Final - Appendix E_CCRandR Administrators Interview Protocol

Appendix E: Child Care Resource and Referral Centers (CCR&R) Interview Protocol

Introductory Script

I am ______________ and this is ______________from Child Trends. Child Trends is a non-profit research organization. We have been contracted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct a research study to understand the child care needs and preferences of families living in public housing developments. As the [Position Name] of [Agency/Organization/Program Name], we’d like to talk to you about ways to support families with young children experiencing housing instability and any barriers to supporting families experiencing housing instability from the ECE perspective. We expect that our conversation today will last about 45 minutes.

All of your responses and comments today will be kept confidential and will not be connected to your name in the products that we create as part of this project. If we include any quotes from interviews, we will make sure that any potentially identifiable information is removed. There is one exception to confidentiality we need to make you aware of. In research studies, it is our ethical responsibility to ensure everyone is safe. This means we are responsible for reporting current or previous situations where a child might have been seriously harmed by an adult; specifically: of child physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, child neglect, or any life-threatening situation to appropriate authorities. Also, if we are concerned that anyone is at risk of harming themselves, we will want to connect you to supports to keep everyone safe. However, we are not seeking this type of information in our study nor will you be asked questions about these issues directly.

To keep track of everything that is being discussed today, we would like to record the conversation. The purpose of recording is to make sure that we are correctly capturing your responses in our notes. The recording and written notes from this interview will be kept on a secure server at Child Trends and no one outside of the research team will be able to access them. We will delete the recording once the notes are complete.

Would like to participate in today’s interview?

Yes/No

Are you comfortable with us recording this interview today?

Yes/No

As we stated before, there are no “right” or “wrong” answers to any of our questions—we are simply interested in hearing about your experiences. If you feel uncomfortable answering a question, just let me know and we can skip it and move to the next one. Please note that participating in this interview is completely voluntary. You may request to stop the interview at any time.

As a reminder, you will receive a gift card to thank you for your time today. We will share more details about the receipt of the gift card at the end of the interview.

Do you have any questions before we get started?

Let’s begin.

1. Background Information

[10 minutes]

First I’d like to learn a bit more about the families your center supports.

1. Can you tell us a bit about how your center supports families in accessing child care?

2. Does your center track any information about the housing needs of families you support?

   1. If you do collect this information, how do you use it?

      1. PROBE:

         1. Do you share with other organizations or agencies? Do you use it to target services or supports to families?

3. Does your center track any information about the housing status of families you support?

   1. PROBES:

      1. Families living in public housing

      2. Families residing in shelter/experiencing homelessness

      3. Families receiving rental assistance

      4. Families experiencing housing instability

   2. If you do collect this information, how do you use it?

   3. Do you share with other organizations or agencies?

   4. Do you use it to target services or supports to families?

Transition: Next we’d like to learn more about families’ needs in your community.

2. Family Needs

[15 minutes]

4. Can you share an example of how you might learn about the child care needs of families and children you support at the CCR&R?

5. What are the biggest child care needs of families in [name of county]?

   1. Do these needs vary based on families’ housing status? Please note that I imagine this is not about whether a family rents or owns. It’s about whether they live in public housing, receive subsidies, or experience housing instability or homelessness.

6. From your point of view, what are the biggest barriers to meeting the child care needs of parents [in name of county]?

   1. PROBES:

      1. Lack of child care slots

      2. Lack of subsidized child care slots

      3. Lack of high-quality child care

      4. Lack of transportation

      5. Child care cost

      6. Need for care across age-groups (e.g., siblings all in one place)

      7. Child care characteristics (non-traditional hours--evening or weekend hours; flexible scheduling to accommodate changing work hours; care for children with special needs; summer care; home visiting)

   2. Do these needs vary based on families’ housing status?

7. Does your agency/program have a relationship with any local public housing programs or other partnerships?

   1. What does this relationship look like?

      1. PROBES:

         1. Is this a strong relationship?

         2. Do you provide any referrals to their program and vice versa?

         3. Do any of these programs hold slots for the families with young children you serve?

   2. How do you communicate/collaborate with these local public housing programs?

8. What types of support, if any, does your program offer families any support in determining whether they are eligible for and/or processes for filing for:

   1. The Child and Dependent Care Credit?

   2. The Child Tax Credit?

   3. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Transition: Our next set of questions will focus on co-located child care programs.

3. Co-located care

[15 minutes]

9. Are you aware of any ECE programs that are co-located with housing programs, or within housing developments? Can you tell us a bit more about th(is)(ese) program(s)?

   1. What are/is the name of the(se) program(s)?

   2. Who operates th(is)(ese) program(s)?

   3. What is the demand for these programs?

   4. Do they accept child care subsidies?

   5. Do they offer preferential spots for families with certain housing statuses?

   6. Are they licensed?

10. Are you aware of any ECE programs that are co-located with other community services? Can you tell us a bit more about th(is)(ese) program(s)?

    1. What are/is the name of the(se) program(s)?

    2. Who operates th(is)(ese) program(s)?

    3. What is the demand for these programs?

    4. Do they accept child care subsidies?

    5. Are they licensed?

11. What do you see as the biggest benefits of having co-located child care and housing programs?

12. What do you see as the biggest challenge of having co-located child care and housing programs?

Transition: We have just one more question for you.

4. Closing Thoughts

[5 minutes]

13. Is there anything else you think would be helpful for us to know about co-located child care programs in [community name]?

Closing script: Thank you for your time. If for any reason we need additional clarification about anything that was said is it okay if we follow up with you? You should also feel free to reach out to us if there’s anything you remember that you’d like to share.

4