Interviews with CCDF State Administrators and HSCO Directors (Appendix F)

Appendix F: Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) State Administrators and Head Start Collaboration Office (HSCO) Directors 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/providers your agency/program serves.

1. Can you tell us a bit about how your [program/agency] supports families in accessing child care?

2. Does your [program/agency] track any information about the housing needs of families you support?

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

   2. Do you share with other organizations or agencies?

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

3. Does your [program/agency] 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?

4. Are you aware of any ECE programs that are co-located with housing programs, or within housing developments in your state?

5. Are you aware of any ECE programs that are co-located with other community services in your state?

Transition: Next we’d like to learn more about co-located programs. We are specifically interested in learning more about policies that may effect the co-location of housing and ECE programs – including how policies facilitate or hinder co-location efforts.

2. Co-location Facilitators & Barriers

[25 minutes]

Questions for Licensing/QRIS Administrators

6. What is the typical process for ECE providers interested in obtaining [a license/quality rating]?

   1. How long does this process take?

      1. What sort of resources do programs need to accomplish this process?

   2. How often does it need to be renewed?

      1. What resources do programs need to accomplish renewal?

   3. If you had to estimate, what percent of child care providers (i.e., center-based programs and home based or family child care) in [state] are [licensed/quality rated]?

7. What types of ECE programs are most likely to be [licensed/quality rated]?

   1. PROBES:

      1. Child care centers

      2. Home-based or family child care

      3. Head Start

      4. Pre-K

8. Are there any programs that would be exempt from [licensure/quality ratings]?

   1. Why might a program be exempt?

9. What are the benefits of an ECE program being [licensed/quality rated] in your state?

   1. Are there any drawbacks or challenges?

10. Does [state] offer interested providers any support to help them obtain a [license/quality rating]?

    1. If yes, please describe the support/resources offered.

11. What challenges or barriers do providers experience when applying for [license/quality rating]?

    1. To your knowledge, what state and/or local policies may prevent providers from seeking [licensure/rating]?

12. [If respondent indicates they are aware of co-located programs] Are there any particular challenges co-located child care programs might experience when seeking and retaining [licensure/quality rating]?

    1. PROBE:

       1. Is it challenging to receive a [license/rating] in buildings that share space with other programs?

13. Are families living in public housing developments aware of [licensure/quality rating]?

    1. How can these families learn more about [licensing/quality ratings]?

Questions for CCDF State Administrator/HS Collaboration Office Directors

14. What processes do child care providers interested in [accepting subsidies/receiving Head Start funding] have to follow in order to receive this funding?

15. Do providers face any challenges in completing th(is)(ese) process(es)?

    1. What are the most common challenges?

16. Does [state] offer programs any support in completing th(is)(ese) process(es)?

    1. What resources does [state] provide?

17. If you had to estimate, what percent of providers in [state] [accept child care subsidies/receive Head Start funding]?

    1. What percent of eligible families [receive subsidies/enrolled in HS] in [state]?

    2. How long are waitlists in [state]?

18. What are the benefits of a program [being able to accept subsidies/receive Head Start funding]?

19. What might prevent a program from wanting to [accept child care subsidies/receive Head Start funding]?

    1. Are there any drawbacks or challenges?

20. How do families learn about [child care subsidies/Head Start programs] in [state]?

    1. Do(es) [your child care subsidy system/Head Start programs] in [state] prioritize any particular populations for services?

21. Are families living in public housing developments aware of [child care assistance/Head Start]?

22. How can families living in public housing learn more about [child care assistance/Head Start]?

    1. PROBE:

       1. Do you have any consumer education materials specifically designed for families receiving housing assistance or living in public housing?

    2. How can families living in public housing [apply for assistance or find Head Start programs]?

Transition: We have just one more question for you in closing.

3. Closing Thoughts

[5 minutes]

23. Is there anything else you think would be helpful for us to know about accessing child care for families living in public housing in your state?

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.

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