Case Studies of Child Care and Development Fund Lead Agencies' Consumer Education Strategies

NCT06752070 | Active Not Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 102241-0001-004HHSP233201500048I-75P00120F370
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 133
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The Administration for Children \& Families (ACF) has contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC) to conduct a study examining consumer education and parental choice in child care and early education (CCEE). The purpose of this study is to conduct case studies with up to six states, territories, or tribes to document innovative or promising strategies that help parents looking for and selecting CCEE that meet their family's needs. The research team identified select strategies to examine based on findings from an environmental scan the project team previously completed that was designed to uncover consumer education strategies that are innovative or promising in terms of reaching families, and go beyond federal requirements. The study team selected five states and one territory: California, Georgia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Texas, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This study collected information about (a) how and why each case chose to use the identified consumer education strategy; (b) efforts involved to develop and implement the strategy; (c) barriers and facilitators to implementation; and (d) parent's perspectives on and knowledge of the resources available to them to help look for and select CCEE. The study team designed the case studies to obtain data from people with a vested interest in or leadership role related to consumer education strategies and from parents of young children. The team designed semi-structured interviews and focus groups to be conducted via Zoom.gov with participants from each site. Example participants are CCDF administrators and staff and Child Care Resource \& Referral (CCR\&R) agency staff. Second, the study team designed virtual focus groups to be conducted with up to 20 parents in each selected site who had a child under the age of six and were using or had previously looked for CCEE. The team also developed a short web-based survey to administer to parents participating in focus groups to capture descriptive information about study participants, such as demographic characteristics and receipt of child care subsidies.

Conditions

Searching for and Selecting Child Care in the US

Keywords

Parent consumer education strategies; CCEE search; case studies; semi-structured interviews; focus groups

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Background and history of parental education strategy

  Semi-structured interviews provided information about the motivations of the states/territories to use their current consumer education strategy/strategies. Information about the goal (or theory of change) of this innovation. Information on the populations (e.g., universal or some subset of families) was it intending to reach.

  May 2023-August 2025

• Factors related to the success of the strategy

  Semi-structured interviews provided information about what successes the state/territory observed in terms of improving the timing of outreach to families, raising awareness of child care search resources and care options, and supporting families' care searches. Information on how states and territories are measuring success. Information on the key ingredients of successful implementation.

  May 2023-August 2025

• Lessons learned about the strategy

  Semi-structured interviews provided information about the implementation challenges that the state/territory experienced. Information on the types of families that were hardest to reach with strategies implemented and reasons behind those difficulties. Description of the challenges that remain and the supports that states/territories need to be more effective.

  May 2023-August 2025

• Parents' awareness of the consumer education strategies

  The parent focus groups provided information about the families' awareness of sources of child care consumer education.

  May 2023-August 2025

• Primary sources of information about child care

  The parent focus groups obtained information about where parents may have gotten information about child care and early education (CCEE).

  May 2023-August 2025

• What parents look for when searching for CCEE

  The parent focus groups provided information on the characteristics that parents look for in a provider when searching for CCEE.

  May 2023-August 2025

• Most useful sources of information when looking for CCEE

  Parents focus groups described the information that parents found most and least helpful. Also, parental assessment of the most helpful source of information or resources when looking for CCEE.

  May 2023-August 2025

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Case study participants required to work in agencies in charge of the consumer education strategies. Parents of children under the age of 6, residing in each selected site to have gone through a child care search experience.

You may qualify if:

• Case study participants required to work in agencies in charge of the consumer education strategies. Parents of children under the age of 6, residing in each selected site to have gone through a child care search experience.

You may not qualify if:

• Being under the age of 18.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Opinion Research Center: lead
• Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation: collaborator
• Urban Institute: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

The Urban Institute

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, 20024, United States

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: ECOLOGIC OR COMMUNITY
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Vice president and distinguished senior fellow

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 20, 2024
• First Posted: December 30, 2024
• Study Start: June 1, 2023
• Primary Completion: August 31, 2023
• Study Completion: September 1, 2025
• Last Updated: December 30, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)