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Produced by Research Connections
Peer Reviewed JournalCurrent Filters: Resource Type:Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects [remove]; New in five years [remove]; Pub Year:2010 [remove];
9 results found.|
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Child Care Decision-making, Subsidy Use, and the Development of Economic Self-sufficiency among Immigrant Parents of Young Children Children of immigrants are the fastest growing segment of children in the U.S. with one quarter of children under age 18 having at least one foreign born parent (Hernandez, 2009). In addition, nearly 60%; of children of immigrants were enrolled in some form of ECCE in the year before Kindergarten (Magnuson, Lahaie, & Waldfogel, 2006). Still, we have limited understanding of immigrant families' experiences with the U.S. ECCE system. Consequently, the primary goal of this study was to provide insight into the experiences of low-income immigrant families as they navigated the early childhood care and education (ECCE) system. Specifically, African and Latino immigrants' child care decision-making experiences, their knowledge and use of child care subsidies, as well as families' strategies to achieve economic self-sufficiency were examined. The research questions were: (1) how do low-income immigrant mothers of preschool age children learn to navigate the U.S. ECCE system? Specifically, how do immigrant mothers select ECCE for their children and what factors shape this decision-making process; and (2) how do low-income immigrant families utilize ECCE, child care subsidies and other governmental supports to promote their economic self-sufficiency and support their parenting? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Child Development at the Intersection of Early Care and Education and Child Welfare Extensive literature supports the notion that young children involved in the child welfare system exhibit a myriad of developmental needs, including developmental delays, and physical and mental health issues. Ample research also demonstrates the potential of high quality early care and education (ECE) programs to improve the wellbeing of other groups of similarly at-risk children. It follows that stable, developmentally appropriate ECE may also have the potential to improve developmental outcomes for children involved in Child Welfare. Yet children involved in this system may also have unique experiences that affect both their use of ECE and its potential impacts. Despite these traditions of research, there is a dearth of research at the critical nexus of these early childhood systems. This study represents the launch of a new program of inquiry aimed at addressing this gap in by providing detailed data about the ECE arrangements experienced by young foster children, factors that predict differing patterns of ECE use within this population, and the developmental outcomes of ECE use. Specifically, it draws upon one national and two state level datasets to address four research objectives: (1) Provide descriptive data on the ECE experiences of young foster children (timing, amount, type) and uncover any differences in patterns of ECE exposure by child or foster parent demographics; (2) Examine the contribution of foster parents' work status, access to public ECE supports, and preferences to patterns of ECE reliance; (3) Explore associations between patterns of ECE use and developmental outcomes for foster children; and (4) Examine all of these questions for the large subpopulation of foster children who also have special needs. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Determinants of Subsidy Stability and Continuity of Child Care in Illinois and New York Determinants of Subsidy Stability and Continuity of Child Care in Illinois and New York is a research partnership that joins child care researchers at the University of Chicago and the Urban Institute with Illinois and New York state child care administrators and local administrators of subsidies in four regions (two per state). The primary aim of the partnership is to develop an empirically-informed and practically-relevant knowledgebase regarding important determinants of subsidy stability and child care continuity and the linkages between the two. By targeting our study on four regions in two states and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information on parent perceptions and experiences together with administrative program records, our empirical strategy aims to strengthen our understanding of the patterns of subsidy and child care stability over time. In particular, it will allow us to examine how subsidy program characteristics and employment circumstances may operate to encourage or discourage subsidy receipt and subsidy stability; and in turn, how subsidy receipt and stability contribute to child care arrangement continuity. Research questions include: (1) What are the different patterns of subsidy use and stability over time, what are the characteristics of families who demonstrate different subsidy patterns, and how does subsidy use vary with other public program use and with employment patterns; (2) To what extent do subsidy program characteristics and parental work circumstances influence subsidy use and stability and do parental work circumstances moderate the effects of subsidy program characteristics on subsidy use and stability; (3) How stable are child care arrangements for subsidy-receiving families both during a subsidy spell and over time, what are the characteristics of families who have unstable child care arrangements during a subsidy spell and/or over time, what are the characteristics of their child care arrangements, and what is the relationship between subsidy stability and child care arrangement stability; (4) To what extent do subsidy program characteristics and parental work circumstances directly influence the stability of child care arrangements, and