Nebraska Rural Area Eligibility Determination Pilot
Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act – Submission to OMB
Nebraska Rural Area Eligibility Determination (NeRAED) Project
Hello, and thank you for your participation in this research study about the State of Nebraska’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), the program in which your sponsoring organization provides reimbursements to you each month for many of the meals and snacks you provide to children in your day care setting.
McFarland and Associates has been selected to study the impacts of a special program in the CACFP called the “Nebraska Rural Area Eligibility Determination Pilot”, which increases the number of rural areas in Nebraska where family day care providers are eligible for higher (tier I) reimbursement rates for meals and snacks served to participating children. An important part of the study is to better understand day care providers’ participation in the CACFP.
This is a research study and not an audit or review of your day care home, your CACFP sponsor or the CACFP itself. The only information that will be reported is grouped information combined from many different providers. All information that we collect will be confidential, and no individual names or other identifying information will be reported. Results from individual surveys will not be reported to your sponsor, the State of Nebraska, the Federal government, or anybody else.
Your answers to the questions below are very important to the success of the pilot and the study, and we ask your cooperation in answering the following questions. Your contribution to this study is very important and will allow us to learn more about the effectiveness of the pilot.
Thank you, again, for your participation.
1. In what month and year did you first start providing day care services in your home? ______/______
(If you cannot remember the date, in what year did you start?) __________
2. After you started as a home day care provider, was there ever a time that you left this line of work to do something other than day care?
___No. I have been providing day care regularly since I started. [Go to
Question 3]
___Yes.
Number of months I did something other than day care: ___
Number of years I did something other than day care: ___
3. Why did you become a day care provider? (Check all that apply.)
___ a. My own children were young and needed day care.
___ b. To ensure that my children received the type of day care I wanted for them.
___ c. To support my family.
___ d. To earn extra money.
___ e. To help out a friend or relative who needed day care for his or her kids.
___ f. Other (Please specify.) ________________________________________
4. What are your hours of operation? (Please use HH:MM format, like 7:30 a.m. If you have different hours throughout the week, please complete for your most common schedule.)
During the School Year: During the Summer:
Open: ___:__ a.m./p.m. Open: __:__ a.m./p.m.
Close: ___:__ a.m./p.m. Close: ___:__ a.m./p.m.
___ Open 24 hours ___Open 24 hours
5. Are you a licensed or license-exempt provider? ___Licensed ___Exempt
6. With the type of license or exemption that you have, what is the maximum number of children you are allowed to care for at the same time? ___
7. Please check your education, training, or certification relevant to early childhood care: (Check all that apply.)
___ a. Child care certificate
___ b. Sponsor training
___ c. Nutrition classes
___ d. College courses
___ e. Associate or Bachelor’s degree
___ f. Post-graduate degree
___ g. Other (Please specify.) ____________________________________________
8. When did you start participating in the CACFP and working with your sponsor? ________ (Provide month, year.)
9. After you initially started participating in the CACFP, was there ever a time that you did NOT participate in the CACFP even though you were still providing day care?
___ No. I have participated in the CACFP since I started with it. [Go to
Question 10]
___ Yes. Number of months or years I did NOT participate in the CACFP.
(Please indicate) ____ months _____ years
Why did you stop participating in the CACFP for a period of time? (Check all that apply.)
___a. Too much paperwork.
___b. Did not get along with my sponsor.
___c. Wanted more flexibility in the foods and snacks I was serving to the children.
___d. Too many errors in my monthly reimbursement amount.
___e. Other (Please specify.) ___________________________________
10. What do you see as the main advantages of participating in the CACFP? (Indicate the 3 most important advantages with a 1, 2, and 3.)
Positive relations with sponsor agency
Positive relations with consultant
Useful feedback/evaluations
Ability to provide more food to my kids at meals and snacks
Ability to provide better food to my kids at meals and snacks
Informative newsletters and information
Sponsor and provider groups
Financial reimbursement
Help finding parents who need day care for their children
Training
Other (Please specify.)______________________________________
11. What are the main disadvantages of participating in the CACFP? (Indicate the 3 most important disadvantages with a 1, 2, and 3.)
