Poster #71 - Family and Early Educator Perceptions of Community Needs and Supports for Children Under Five

• In Event: Poster Session 03

Abstract

The contexts children develop in and their interactions with caregivers are influenced by many factors, including access to community resources and services (Lopez et al., 2021). Unfortunately, COVID-19 exacerbated pre-existing inequities in healthcare and mental health access and weakened already fragile early childhood education (ECE) and early intervention (EI) systems while needs increased for children and families (Jalongo, 2021). The pandemic has also revealed strengths and resilience of families and educators as they problem-solve to address challenges and promote children’s development. Coordination between adults in children’s ecosystems is more urgent now than ever. Mutual understanding and respectful communication between home and school provides a complete picture of each child’s development and allows for connection to needed resources and services (Murphy et al., 2021). The current mixed method study conducted as part of a community partnership brought together caregiver and educator voices to answer these questions: 1) What are the similarities and differences between families and early educators’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to birth to five community services? 2) What suggestions do caregivers and early educators have for making mental health and social-emotional services more accessible?

Data was collected during the spring of 2022 from participants in a small southeastern city and surrounding rural areas. Caregivers of children under five (n=59) and early childhood educators (n=112) completed surveys that included closed and open-ended items. Preliminary descriptive analyses of survey items have been completed using Stata software. A subset of caregivers, (n = 3) and early educators, (n = 8) took part in semi-structured interviews to elaborate on their experiences. Interviews took place via zoom or in person and were transcribed verbatim before being de-identified. Open-ended survey items and interview transcripts are currently being coded inductively using a consensus coding process. Reflexivity will continue to be considered throughout data analyses and interpretation (Olmos-Vega et al., 2022).

Barriers to service access reported most frequently by participants included: 1) caregiver’s lack of awareness of services available (53.4% educators, 17.31% families), 2) caregiver comfort level seeking services (52.59% educators, 11.54% families), and 3) financial challenges (41.38% educators, 19.23% families). Educators also reported a lack of information about services available (42.24%) and family stress (34.48%) as barriers to service access for families. Families reported: 1) lack of hours services were provided (9.62%), and 2) a lack of providers who serve children under five (9.62%) as problems related to service access. Findings also suggest families and educators agree that consistent communication between home and school helps families feel comfortable discussing children’s mental health needs. Preliminary qualitative coding provides the following solutions to increase service access: 1) creation of a central hub for caregivers to access information about child development, 2) more services integrated into medical and school settings, and 3) sharing information about services available, strategies, and resources to meet basic and social-emotional needs within the community via advertisements and social media. Findings highlight barriers to service access and have implications for collaboration between families and providers to support children’s well-being and development.

Authors

• Kyra Parker, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Presenting Author

• Marissa Ann Bivona, University of Virginia - Charlottesville

• Amanda P Williford, University of Virginia - Charlottesville