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The Experiences of Family Child Care Providers in an Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership

Wed, April 7, 1:10 to 2:40pm EDT (1:10 to 2:40pm EDT), Virtual

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Early Head Start-Child Care partnerships (EHS-CCPs) support and train family child care (FCC) providers to increase their capacity to offer flexible and affordable high-quality care in a home-like environment that meets the needs of low-income working families (Bromer & Korfmacher, 2017). Despite an increase in EHS-FCC partnerships, implementation and effectiveness studies have primarily focused on the effects of EHS-CCPs in center-based care. There is limited knowledge about how these programs meet the needs of FCC providers (Levere et al., 2019). The purpose of this study was to explore the distinct experiences of FCC providers who participate in EHS-CCPs.

Methods: We interviewed 19 FCC providers (100% Female, 74% Black, 31% Latina) who recently began participating in an EHS-CCP regarding their experiences with the program. All participants owned and operated their FCC homes; 58% had at least one assistant. Semi-structured interview questions addressed the perceived purpose, benefits, and challenges of partnerships. Using consensual qualitative research (CQR), the first and second authors analyzed participants’ open-ended responses to derive codes and themes (Hill et al., 2005). Discrepancies were discussed and resolved with the help of an external auditor.

Results: When asked about the purpose of the EHS-CCP, providers typically mentioned improvements in child development (58%) and quality of care (53%). Professional development was mentioned by less than half (47%) and family services, a key feature of partnerships, was only mentioned by (26%) of providers (see Table 1 for examples).
When asked to describe how their centers had implemented partnerships, all providers mentioned some benefits of participation (100%). The most frequently mentioned were materials (95%) and professional development (100%). Other frequently mentioned benefits included improved child development, family services, home improvements, quality of care, and support and advice from partners (see Table 1).
Although all providers expressed positive sentiments about partnerships, most (90%) also discussed challenges (see Table 1). Over half cited issues with enrollment (56%) and professional development (53%). Time burden was also a typical challenge (53%), with participants often noting the difficulties in navigating the partnerships’ meetings and requirements while trying to teach children and run a business. Providers also appeared to be concerned that parents enrolled in their homes were not engaging with the partnership, consistently suggesting that more family engagement events be held to improve its success (53%). Further, most providers (95%) offered additional services to families that extended beyond the requirements of partnerships, including 24-hour child care and social and economic support.

Discussion: The themes that emerged from this study highlight the importance of focusing on family child care homes enrolled in EHS-CCPs. Providers in this sample noted several important benefits that can improve the quality of care they offer and foster children’s positive development. However, the challenges participants experienced, and the additional services providers offered, emphasize the need for a more tailored approach that is more cognizant of the unique features of FCC homes. Partnerships specifically devised for FCC arrangements could successfully promote not only high-quality care, but support FCC providers, and the children and families they serve.

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