Challenging relations with sponsor agency
Challenging relations with consultant
Lack of communication with agency or consultant
Difficulty making contact with agency or consultant
Not enough feedback/constructive help
Too much feedback/criticism
Too much paperwork
Too many regulations and requirements
Other (Please specify.)_________________________________________
12. Have you had any contact with the State of Nebraska’s CACFP office or staff in the past 2 years?
___ No [Go to Question 13]
___ Yes (Circle all that apply.)
a. Site visits
b. Training
c. Advice
d. Informational phone calls or e-mails
e. Other (Please specify.)__________________________________
13. How many children did you take care of in October of the past 3 years?
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# of boys |
# of girls |
October 2004 |
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October 2005 |
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October 2006 |
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14. How many children of each age range did you take care of during the following time frames?
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During the School Year |
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Infants Birth through 11 months |
Toddlers 1 year through 2 years |
3 years through 5 years |
School-age children 6 years through 12 years |
Teenagers 13 years and older |
October 2004 |
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October 2005 |
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October 2006 |
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During the Summer |
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Infants Birth through 11 months |
Toddlers 1 year through 2 years |
3 years through 5 years |
School-age children 6 years through 12 years |
Teenagers 13 years and older |
2004 |
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2005 |
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2006 |
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15. Do any special-needs, migrant, or bilingual children currently attend your day care home?
___ No [Go to Question 16]
___ Yes
If yes, insert number in each category. (If any children can fit into more than one category, please count those children in each box.)
# Special Needs |
# Migrant |
# Bilingual |
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16. I am currently caring for _____ (insert #) children.
a. I would like to care for _____ children.
17. Are you currently operating at your full licensing capacity (caring for the maximum number of children)?
___ Yes
___ No
18. Did you have a waiting list of parents seeking day care for their infants or children at any time during the past 3 years?
___ No [Go to Question 19]
___Yes
a. At any time during the past year?
___ No [Go to Question 19]
___ Yes
If yes, do you have a waiting list now?
___ No
___Yes – How many infants are waiting? ____
How many children are waiting? ____
19. What do you think are the 3 most important reasons that families select your day care program? (Number 1, 2 and 3 for the most important reasons.)
___ a. They don’t want their children going to a large day care center.
___ b. Most of the parents are personal friends.
___ c. Most of my families live nearby.
___ d. Referrals from other families.
___ e. The safe, healthy environment I provide.
___ f. The activities I provide.
___ g. The meals I provide.
___ h. The hours I am open.
___ i. I provide transportation.
___ j. They like that I stress educational activities.
___ k. There are no other family day care providers nearby.
___ l. There are no day care centers nearby.
___ m. My costs are reasonable.
___ n. Other (Please specify.)_______________________
20. What is the average distance the children attending your family day care home travel to get there?
Less than 1 mile
1 – 5 miles
5 – 10 miles
More than 10 miles
Don’t know
21. How far out of their normal commute do parents travel to bring their children to your family day care home?
Less than 1 mile
1 – 5 miles
5 – 10 miles
More than 10 miles
Don’t know
22. Do you provide transportation services for any of your kids?
___ No [Go to Question 23]
___Yes, I: (Check all that apply.)
Pick up in the morning.
Drop off at school.
Pick up at school.
Drop off in the evening.
Other (Please specify.)____________________________________
23. Please check your day care activities on a typical day, by time of day as indicated in the table below. (Check all that apply.)
Activity |
Before Breakfast |
After Breakfast |
After Lunch |
After Dinner |
At Any Time |
1 Greet and settle children in |
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2 Song/prayer |
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3 Snack |
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4 Nap |
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5 Quiet time |
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6 Story telling |
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7 Read to children |
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8 Watch TV |
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9 Games and toys |
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10 Free play indoors |
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11 Free play outdoors |
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12 Other outdoor play |
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13 Planned activity |
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14 Other |
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24. Please check any special activities or events that you offered in the past 3 years.
Calendar Year |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
Birthday Parties |
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Christmas Celebration |
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Easter Celebration |
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Halloween Party |
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Hanukah Celebration |
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Thanksgiving Celebration |
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Other |
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25. Did you take any field trips in the past 3 years (for example: to the zoo, the library, the park)? ___No ___Yes
If yes, about how many in:
2004 ___
2005 ___
2006 ___
26. Which meals do you serve at this time of year? (Check all that apply.)
___a. Breakfast
___b. Morning Snack
___c. Lunch
___d. Afternoon Snack
___e. Dinner
___f. Other (Please specify.) ______________________________________________
27. Please indicate whether you have made any of the operating changes noted below since the beginning of the pilot in October 2005. (Complete all that apply.)
No, my day care has not changed since October 2005. [Go to Question 28]
Mark here ___ and go to Question 28 if you have been operating your day care for fewer than 3 months.
