Information to Inform the Office of Child Care about Implementation of Child Care American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds

Child Care Supplemental Grants: Interview Guide

The Office of Child Care (OCC) holds monthly meetings with Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agency administrators to provide ongoing technical assistance (TA) and support. To learn more about the success stories, challenges and additional TA needs for the recent child care funds that were part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), OCC would like to conduct structured interviews during these meetings for the next six months. OCC will use information collected during these interviews to inform technical assistance and support opportunities for CCDF Lead Agencies.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: The purpose of this information collection is to help the Office of Child Care (OCC) identify the technical assistance needs to support the implementation of the child care stabilization grants. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 minutes per grantee response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. These questions will be asked at monthly meetings over a 6-month period, so the total estimated time per grantee is 2 hours. This is a voluntary collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB # is 0970-0531 and the expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Dawn Ramsburg, Office of Child Care by email at [email protected].   

We would like to ask you a series of questions about how your state has used ARP supplemental funding or how your state plans to use the funding.

For first interview:

1. Please describe how your state is using ARP supplemental funds currently to support providers, children, and families.

2. Please describe how your state is planning to use ARP supplemental funds in the future to support providers, children, and families.

What is your state’s timeline?

Notes:

As you are taking notes on their open-ended responses, check the boxes in the table below and follow up as needed.

For example, “You said you were using ARP funds to increase provider payment rates, is that change temporary?” If yes, for what time period? Are you using ARP supplemental funding or another funding sources?

□ Increase provider payment rates? □ Improve payment practices? Notes: Probes: □ Paying enrollment? □ Paying prospectively?	□ Increase compensation, including wages or benefits of cc staff? □ Family child care providers? Notes: Probes: □ Bonuses? For how many staff, or number expected? Wage ladder? □ Professional development? □ Scholarships? For how many staff, or number expected?	□ Build supply underserved populations? □ Nontraditional hours? □ Infant/toddler? □ Rural? Notes: Probes: □ Grants or contracts? □ Child care networks? □ Start-up grants/contracts? □ Bonuses for underserved areas? □ Helping unlicensed become licensed?	□ Provide direct service to children? □ Reduce/waive copayments for some families? Notes: Probes: □ Expanding eligibility or serving the same families served under existing CCDF eligibility? □ How many more children are served, or are expected to be served? □ Have caseloads increased? □ Which families and how many have reduced/waived copayment, or are expected to? □ Is state covering copayment through payment rate increases?
□ Are you using ARP supplemental funds? How much is set aside for this activity? □ CRRSA? □ Other funding source________? Started spending? How much? as of when? □ Are the changes temporary? For what period of time:_________	□ Are you using ARP supplemental funds? How much is set aside for this activity? □ CRRSA? □ Other funding source________? Started spending? How much, as of when? □ Are the changes temporary? For what period of time:_________	□ Are you using ARP supplemental funds? How much is set aside for this activity? □ CRRSA? □ Other funding source________? Started spending? How much, as of when? □ Are the changes temporary? For what period of time:_________	□ Are you using ARP supplemental funds? How much is set aside for this activity? □ CRRSA? □ Other funding source________? Started spending? How much, as of when? □ Are the changes temporary? For what period of time:_________

3. Is there anything else are you doing or hoping to see happen with ARP Supplemental that we haven’t covered?

Probes: Has your state used funds or plans to use funds to upgrade its data system to increase operational capacity?

4. What are the challenges or roadblocks you are experiencing spending ARP supplemental funds?

   1. (If mentioned) You mentioned legislative challenges, can you tell me a little more about that? What is the legislative schedule?

5. Is there anything else needed to move forward with the supplemental funding?

For second through sixth interview:

1. Last month you shared that your state was doing [fill in with previous answers] with your ARP funding.

Has anything changed in how your state is using ARP supplemental funds and how your state is planning to use funds to support providers, children, and families since we talked last month?

Notes:

As you are taking notes on their open-ended responses, check the boxes in the table below and follow up as needed.

For example, “You said you were using ARP funds to increase provider payment rates, is that change temporary?” If yes, for what time period? Are you using ARP supplemental funding or another funding sources?

□ Increase provider payment rates? □ Improve payment practices? Notes: Probes: □ Paying enrollment? □ Paying prospectively?	□ Increase compensation, including wages or benefits of cc staff? (e.g., PTO, health benefits, retirement benefits) □ Family child care providers? Notes: Probes: Bonuses? For how many staff, or is expected? □ Wage ladder? □ Professional development? □ Scholarships? For how many staff, or is expected? Loan repayment?	□ Build supply underserved populations? □ Nontraditional hours? □ Infant/toddler? □ Rural? Notes: Probes: □ Grants or contracts? □ Child care networks? □ Start-up grants/contracts? □ Bonuses for underserved areas? □ Helping unlicensed become licensed?	□ Provide direct service to children? □ Reduce/waive copayments for some families? Notes: Probes: □ Expanding eligibility or serving the same families served under existing CCDF eligibility? □ How many more children are served, or are expected to be served? □ Have caseloads increased? □ Which families, and how many, have reduced/waived copayment, or are expected to? □ Is state covering copayment through payment rate increases?
□ Are you using ARP supplemental funds? How much is set aside for this activity? □ CRRSA? □ Other funding source________? Started spending? How much, as of when? □ Are the changes temporary? For what period of time:_________ How many children have been impacted, as of when? How many providers have been impacted, as of when? If increasing provider payment rates: What were payment rates previously and by how much are they increasing?	□ Are you using ARP supplemental funds? How much is set aside for this activity? □ CRRSA? □ Other funding source________? Started spending? How much, as of when? □ Are the changes temporary? For what period of time:_________ How many staff have been impacted, as of when? How many providers have been impacted, as of when?	□ Are you using ARP supplemental funds? How much is set aside for this activity? □ CRRSA? □ Other funding source________? Started spending? How much, as of when? □ Are the changes temporary? For what period of time:_________ How many children have been impacted, as of when? How many staff have been impacted, as of when? How many providers have been impacted, as of when?	□ Are you using ARP supplemental funds? How much is set aside for this activity? □ CRRSA? □ Other funding source________? Started spending? How much, as of when? □ Are the changes temporary? For what period of time:_________ How many children have been impacted, as of when?

2. Is there anything else are you doing or hoping to see happen with ARP Supplemental that we haven’t covered?

Probes: Has your state used funds or plans to use funds to upgrade its data system to increase operational capacity?

3. What are the challenges or roadblocks you are experiencing spending ARP supplemental funds?

   1. (If mentioned) You mentioned legislative challenges, can you tell me a little more about that? What is the legislative schedule?

4. Is there anything else needed to move forward with the supplemental funding?

5. Has the number of children served by your CCDF program returned to pre-pandemic levels?

1. If not, do you have any insights as to why?

2. How has ARP Supplemental or Stabilization impacted the number of children served?

3. How has ARP Supplemental or Stabilization impacted the supply of providers?

6. Do you have any other information on impacts of stabilization or supplemental spending, on children, families, or the workforce? If so, what impacts have you seen?