A Moment with Dr. Moore

September 23, 2026
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Dr.-MooreCombining Quality and Culture

Hispanic Heritage Month is a great opportunity to discuss what matters most to Hispanic parents when choosing care for their children. The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) in Washington, DC, recently looked for answers by conducting a survey that asked Hispanic working parents the following questions. Do they prefer school readiness over cultural teachings? Do they prefer formal over informal care by relatives, friends or neighbors? And what priorities shape their decisions? The findings dispelled the longstanding assumption that Hispanic parents prefer informal child care because of familism, the cultural value that places the family unit over the interests of its individual members. It turned out that the quality of child care counted more than culture, as the study’s finding revealed.

BPC’s data showed that the most crucial factor for parents, whether they used formal or informal care, was trust in the child care provider. Following this factor in descending order came the setting’s cleanliness and safety, the skill level of staff, licensing or accreditation of the program and the program’s reputation. Meanwhile, the least important factors were the opportunities for a bilingual education, along with providers who shared their background. Many parents revealed that they had been willing to “sacrifice” immersing their children in Hispanic culture to ensure the quality of their child care arrangement. Still, most felt it was important for providers to incorporate some Hispanic cultural practices, traditions or values in the care they provided.

Families also gave insights into what mattered to them in the open-ended responses that were part of the survey. Their answers showed the importance of trust, convenience and word-of-mouth recommendations as factors in selecting a formal child care provider. “The program is run by a trusted family that we have known for a long time and my child feels comfortable,” one parent responded. “It was a good quality place that was convenient for both me and my spouse,” another parent said. Convenience was also a deciding factor for a parent who had chosen “a facility with a good reputation that is close to our home or workplace and has a clean environment and warm welcoming staff.” The deciding factor for yet another parent was “how experienced the child care center is and the recommendations I have received about it.”

At the top of the parents’ minds was also the education their children were receiving in a formal program, according to the responses that BPC received. “I want my child in school learning, so I can have peace of mind,” a parent said. Another said, “I chose a place that had a great curriculum and great teachers.” Yet another parent wanted her child “to develop social skills and find enjoyment in the schooling to come.” And finally, a parent explained that her priority was education. “I chose this program since it’s going to get my kids ready for elementary school.”

With all the advantages of formal child care, what dissuaded parents from enrolling children in a program? Some families only trusted relatives to care for their children, but the cost of formal child care was also a major factor in their decisions. “Child care is very expensive, and if I worked full time, it wouldn’t be worth it because all the extra money would go toward child care. I might as well work part time and spend more time with my child,” a parent responded. “I chose my mother-in-law because it helps my wife and me save money,” another parent explained. And one parent had taken their child out of a program “because they increased the price too much.”

The cost of formal child care is more than many families can afford, as the BPC survey showed, and those who do use formal care grapple with child care expenses without financial aid. Nearly half were unaware of their ability to claim child care expenses on their income taxes. Furthermore, they received support for child care at lower rates than the national average since most didn’t seem to know they could obtain certificates or vouchers from the state to offset the cost of the service.

Despite this gap in the parent’s knowledge, Hispanic families know the value of school readiness, according to a survey by UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. The parents also understand what it takes to be school ready, as they showed when the survey asked what they felt was important for their children’s development and growth. Their answers covered a wide range of values and skills that would prepare children for school and life. They envisioned their children picking up cognitive skills like learning how to read and knowing colors and numbers. Even more important for the parents was that their children gain self-respect and self-confidence, learn how to make friends and understand the importance of sharing with other children.

The parents also expressed a strong belief that early learning is linked to later academic success, and many supported their children’s language development by reading them books in both Spanish and English. The parents wanted their children to become bilingual, and educators can support this goal by taking tips from Essentials for Working with Young Children, the Council’s textbook for CDA® students. Essentials has a segment on how to communicate with dual language learners in ways that foster their ability to speak and write in English while supporting their home language. For example, educators should speak slowly, repeat what they’re saying and learn some key words in a child’s home language. Essentials also advises educators to ask colleagues, children’s parents and community volunteers for ways to enhance their communication with dual language learners, like many of our nation’s young Hispanic children.

As a CDA holder, I brought these lessons to my role as executive director of Plaza de la Raza HeadStart/State Preschool program in Los Angeles County, and my experience there confirmed the findings in the surveys I’ve discussed. The parents were content to have their children speak English at school and continue to speak Spanish when at home. The parents wanted their children to be bilingual and weren’t too concerned whether the educator was bilingual, so long as they had some means of communication, whether through a translator or one of the teachers’ colleagues. It was, of course, a major plus, as the BPC survey showed, if the educators knew how to combine quality with culture, and this should be a component of educators’ professional training, especially if they earn a CDA.

Still, these aspects of a teacher’s knowledge and skills were not at the top of the families’ minds at Plaza de la Raza. What the Hispanic families at the program did care about was that the center was convenient, that the services it provided made their lives simpler and that the educators were caring, competent professionals who they could trust with their children. The families’ foremost concern was that their children receive high-quality early learning and care. Hispanic families, as I saw firsthand, want what all families want and deserve: educators who can bring out the best in their children.

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