An investigation of the work environment of child caregivers in Israel focused on the amount of professional support the caregivers received and the group characteristics of the children in their care. A total of 41 caregivers were sampled from a population of 97 sponsored family day care (FDC) providers. Most of the sampled FDC homes provided care for infants and toddlers only. Two sets of data were obtained for each caregiver, one based on an observation day and the other on a structured interview. Caregiver characteristics, professional support and group composition in the work environment, caregiver's professional attitudes and beliefs about development, and the quality of care were assessed. Findings indicated that professional support was the best predictor of quality of interaction, and group composition was the best predictor of the educational program. Professional support and group composition had no effects on caregivers' attitudes and beliefs. Better educated caregivers attributed to themselves more influence, but did not necessarily provide care of a better quality. Caregivers who attributed more influence to themselves or who expected early development interacted more positively with children and spent less time in group interaction. Caregivers who believed in more authoritarian control methods tended to impose more restrictions on children and provided a poorer educational environment. (RH)