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…building a sound research infrastructure; identifying
and responding to critical child care issues; and linking research
with policy and practice. |
Child
Care Policy Research Consortium
Index of Overview Page: |
Research
Priority Areas: |
Background
Child care research and evaluation are critical to understanding
child care and its implications for children and families. Under
Federal legislation governing welfare and child care, States have
the opportunity to craft programs suited to their citizens; however,
they are also faced with unprecedented challenges in meeting the
needs of low-income, under-served, and other vulnerable populations.
Public agencies are increasingly under pressure to use their child
care dollars as effectively as possible and to demonstrate how their
investments are making a difference in the lives of families with
children. Research and analysis of administrative data need to be
expanded and updated in order to address policy and planning issues.
A significant amount of child care research is currently being
conducted with support from the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and
other funding agencies. In 1995, the CCB initiated a series of cooperative
agreements for Child Care Policy Research Partnerships. These partnerships,
composed of policy makers, practitioners, and researchers, are providing
State and cross-State information on child care needs, utilization
patterns and outcomes for low-income families. They have contributed
information on the effects of State and local policies on (1) parents’
choice of care; (2) the supply of care; (3) the duration of subsidy
utilization and child care arrangements; and (4) the relationship
between availability of subsidized care and entry into the job market.
Twenty-two States have participated in these research collaborations.
During FY 2000, the CCB funded twelve new Field Initiated Child
Care Research Grants, four additional Policy Research Partnerships,
and five Research Scholars to work on a wide variety of research
projects in areas such as subsidy utilization, parental employment
and choice of care, quality of care, care of infants and toddlers,
cost of care, supply and demand of care, and child care workforce.
In addition, in FY 2000, CCB funded the development of the Child
Care Research Collaboration and Archive to create an infrastructure
for collaborative research, analysis, and information sharing among
researchers, policy makers, and other key stakeholders. It will
serve as a repository of child care research and data through a
web-based archive; develop and disseminate materials designed to
improve child care policy research; and make research findings readily
available to policy makers.
With the receipt of FY 2001 Discretionary Funds for Research, the
Child Care Bureau funded twelve new Field Initiated Child Care Research
Grants and four additional Research Scholars. These grantees are
continuing the work needed to answer child care questions at the
national, state and local level. Some are focusing on the child
care needs of families with infants and toddlers, children with
special needs, ethnic minority children, and children utilizing
before and after-school care. In addition, FY 2001 funds are supporting
new research initiatives: three State Child Care Data and Research
Capacity grants for States to develop their child care data and
research capacity either internally or through contract; a contract
to design and conduct a multi-site, multi-year evaluation to study
the net impact, implementation, and benefits of selected child care
policy programs and strategies; and a task order to develop an analytic
review paper of the research literature related to child care subsidy
policies and their outcomes.
To learn more about the Child Care Bureau’s research priorities
go to the Index of Research Priority Areas.
Research
Agenda and Goals
The Child Care Bureau’s research agenda supports activities that
have the potential to provide information and data to guide child
care services, inform policy debates, and assist in developing solutions
to complex child care issues. We intend to improve our capacity
to respond to questions of immediate concern to policy makers, strengthen
the child care research infrastructure, and increase knowledge.
We are particularly concerned about the efficacy of child care policies
and programs in providing positive outcomes for children and helping
low-income families obtain and retain work.
The Bureau’s research agenda is broadly construed, with projects
engaged in a wide variety of studies related to the following sets
of issues:
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The child care needs, decision-making processes, utilization
patterns, and outcomes for low-income families, including welfare
recipients, those moving from welfare to work, and the working
poor;
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The child care opportunities and constraints which affect low-income
families and children under differing child care policies, changing
State and local child care systems, and emerging market conditions;
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Child care quality, costs and outcomes, particularly for low-income
children and families;
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Population variations and their implications for child care
demand, supply, and outcomes;
- State child care policy variations and their effects.
Projects established in earlier years are providing descriptions
of local child care populations, services, and outcomes; local profiles
of child care supply and demand; and information related to implementation
of State child care policies, subsidy programs, and welfare reform.
New projects funded in fiscal year 2001 will expand these types
of efforts, launch an evaluation of selected State child care subsidy
policies, and initiate State-level data and research capacity-building
efforts.
Child
Care Policy Research Consortium
The Child Care Policy Research Consortium is a national alliance
of research projects sponsored by the Child Care Bureau in the Administration
on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and
Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The purpose of this consortium is to help the Child Care Bureau
increase the national capacity for sound child care research, identify
and respond to critical issues, and link child care research with
policy, practice, and consumer demand. Six major goals underlie
the work of the consortium. First is to address issues facing child
care administrators who must implement child care policies and programs
that support employment-related goals for parents, promote healthy
child development, and meet emerging needs. Second is to stimulate
greater collaboration and interdisciplinary research on issues affecting
children, families, and communities. Third is to develop greater
compatibility among child care data systems and create longitudinal
data sets from child care subsidy systems, regulatory information
systems, resource and referral systems, and other key sources. Fourth
is to establish a Child Care Research Collaboration and Archive
to develop a national research infrastructure. Fifth is to evaluate
State child care policies and programs; and sixth is to increase
state-level capacity for research and data collection.
The consortium is composed of partnerships to link research, policy
and practice; projects to address priorities identified by stakeholders
in the field; scholarships to increase the number of new researchers
who specialize in child care research; national and State-level
initiatives to build research capacity and usefulness; and evaluation
of child care subsidy policies and programs. Many of the projects
receive significant support in matching funds from the grantee and
other sponsoring organizations. This is particularly true for the
research partnerships, field initiated projects and State capacity
grants. Contracts are fully funded by the Child Care Bureau.
Child Care Research Partnerships
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Wave I, 1995 - 1997 (3 grants, incorporated into Wave II)
Wave II, 1997 - 2002 (6 grants)
Wave III, 2000 - 2003 (4 grants)
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Field Initiated Child Care
Research Projects |
Wave I, 2000 - 2003 (12 grants)
Wave II, 2001 - 2004 (12 grants)
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Child Care Research Scholars |
Wave I, 2000 - 2002 (5 grants)
Wave II, 2001 - 2003 (4 grants)
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State Data and Research Capacity-Building
Grants |
2001 - 2003 (3 grants)
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Child Care Research Collaboration
and Archive |
2000 - 2003 (1 contract)
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Evaluation of State Child Care
Subsidy Policies |
2001 - 2008 (1 contract)
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Child Care Subsidy Research
Review and Analysis |
2001 - 2002 (1 task order)
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National Study of Child Care
for Low-Income Families |
Funded by the Office for Planning, Research and Evaluation
in the Administration for Children and Families, Department
of Health and Human Services 1997 - 2003 (1 contract)
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Ivelisse Martinez-Beck, Ph.D.
Research Coordinator
Child Care Bureau
Room 2046 Switzer Building
330 C Street SW
Washington, DC 20047
Phone: 202-690-7885
Fax: 202-690-5600
Email: imartinezbeck@acf.hhs.gov
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