Evaluation of Child Care Subsidy Strategies: Massachusetts Family Child Care Study. Executive Summary (original) (raw)
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Evaluation of Child Care Subsidy Strategies: Massachusetts Family Child Care Study, 2005-2007
ICPSR Data Holdings, 2011
This report presents findings from the Massachusetts Family Child Care study, a two-year evaluation of the impacts of an early childhood education program on providers and children in family child care. The program-LearningGames 1-is designed to train caregivers to stimulate children's cognitive, language, and social-emotional development. The evaluation of LearningGames is one of four state experiments conducted as part of the Evaluation of Child Care Subsidy Strategies. The study is being conducted by Abt Associates Inc, with its research partners MDRC and the National Center for Children in Poverty of Columbia University, under a contract with the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of the evaluation is to provide information that states and local communities can use to inform their decisions about the use of child care subsidy and child care quality improvement funds.
2003
We would also like to acknowledge the work of the Data Collection Advisory Committee in supporting the development of the Massachusetts Cost/Quality Study, and providing helpful feedback on each component of the study. Members of this Advisory Committee include state and federal agencies, local Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, early care and education providers and advocates, higher education institutions, legislative aides and other interested individuals; current members are listed below. The Over the last 30 years there has been an enormous increase in the rate at which mothers with young children enter the labor force. By 1996, two-thirds of the nation's preschoolers had mothers who were employed (Kids Count, 1998). As a result, early child care has become an important family and societal resource. While there is a fair amount of research examining issues related to child care, much of this research has focused on center care, particularly center care for preschool-aged children (c.f. Clarke-Stewart, 1991). Many children, however, are not cared for in child care centers. Instead, they are cared for by relatives, friends or neighbors, or in a family child care setting. In 1999, 14% of children under 5 with employed parents were in family child care (Sonenstein, Gates, Schmidt, Bolshun, 2002). While the proportion of young children in family child care has declined as the availability of center-based care has increased (Casper 1996), family child care continues to be an important source of early child care, especially for infants and toddlers (NICHD 1997). In addition, with the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996, some states and communities are seeking to increase the availability of child care for low-income families by increasing the numbers of family child care providers.
1997
This study identified training needs for Pennsylvania child care providers and assessed the impact of training, classroom/caregiver dynamics, and staff characteristics on child care quality. Participating were 29 family child care providers, 30 group homes, and 60 child care centers, stratified by type of site and geographic region. Quality of care was measured through the Early Childhood Rating Scale, Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS), and Family Day Care Rating Scale. The work environment was assessed with the Early Childhood Work Environment Survey. Questionnaires were used to obtain information on background and training, and site characteristics. Overall findings indicated that the training system was viewed positively. Providers were highly interested in training and believed it would help them in their work. On-site training and workshops were viewed as most helpful, video and satellite training as least helpful. The major training needs were child motivation and guidance, dealing with child conflict, child development, and developmentally appropriate practice. Low ITERS scores suggested that training in infant/toddler care is a priority. and low scores on all three rating scales indicated that cultural awareness, personal grooming, pretend play, and sand and water play should receive training priority. The amount of training did not predict quality. The most significant change in quality since 1989 occurred in family child care sites. Center quality was related to professional growth opportunities, higher salaries, good communication, and staff agreement on school philosophy. (The research instruments and a data summary are appended. Contains 18 references.) (Author)
Child & Youth Care Forum, 2000
As the call to improve early care and education environments heightens across the United States, individual states have developed an array of approaches to enhance out-of-home care experiences for young children. As a part of the larger evaluation study of Kentucky's early childhood initiative, KIDS NOW, the current study gains perspectives from child care providers regarding their experiences with a comprehensive statewide early care and education initiative. Through a series of focus groups, child care providers highlighted their need for adequate information regarding the initiative as well as their varying perceptions of different types of initiative components. These findings highlight the need for continual stakeholder involvement as policy changes unfold within a state. Additionally, providers' perspectives on the implementation of the initiative underscore the complexity inherent to affecting change in early care and education.
Penn State/OCYF Day Care Project: Final Report of a Pilot Study
1985
In Pennsylvania compliance with state health and safety regulations for day care center licensing is monitored by administering the Child Development Program Evaluation (CDPE). This pilot study attempted to discover key indicators of day care center quality other than those measured on the CDPE and also to find out about the relationships between these quality indicators and child development. Ten day care centers were assessed using the CDPE and two other measures, the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS) and the Caregivier Observation Form and Scale. Results indicated that nonprofit centers had higher scores on the two measures of quality than profit centers. However, children who attended profit centers had higher socioeconomic status and higher scores for cognitive, language, and social development. After a certain level of state compliance, program quality scores were found to fall as state compliance scores rose. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis to determine the predictors of child development revealed only one small effect for program quality. Ten items from the ECERS were found to be good predictors of overall program quality. It was concluded that compliance with state regulations is not an indicator of program quality, and that a comprehensive, statewide study of day care quality should obtain separate samples of profit and nonprofit centers, should include lower and middle class children from each center, and should explore funding as a factor in day care quality. (CB)
Quality Child Care: Quality Care Does Mean Better Child Outcomes. NCEDL Spotlights, No. 2
1998
This report, the second in the National Center for Early Development & Learning's (NCEDL) "Spotlight" series, is based on a summary of longitudinal results through kindergarten from the "Cost, Quality and Outcomes Study" by NCEDL. The study involved child care centers in four states and was conducted from 1993 to 1996. Researchers followed a group of children from the time they were 3 years old in preschool through the early elementary years. Data were collected on how the quality of child care experiences when the children were 3 affected their language, academic (mathematics and reading), and social skills through kindergarten. Researchers looked at two aspects of quality in the preschool year: observed classroom practices and teacher ratings of their relationship with each child. Key findings were: (1) over the 3-year period, child care quality affects children's development across the range of language, academic, and social skills; (2) the quality of child care matters for all children, with similar effects for children from a variety of backgrounds; and (3) these effects are long-term, lasting at least through kindergarten. The report includes a brief discussion of why the study was conducted and its policy implications. (EV) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Child Care in the Pioneer Partnerships, 1994 and 1996
1997
Smart Start is North Carolina's partnership between state government and local leaders, service providers, and families to better serve children under 6 years and their families with the aim of ensuring that all children enter school healthy and prepared to succeed. This study examined child care centers in Smart Start counties, focusing on the services provided, teacher education and training, and quality. Data were gathered in 1994 and 1996 through classroom observations and interviews with child care directors. Included were both partnership-nominated centers involved in local Smart Start child care quality improvement efforts and randomly selected centers to measure overall quality of care in each partnership community and to provide a comparison with the nominated sample. The two samples were not significantly different on any child care variable so results were combined. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale was completed in one randomly selected preschool classroom at each center. The findings indicated that more child care centers in the pioneer partnerships were providing higher quality care in 1996 compared to 1994. Centers in the 1996 sample were also more likely to employ better educated teachers, provide developmental screenings, and enrolled children with disabilities or from low-income families, suggesting that Smart Start partnerships have improved the quality and quantity of child care services for preschoolers. However, most centers provided average or mediocre quality care. Teacher compensation and turnover rates did not change between 1994 and 1996. (Detailed information regarding child care center characteristics is appended.) (Author/KB)