EVALUATING CCDBG IN OREGON: IMPACT OF THE 2014 ACT ON CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND THE QUALITY OF HOME-BASED CARE IN OREGON

Oregon Department Of Education, Salem OR

Investigators

Abstract

The 2014 CCDBG Act has the potential to have large impacts on the children, families, and providers that participate in the subsidy system. The impacts are likely to be particularly salient for home-based providers and the children and families they serve due to increased requirements for some. Such is the case in Oregon where approximately six in ten children in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program are in home-based care and almost four in ten are in homes that have not been inspected or monitored and whose level of quality is unknown. In response to the 2014 CCDBG Act, the Oregon Legislature increased requirements and quality investments to ensure healthy, safe, and high-quality home-based options for children and families in the subsidy program. Thus, Oregon is ideally situated for a study of the impact of implementation of the 2014 CCDBG Act. Increased understanding of home-based care within CCDF programs has policy implications for Oregon and the nation. Home-based care is a predominant form of care in the United States (NSECE, 2015) and is sometimes the best, or only, option for families. For example, families from traditionally underserved populations such as racial or linguistic minorities may find home- based care best able to provide cultural and linguistic congruency. Another example involves families with an infant, toddler or child with special developmental needs who may require or prefer care in a home. A third group includes families with employment constraints such as unpredictable schedules and nontraditional hours, which typically make home-based care the only option. Oregon legislators and other policy makers are committed to ensuring that these targeted populations have access to healthy, safe, and high-quality home-based childcare within the CCDF program. Oregon will build the capacity to conduct research whose overarching goal is assessing the impact of the 2014 CCDBG Act's implementation on children, families, providers, and the quality of home-based childcare. In Phase I Oregon will expand its ability to merge administrative data sets to be able to assess the extent to which implementation affects participation in the CCDF program in Phase II. Oregon also proposes to increase the capacity of its Early Learning data systems in order to capture increased detail on participation in professional development and support activities (PD/Support). The Legislature invested in PD/Support for home-based providers as part of its response to the 2014 Act. More detailed data will make it possible for the State to conduct a rigorous study of the impact of PD/Support on the quality of home-based care in Phase II.