Yes, there are changes:
A. Food:
The amounts or types of food I served changed. How? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
B. Activities:
I have added or stopped doing the following activities.
I started doing: ___________________________________________________________
I stopped doing: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
C. Hours of Operation or Costs:
I changed my hours of operation.
From:
To:
I changed the number of staff.
____Yes
____ No
If yes, _____ I added staff
_____ I decreased staff
D. Monitoring and Reporting Activities
Since October 2005, I spent about the same amount of time running my day care and doing paperwork:
___Yes [Go to Question E]
___ No
If no, I spent
___ less time running my day care and doing paperwork.
___ more time running my day care and doing paperwork.
E. Please write in any other operating changes you have made since October 2005.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
28. Do you know of day care providers who could not find a CACFP sponsor to work with them?
___ No [Go to Question 29]
___ Yes
If yes, in what town or county were they located __________________________ and when did this occur?_____________________
If you know, please indicate why they could not find a sponsor. ____________________
29. Are you aware of the new eligibility criteria for the CACFP pilot that were implemented in October 2005 and will end on October 1, 2007?
___ No [Go to Question 32]
___ If “yes, I am aware that the pilot increases the number of rural areas where providers can qualify for higher (tier I) reimbursements for meals and snacks,” how did you learn about these new eligibility criteria for the CACFP pilot? (Please check all that apply)
From my sponsor
From the State
I wasn’t aware of these new eligibility criteria. I was thinking of something else.
Other (Please specify.) ___________________________________________
30. What information did you receive? (Check all that apply.)
___a. The meal reimbursement levels would change.
___b. There was a change in the status of the schools.
___c. There was new information about menu requirements.
___d. There were other changes in regulations.
___e. There were other changes. (Please specify.) _______________________________
31. How was this information provided? (Check all that apply.)
___a. Call from sponsor informing me about the pilot
___b. Letter or e-mail from sponsor
___c. Letter from State Department of Education
___d. Sponsor newsletter
___e. Local newspaper article
___f. Provider group
___g. Sponsor group
___h. Other (Please specify.) _______________________________________
32. Do you know if you are in an area that qualifies for the higher or tier I rates?
No, I don’t know.
Yes, I know that I am.
Yes, I know that I am not.
33. Did you receive training about the CACFP pilot?
___ No [Go to Question 34]
___ Yes
If yes, what kind of training did you receive? ____________________________
________________________________________________________________________
34. Do you have suggestions for better informing providers about the pilot?
___ No [Go to Question 35]
___ Yes (Check all that apply.)
Send out mailings to inform all providers.
Telephone all providers.
Visit all providers.
Other (Please specify.) ____________________________________
35. In your opinion, what can the State do to increase the number of family day care homes participating in the CACFP in your area? (Circle all that apply.)
Send out information to all potentially eligible households.
Advertise in local media.
Recruit via sponsors.
Recruit via schools/churches/community groups.
Nothing. There are enough family day care homes in my area already.
Other (Please specify.)___________________________________________
36. In your opinion, what can sponsors do to increase the number of family day care homes participating in the CACFP in your area? (Circle all that apply.)
Send out information to all potentially eligible households.
Advertise in local media.
Recruit via providers.
Recruit via schools/churches/community groups.
Increase the number of children that day care providers are allowed to care for.
Other _______________________________________________________
37. After the pilot ends at the beginning of October 2007, reimbursements for some providers are likely to be reduced to their levels before the pilot. If your CACFP reimbursements are lowered beginning this fall, do you plan to continue offering day care services to children?
Yes [Go to Question 38]
Don’t know [Go to Question 38]
No
If no, why not? (Circle all that apply then skip to Ending.)
Plan to retire.
Going into other type of work.
Participant children aging out.
I no longer want to do the administrative work necessary.
I cannot increase my rates without losing my parents.
I would be losing money.
Other (Please specify.)________________________________________
38. If you do continue to provide day care, will you continue to participate in the CACFP as well?
Yes
Don’t know
No
If no or don’t know, why? (Circle all that apply.)
I no longer want to do the administrative work necessary.
I cannot increase my rates without losing my parents.
I would be losing money.
Other (Please specify.)________________________________________
Ending: Thank you, again, for your time and consideration.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | Appendix 3: Provider Survey |
| Author | netteluser |
| Last Modified By | Administrator |
| File Modified | 2007-05-10 |
| File Created | 2007-05-10 |