are these influences mediated by patterns of subsidy use; (5) What challenges to subsidy stability and child care stability do parents perceive to be most difficult, are there subsidy program characteristics that parents perceive as promoting or hindering subsidy stability, child care options, and child care arrangement stability, how do parents perceive the directionality of influence between subsidy stability and child care arrangement stability; and (6) What challenges to subsidy stability and child care stability are particularly salient for parents with non-traditional jobs and/or nonstandard work schedules, TANF families, immigrant families/non-English speaking parents, families with multiple children and school-aged children needing care, and what are the strategies for obtaining stability that these parents develop in their efforts to deal with the challenges they identify |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Early Care and Education Choices, Quality and Continuity for Low-Income Families: A Maryland-Minnesota Research Partnership Maryland and Minnesota are two states that have been leading innovations across early care and education policy and simultaneously investing in research and data infrastructure to ensure that their strategies are informed by evaluation and new evidence in the field. This project creates a Maryland-Minnesota Child Care Research Partnership, bringing together two states committed to examining critical issues in early care and education and using research findings to inform policy with an interdisciplinary team of researchers experienced in conducting studies on subsidy policy, quality improvement strategies, family experiences and child outcomes. Three cross-state sub-studies serve as the foundation for the work of the Partnership: (1) How families seek and process information about early care and education; (2) How families value and weigh different features of the quality of arrangements; and (3) Factors affecting and antecedents of child care stability/child care subsidy continuity. The studies were developed to build on existing research projects in both Maryland and Minnesota to maximize the investments made in development and data collection and to facilitate cross-state application of the learning. The research questions included: (1) How do families describe the process of making decisions about early care and education and what are the milestones in this process; (2) What family and community characteristics predict subsidy use and the type and quality of early care and education arrangements chosen; (3) What are parents' perceptions of family-sensitive caregiving, developmentally appropriate instructional practices, and practices that support children's social and emotional development, and to what extent are aspects of quality important to parents; (4) Which provider demographic characteristics distinguish those with a greater orientation towards family-sensitive caregiving, developmentally appropriate instructional practices, and practices that support children's social and emotional development; (5) What child, family, and community factors are associated with frequent changes in arrangements and what factors are associated with stability or infrequent changes; and (6) While participating in the subsidy program, how long do subsidized arrangements last and how many subsidized arrangements do children have while on subsidy |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Falling Through the Cracks: Child Care Decision-Making Among the Working Poor The purpose of this project was to understand how different factors influence working poor parent's decision making and perceptions regarding their child care arrangements. Parents in a central Missouri community completed a survey which allowed them to assess their work flexibility, affordability concerns, experiences with child care subsidy and other types of child care financial assistance, caregiver flexibility, social support, and transportation barriers. These factors served as independent variables for the study. The survey also measured parental satisfaction, continuity of child care and how important quality and logistical concerns were in ideal and real child care decision making. Families in Missouri face one of the lowest subsidy eligibility cutoff points (127% of the federal poverty level [FPL]).Very few eligible families receive subsidies. Yet there has been an excess of funding in the subsidy system. Missouri stakeholders expressed a need to understand better why working poor parents choose certain types of child care and how they feel about the arrangements they obtain. Although much research has identified micro-level variables such as parent education and demographic characteristics that influence choice, less is known about how the broader context of family life shape parental decision-making and perceptions about child care. The Research question is: How do the following meso- and macro-level context conditions influence working poor parents: (1) Child care selection criteria; (2) Satisfaction with child care; and (3) Continuity of child care |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) The objective of the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) is to document the nation's current utilization and availability of early care and education (including school-age care), and to deepen understanding of the extent to which families' needs and preferences coordinate well with provider's offerings and constraints. The experiences of low-income families are of special interest as they are the focus of a significant component of early care and education/school-age (ECE/SA) public policy. The NSECE calls for a nationally-representative sample including interviews in all fifty states and Washington, DC. Data are scheduled to be collected December 2011-May 2012. The final NSECE design includes four survey components and four related questionnaires: (1) The Household Survey conducted with a parent or guardian of a child or children under age 13. Eligible respondents are to be identified through the Household Screener, and information collected about every child under age 13 in each sampled household, including all the regular ECE arrangements. Data include 17,512 interviews with adults in households with children under age 13; (2) The Family, Friend, Neighbor and Nanny (FFNN) Survey conducted with individuals who care in a home-based setting for children under age 13 who are not their own (and who do not appear on an administrative list of ECE/SA providers). Eligible respondents are to be identified through the Household Screener, and estimated data will include approximately 5,000 completed interviews with FFNN providers; (3) The Formal Provider Survey conducted with directors of ECE/SA providers who can be identified from administrative lists such as state licensing lists, Head Start program records, or pre-K rolls, including regulated or registered home-based providers who appear on state-level administrative lists. Data will include interviews with 18,800 programs; (4) The Workforce Provider Survey conducted with one staff member from each of the sampled formal providers after each Center-based Provider interview is completed. Data will include interviews with workforce members from 10,800 programs. The NSECE contract also includes an option for States to contribute to the study to supplement samples in order to conduct state-level studies of populations of interest. Preparatory work for the NSECE was accomplished through the Design Phase of the National Study of Child Care Supply and Demand. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Occupational Exit of Family Child Care Provider The parents of nearly 800,000 U.S. children younger than age five rely on family child care as their primary care arrangement enabling them to work. Yet occupational exit in the family child care industry is exceedingly high, disrupting the continuity (and thus the quality) of care for young children and increasing the stress of working parents. There is a small literature on turnover among family child care providers. However, this dissertation seeks to add to better understand the phenomenon in the context of state child care policy, including subsidy policies such as reimbursement rates, income eligibility, and parental co-payment. Research questions include: (1) What are the provider- and program-level predictors of family child care turnover in each state? Do predictors vary by state?; (2) When controlling for other provider- and program-level characteristics, is family child care provider participation in the subsidy system a predictor of turnover in each state?; and (3) What child care policies are associated with cross-state variation in turnover? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Study of Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce This project establishes a panel of independent experts to develop a study of the nation's Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) workforce. The primary objective is to provide an adequate description of the ECCE workforce outlining the parameters that define the population and the supports provided for early childhood teachers and caregivers. The task order consists of the appointment of a planning committee, with reports to be made available to research, policy, and practice communities. The National Academy of Sciences is convening a planning meeting that will organize and convene a two-day workshop to carry out the following tasks: (1) describe the size and composition of the ECCE workforce in different care and learning settings for young children (ages birth to 5); (2) review the primary sources of training, recruitment, and compensation for this workforce; (3) identify key aspects of workforce structure and quality that are associated with caregiver/provider and teacher, child, and family outcomes; (4) highlight challenges and gaps that require attention in striving to improve the capacity and quality of this workforce in developing quality environments for young children who are enrolled in child care and early learning programs; and (5) consider incentives and strategies to resolve these challenges and reduce disparities in ECCE settings. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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Understanding and Strengthening Low-Income Parent-Child Care Provider Partnerships This project is funded by a Child Care Research Scholars grant and consists of the first author's dissertation work. Although research and theory suggest that strong parent-child care provider partnerships are important for their potential to promote successful child outcomes and aid parents in balancing work and family life, little is known about how parents and providers understand or create partnerships. This study used a qualitative approach to address this gap in the literature by examining the relationships that parents and center-based child care providers form and how these relationships can provide parents with support in their efforts to maintain stable employment and navigate the child care subsidy system. Participant observations and in-depth interviews were conducted during a year of field work at two privately owned child care centers. A strategically selected sample allowed for comparisons between the experiences of working-class/poor parents and middle-class parents. Research questions include: (1) How do parents and center-based child care providers understand and create parent-provider partnerships? Specifically, what strategies do they employ to create partnerships and what barriers do they encounter?; and (2) How do parent-provider partnerships help low-income parents maintain stable employment and navigate the subsidy system? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
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