May 12 -- The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation is proposing a new primary data collection to examine the experiences, strengths, resources, and strategies used by home-based child care providers to serve and support equitable outcomes for children and families. The Home-Based Child Care Practices and Experiences study will explore the experiences of a particular group of home-based child care providers who are legally exempt from state licensing or other state regulations that apply to non-custodial care of children in the provider's own home; these providers are commonly referred to as family, friend, and neighbor providers. Comments due by June 12, 2023.
The study will use semi-ethnographic, open-ended methods (including semi-structured interviews, and photo and audio journals) to generate rich information about the experiences of study respondents. The study will be conducted in four sites across the United States and will involve one round of data collection. Data collection will be conducted virtually and is planned to occur over a 5-month period. The study results are intended to inform future research and federal programs by contributing rich data on the ways family, friend, and neighbor providers think about and enact quality for children and families. The study will address substantial gaps in the existing evidence around “why” and “how” family, friend, and neighbor providers care for and educate children, and it will provide the foundation for future research on home-based child care. Study findings can also inform efforts to better align quality improvement efforts with the aspects of quality that providers and families find the most important in these settings.
Respondents: Family, friend, and neighbor child care providers, family members of the children cared for by the providers, and community members who support the providers.
ACF OPRE Child Care:
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/topic/child-care
ACF submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202305-0970-008 Click on IC List for questionnaire, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FR notice inviting public comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-10100
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806
