1. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 1 Understanding Quality in Context: Child Care Providers, Markets, Communities, and Policy (2004 Child Care Bureau Field Initiated Grant)

2. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 2 Background Child care providers are faced with a variety of operational decisions related to resource acquisition and allocation  these operational decisions affect the quality of care Little is known about how various factors come together to shape provider decision-making Understanding more about how provider decisions are shaped by program and provider characteristics, child care market factors, community factors and child care/early education policies can help policymakers more effectively design and target quality enhancement initiatives

3. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 3 Conceptual Framework Providers operate in communities influenced by federal, state, and local policies These policies interact with an array of community- level economic and non-economic factors that can affect the behavior of individual providers These external factors interact with a set of child care provider and program characteristics to influence the use and allocation of resources Providers’ resource allocation decisions lead to structural features and programmatic practices that affect quality of care

4. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 4 Quality: Program Structure & Practices Subsidies (Funding & Administration) Level & Stability of Available Resources, Director Management & Decision-Making about Resource Allocation Licensing & Other Regulations Provider Characteristics: Leadership, Experience, Knowledge of Quality, Connection to Networks Program Characteristics: Auspice, Size, Sponsoring Organization Goals/Resources Community Values & Norms Related To Child Well Being & Child Care Competition From Other Providers Early Childhood Workforce: Experience Qualifications Wages CCR&R, Other Community Org.Provider Support Networks Food & Nutrition Programs/ CACFP Early Education/ Prekindergarten Initiatives Parent Demand For Quality & Ability to Pay Quality Initiatives Conceptual Framework

5. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 5 Research Questions What provider, child care market, community, and policy factors are related to child care quality? What is the relative importance of these factors? (Phase I) Do the factors shaping child care quality and their relative importance differ for providers receiving voucher-based subsidies? (Phase I) How do providers make decisions regarding the acquisition and allocation of resources that can affect quality, and what are the roles of provider, child care market, community, and policy factors in this decision-making process? (Phase II) Implications of research questions for policy (Phases I and II)

6. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 6 Building on Current UI Study: Child Care Providers and the Subsidy System Five sites –Jefferson County, Alabama –Monterey County, California –San Diego County, California –Hudson County, New Jersey –King County, Washington

7. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 7 Providers Study Quantitative Data Telephone interviews with over 900 center directors and family child care providers –Representative sample from five sites –Interviews also conducted with randomly selected teacher in each center Topics covered include: –Basic operating characteristics (e.g., hours of operation, auspice, number of children served) –Client demographics –Financing (e.g., funding sources, fees charged, profits earned in last year, stability of revenue) –Director/provider characteristics –Indicators of structural and process quality (e.g., ratios/group size; caregiver depression and education; teacher wages, benefits and turnover; early literacy activities)

8. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 8 Providers Study Qualitative Data Data on voucher subsidy policy and implementation practices from: –Semi-structured interviews with state and local administrators and key informants –Focus groups with child care subsidy caseworkers and regulated child care providers –Document reviews

9. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 9 Phase I Data Sources Data from current UI study of Child Care Providers and the Subsidy System Additional quantitative data: –Community-level data on local child care market and community demographics Possible sources include 2000 Census, American Community Survey, and data from local resource and referral or licensing agencies Additional qualitative data: –Community and policy factors Possible sources include CCDF State Plans and telephone interviews with key experts and policymakers

10. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 10 Four Steps in Phase I Analytic Approach Group providers according to quality Identify factors that discriminate most between groupings Explore differences for subsidized providers Identify configurations of providers and/or factors related to quality, and explore implications for policy

11. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 11 1. Group Providers According to Quality Categorize providers into groups with similar patterns of quality Two conceptual approaches for selecting variables and thresholds between categories: –Standards driven: Group providers based on published licensing, accreditation, and/or professional standards –Data driven: Examine descriptive associations among quality indicators and select appropriate variables for inclusion in cluster analysis to group providers Most valid groupings to be used as dependent variables in later analyses

12. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 12 2. Identify Factors That Discriminate Most Between Groupings Examine associations between quality and individual factors and produce profiles of higher- and lower-quality providers Use logistic regression or multinomial logistic regression as needed to identify factors that discriminate most between groups –Dependent variable will be quality as defined in step 1, and independent variables will be factors hypothesized to influence quality (see conceptual framework)

13. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 13 3. Explore Differences for Subsidized Providers Replicate above analyses for subsidized providers to determine if factors and their importance are different for subsidized providers Models and qualitative analyses above will include variables describing providers’ experiences with, and characteristics of, the subsidy system

14. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 14 4. Identify Configurations of Providers and/or Factors Related to Quality to Target Policies Explore “typical” configurations of subsidy participation/non-participation, quality of care, and community and market characteristics (using cluster analysis and qualitative methods) Use categorization to inform development/targeting of quality improvement initiatives

15. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 15 Phase II: Assessing Factors Related to Provider Decision-Making Data Collection –In-depth interviews with selected center directors and family child care providers –Observations of quality of selected center classrooms and family child care homes Analysis –Qualitative analysis of decision patterns –Observational assessments scored to identify minimal, good, and high quality for programs in sample –Using quality thresholds to group providers, further explore how decision-making patterns differ for providers at various thresholds of observed quality Explore implications for policy and practice

16. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 16 Phase II: Activities to Support Further Research Public Use Data Set –Assess whether survey data can be converted into public-use dataset without compromising confidentiality of respondents –Produce dataset if possible Lessons Learned –Develop technical paper to inform future provider studies Measuring Quality –Examine relationships between indicators obtained by telephone and quality as measured through observations in order to assess value of phone measures for characterizing quality

17. THE URBAN INSTITUTE / Washington, D.C. 17 Principal Investigators Gina Adams, The Urban Institute Ellen Eliason Kisker, Twin Peaks Partners, LLC Consultants Deborah Phillips, Georgetown University Doug Wissoker, The Urban Institute UI Study Team Patti Banghart Sara Bernstein Bonnie Gordic Regan Main Debra Mekos Monica Rohacek, Project Manager Kathleen Snyder Funding Understanding Quality in Context is funded by the Child Care Bureau and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Planned Completion of Phase I is November 2005; Phase II is pending funding.