State-funded preschool is already offered in mixed-delivery settings in most states, meaning that along with public schools, children are also served in settings such as child care centers, Head Start agencies, and private schools. However, just 39% of 4-year-olds and 14% of 3-year-olds were enrolled in publicly-funded programs, such as…

Although quality assurance programs may improve the curricula and outcomes of early childhood programs, some U.S. childcare principals are reluctant to participate in these initiatives. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the motivation that guides Texas childcare principals' decision-making regarding participation in the…

To understand the use of early care and education (ECE) programs in New Jersey, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducted a representative survey of parents of children under age 5 (not yet in kindergarten) about their use of (non-parental) child care. The survey was conducted between May 25th and June 13rd, 2022, with…

During the 2022 legislative session, the Maryland state legislature passed the Early Childhood Development -- Child Care Scholarship Program -- Alterations and Study bill (Ch. 525 HB995/SB920). This bill required the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to complete a study on several key factors of the legislation on or before December 1,…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care, requires states to use information about the provider cost of child care to inform the setting of payment rates under the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) program. This requirement is consistent with the growing recognition that…

In this article I investigate how corporate Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) providers negotiate their position by contributing to a national ECEC policy development process. I discuss how their political engagement connects to changes in the institutional arrangements of the ECEC sector. The ECEC provider corporations' written responses…

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidizes child care costs to help low-income families afford care. Reimbursements for cost-subsidized care are paid to child care providers; however, per-child reimbursements are extremely low compared with market rates and actual cost of care. We examine how the 2014 CCDF reauthorization, which…

The Center for Rural Policy and Development first started looking into the matter of the child care shortage in 2015. In the process of this initial research, they found a corresponding shortage of information on just why providers were leaving the business. As a result, they concluded in 2018 that it was necessary to conduct a survey that would…

This is the summary of the report, "CRPD Hears from Child Care Providers: Results of a Statewide Survey of Child Care Providers." Results included in this summary include: (1) Takeaways at a glance; (2) Regulations and finances; and (3) Differences between family and center providers. [To view the full report, see ED597232.]

The pandemic has amplified and exacerbated many of the existing challenges facing the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) and forced the field to innovate and change much of what had become the status quo. The McCormick Center has a 30-year history of providing intensive (6-12 months in duration), cohesive (curriculum content is…

In June 2021, the Department for Education (DfE) announced the Early Years Education Recovery funding, a £180m package of support to help the sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It comprised training programmes, qualifications, guidance and targeted whole setting support, delivered through a series of complimentary work programmes. This…

This study examined whether grandparental support is a protective factor for children's socio-emotional development in the context of adversity. Using longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study, we investigated the effects of grandparental support across development in children with and without adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).…

Using a qualitative approach including an online survey and a focus group, the study sought to examine the factors that prevented 'hard to engage' families from taking advantage of the two-year-old funding for free early education and care within one United Kingdom-based context. In particular, the study sought to identify any barriers that…

This research aims to better understand childcare and early years provision among providers caring for children aged 0 to 4 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those working in deprived areas. This research involved: (1) in-depth quantitative analysis of data collected in the 2023 childcare and early years provider survey;…

This report presents an analysis of childcare providers' finances based on a survey carried out in 2023, during the period leading up to significant reforms in the funding of childcare in England. In the 2023 Spring Budget, the government announced that, from April 2024, government-funded childcare would be expanded to younger children, and that,…