This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report explores different measures of child care access and uses a multi-dimensional, family-centric definition to assess center-based and non-relationship home-based child care. Using 2012 National Survey of Early Care and Education data, the report provides national estimates of families’ local access against the four identified dimensions of this broader understanding of child care. The report illustrates gaps in child care access beyond a “slot to tot” analysis and the persistence of low child care availability for families with infants and toddlers.

Second of a two-part series, this research-to-practice brief identifies the components and lessons learned from implementing the virtual coaching model within the Detroit Early Learning Coaching Initiative. Components include participant recruitment, program orientation to coaching, coaching strategies, program observations of early childhood educators, coaching topics offered to participants, and coaching supervision. Lessons learned include recruitment of teachers and providers; training for coaches, teachers, and providers specific to virtual activities using an online coaching platform; video observations of early childhood educators; and one-on-one goal setting with teachers and providers.

The CCDF Policies Database provides information and detailed policies of child care subsidy programs and current data on policies from October 2009 through October 2019. A webinar, hosted jointly by the University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, Urban Institute, and the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, will be held on May 19, 2021 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to discuss accessing and using the data. Topics include an overview of the Database; information on data collection and review; CCDF 2019 data files and documentation; information on the CCDF 2019 data file structure; and considerations when using the data.

First of a two-part series, this research-to-practice brief examines the shift from in-person to virtual coaching as part of the Detroit Early Learning Coaching Initiative (DELCI). The brief discusses the origins and goals of the DELCI model, which offers instructional coaching to early childhood education (ECE) center teachers and home-based child care providers as well as state-approved curriculum and assessment resources. The DELCI model states that coaching should be goal-focused, data-informed, and practice-based to support the needs of early childhood educators and children. Also, the brief reviews the preparation undertaken in response to COVID-19 and ECE program closures to ensure that relationships were maintained and initial supports offered to early childhood education teachers and providers virtually.

The 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act supports funding for effective, evidence-based kinship navigator programs. This brief illustrates how kinship navigator programs operate and identifies common challenges in program evaluation. These challenges include defining the program models, selecting a comparison group, determining the sample size for the evaluation, and selecting appropriate reliable and valid measures. The brief also offers potential solutions to address these methodological problems in evaluation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a financial crisis for child care and early education providers beyond the narrow margins these providers previously faced. New challenges for providers include mandated closures, unstable enrollments and demands for child care, increased needs to implement health and safety procedures, and shifts between virtual, hybrid, or in-person learning for K-12 education. This research-to-practice brief illustrates the basics about child care costs and the revenue structure of child care facilities and identifies how changes in regulations and enrollment patterns have affected this structure. The brief also presents a description of what factors should be considered (for example, program eligibility for financial grants, selection criteria for grants, and the calculation of these grants) in allocating financial resources to child care providers when implementing sustainable child care programs.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily expands the size and eligibility guidelines of the Child Care Tax Credit. Due to this expansion, it is estimated that 27 million children in low-income families will qualify for expanded direct income support levels, which are anticipated to reduce child poverty by half in 2021. The National Association of Counties will host a webinar on April 6, 2021 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET to discuss outreach and tax assistance strategies so that low-income families can access these new benefits. Speakers include representatives from the Franklin County (Ohio) Department of Health and Human Services, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, and the Field Engagement and Tax Opportunity Network at Prosperity Now.

This report reviews lessons learned in the implementation of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s seven-year Family-Centered Community Change (FCCC) initiative in Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas. The FCCC is an integrated two-generation service model offering child care, job training, and financial and employment services. The report presents lessons about collaborating, integrating services, and building strong partnerships at the community level.

The 20th Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (RECS) was held virtually on October 13–15 and October 19–22, 2020. The conference sessions were organized in six thematic tracks: TANF Programs, Policies, and Populations; Employment and Mobility in the Labor Market; Youth Well-Being and the Transition to Adulthood; Strengthening Families, Fatherhood, Marriages, and Relationships; Evaluating Social Programs, Building Evidence, and Using Data; and Approaches to Alleviate Poverty and Expand Opportunity. A complete set of videos covering plenary and breakout sessions and a career panel is now available online.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report complements the CCDF Policies Database Book of Tables by providing supplemental information in graphic formats about differences in State and Territory policies for administering Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs. The report describes policies pertaining to eligibility requirements, family application and authorization terms, family payments, and policies for providers. It also includes information about additional resources available from the CCDF Policies Database project.