A Qualitative Study of Financial and Mental Health Challenges of Famly Child Care Providers in California during the Pandemic

• In Event: Supporting early childhood development during the COVID-19 pandemic

Proposal

This qualitative study intended to explore financial and mental challenges faced by family childcare providers and how they coped with these challenges.

Theoretical Framework:

Two theoretical perspectives informed the study. (1) Lazarus’ stress theory: According to Lazarus and Folkman (1986), “Psychological stress refers to a relationship with the environment that the person appraises as significant for his or her well-being and in which the demands tax or exceed available coping resources” (p. 63). As researchers have shown, the demands of the pandemic exceeded the resources available to early childhood professionals resulting in distress. (2) According to the “self-determination theory,” for humans to function optimally, three basic psychological needs must be satisfied: (a) Competence; (b) autonomy; (c) relatedness. During the pandemic, especially during the early part, these basic needs of family child-care providers were not satisfied.

Methodology: Qualitative

Twenty family childcare providers, predominantly Hispanic and African American, between the ages of 30-65, in California were recruited via snowball sampling. Except for 2 participants who opened their business in 2016, other participants had their business for over 19 years. A semi-structured interview was conducted via zoom between fall 2020-spring 2021. The data were analyzed using the constant comparison method of Bogdan & Biklen (2006)

Findings:

Financial Stress:

The majority of participants shared that they experienced financial stress because of the loss of tuition fees. Some participants shared that although they received the money in the latter part of the pandemic from the state for subsidized childcare granted to some families; but, they lost money for privately funded children. Older participants were worried about their loss of savings to buy food and materials for children. Participants also shared about not having enough money to pay bills, buying materials, including cleaning materials and new bins for each family, and keeping staff. Some participants had to reduce hours for their assistants, and some could not afford to keep assistants. 35% of participants also shared that they did not experience much financial stress for various reasons, such as having insurance; having more children from families who had access to subsidized childcare; and receiving financial support from their agency, the state, and the union. Some of these participants were interviewed in the spring of 2021, and by that time they had received support from the state.


Supporting Staff.

Participants shared different ways that they coped and supported themselves and their staff, if possible, during the pandemic. Participants shared that they could not keep their assistants or kept their assistants either by paying partly or fully from their savings or by requesting them to wait until they received the payment. Some participants requested their assistants to apply for unemployment. To keep their program afloat, some participants spent from their savings or borrowed from their credit cards to buy materials. Some others obtained free materials provided by different agencies. Some participants who received funding from various sources were able to support their staff. Participants whose assistants left voluntarily used that money for the program’s operation. One participant stated that she was working remotely and still received reimbursement for children who were not attending, and that helped run the program. Some participants explicitly shared examples of making some adjustments to cut down personal expenses or buying fewer materials for the program.

Mental Health Challenges:

All participants, except two, shared their mental health challenges. Participants also shared what efforts they made to address these challenges. Their mental health issues included hoping that COVID was not a reality, a feeling of inertia, or a lack of interest in doing anything. Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and fear topped the list. Their mental health issues were tied to their program children’s happiness and wellbeing, to the financial and mental health of their staff, and to their fear of catching the virus as they work with children whose parents are essential workers.
Efforts Made:

Some providers wanted to close their programs but had to keep them open because of parental requests. The efforts to reduce COVID anxiety included: therapy, meditation, and prayer; staying positive; focusing on health and nutrition; taking vitamins; keeping family meetings and meetings with assistants to express concerns and invite suggestions.

Discussions:
ECE researchers and organizations around the world have reported that during the pandemic, childcare programs were permitted to open their doors to children of essential workers. Research also shows that ECCE providers worldwide did not have access to affordable health and safety supplies; worked longer hours than usual; faced new challenges around working with children and families; and feared for the health and well-being of their own and that of their family members (Erickson Institute, 2020; Zero to Three, 2020). Studies with teachers have reported mental health issues of depression, anxiety, and stress among teachers during the pandemic (Kim & Asbury, 2020; Pressley, 2021).

The findings also showed that the pandemic challenged the three basic psychological needs outlined in the self-determination theory. Participants who single-handedly ran their business for more than 19 years felt incompetent and helpless to run a business under reduced enrollment while at the same time having to spend money on Covid-19 safety and cleaning supplies and play and educational materials. Participants also agonized over their loss of connection with assistants who were with them for some time as well as their face-face communications with parents who were involved in their program in different roles. Participants’ loss of autonomy was evident when they had to let go of their assistants or changed their status from full-time to half-time or could not pay them until they received funding from the state.

Significance:

There is a dearth of research on family care providers during the pandemic. The findings show America’s unpreparedness to support family childcare programs from early on and the importance of such timely support in future health pandemics which also resonate with countries around the world. Reports around the world have shared that many ECCE programs in the world have shut down permanently and many ECCE workers have left the field (World Bank, 2020).

Author

• Jyotsna Pattnaik, California State University, Long Beach