NSECE 2019: THE PROVIDER AND WORKFORCE STUDY

National Opinion Research Center, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

The NSECE 2019 is a nationally representative study of (1) child care and early education services available (supply) to families with children ages birth to 5-years; and (2) the workforce providing these child care and early education services sampled in the Continental United States and the District of Columbia. The study will build on the efforts and lessons from the NSECE 2012 to allow for comparisons of supply in the regulated, registered, and otherwise listed child care and early education market from 2012 to 2019, while also addressing emerging questions related to the national supply of child care and early education. Information from the NSECE 2019 could document how the field of child care and early education responded to policy initiatives during the period between 2012 and 2019, and inform future policy discussions about child care and early education at the local, state, and national levels. The NSECE 2019 will include surveys of center-based providers, the center-based workforce, and regulated, registered or ?listed,? home-based providers. Some focal questions to be answered by NSECE 2019 include: ? What is the availability and characteristics of non-parental care and early education services by neighborhood, county or other geographical unit? ? What are the characteristics of the child care and early education workforce (i.e., teachers, caregivers)? ? What services do child care and early education providers offer to parents and children? ? How much are providers charging for child care and early education for children of different ages and in different kinds of programs? ? How do providers blend funding from different sources (e.g., child care subsidies, contracted slots, Head Start, state pre-k funding, Title I, IDEA, other private funding) to cover the costs of serving children from households of different incomes? ? Which providers are willing and able to participate in the child care subsidy program and other public programs (e.g., Child and Adult Care Food Program)? ? How do predictors of quality (e.g., participation in professional development activities; use of curriculum) vary across providers? (e.g., by funding sources, settings, geographic area, populations served, community characteristics) ? Which providers are most likely to serve specific populations, including dual language learners, infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, children experiencing homelessness, and families who need care during non-standard hours? ? How does the availability of child care and early education relate to community characteristics or characteristics of families with young children in the same geographic area, as measured in other national surveys (e.g., ACS)?