health and safety standards in family child care homes (FCCHs) and child care centers and compare them by child care type. Method: Child care health consultants and research assistants completed the standardized Health and Safety Checklist, which comprised key national health and safety standards, in a convenience sample of 21 FCCHs and 31 child care centers enrolled in two larger studies conducted in CA. Results: The checklist was completed in 1 or 2 hours in FCCHs and centers, respectively. The internal consistency of the overall checklist subscales was moderate to strong. Eight of 10 checklist subscales were not significantly different in FCCHs and centers, but outdoor facilities (p < .05) and supervision, interaction, and physical activity (p < .05) were different. Discussion: The Health and Safety Checklist is valid in FCCHs and centers and identifies targeted interventions for nurses to improve child care quality.