The HBCC P&E study seeks to learn about the strengths of home-based child care and to highlight the voices of people who care for the children of their family, friends, and neighbors. The study is focusing on the experiences of people who take care of children and who are not currently licensed, registered, or certified by their state. The study will help researchers, policymakers, and program administrators to better understand these experiences taking care of children and helping out families. It will also help public programs offer better resources for people who take care of children.
A short phone call to confirm you are eligible for the study and interested in participating
Two one-on-one interviews over the phone or Zoom: one at the start and one at the end of your time in the study
Short journal entries using photographs and audio recordings to share your experiences and ideas about caring for children
Two months total from start to finish
All activities scheduled around your availability and done from your home, with no in-person participation
Researchers from Mathematica and Erikson Institute are conducting the study on behalf of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Participation in the study is completely voluntary. If you have any questions or would like more information about participating in the study, please contact [trusted partner name] at [phone] or [email] or [site lead name] from the study team at [phone] or [email].
For more information about the larger project that this study is a part of, you can visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/home-based-child-care-supply-and-quality-2019-2024
The HBCC P&E study seeks to learn about the strengths of home-based child care and to highlight the voices of people who care for the children of their family, friends, and neighbors. The study is focusing on the experiences of people who take care of children and who are not currently licensed, registered, or certified by their state.
Home-based child care is care for children by someone who is not a parent or custodial caregiver of the child and that takes place in the home of the provider (who may also be called a child care provider, caregiver, babysitter, or something else) or the home of the child.
Millions of families rely on the care you and others like you offer children. Yet researchers and policymakers have not paid enough attention to home-based child care, especially care offered by relatives, friends, and neighbors. We hope the study will increase understanding about the important work that people like you do and the ways you support children and families.
Are you at least 18 years old?
Do you take care of other people’s children in your own home?
Do you spend at least 15 hours a week taking care of children?
We are looking for people who are caring for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or elementary school-age children—anyone age 12 or under, although we prefer to talk to people who care for at least one child from birth to age 5.
First, we’ll have a short phone call to tell you more about the study, answer any questions you have, and confirm you are eligible for the study and interested in participating. If you are, we’ll conduct a 90-minute one-on-one interview with you, ask you to use photos and audio recordings to journal your experiences and ideas about caring for children for about a month, and then conduct a final, 90-minute interview with you. We will also invite you to participate in a 1-hour focus group so we can ask you for your feedback on our preliminary findings. This focus group will take place after your participation in the other study activities and is completely optional.
We will speak to people who take care of children across the country. In addition to your participation, we are interested in hearing from families that rely on you and people who give you information and support, who we are calling community members. We’ll ask you to help us arrange interviews with family members of up to two of the children you care for and someone in your community who you feel helps or supports you around your taking care of children.
The study will start during [Month] 2023. We expect that your study activities will take place over two months. We’ll schedule all phone calls and interviews during hours and days that are convenient for you, including evenings and/or weekends. All study activities will be done at your convenience, from your home with no in-person participation.
Receive up to $250 in gift cards for participating in all study activities as a thank you for your participation
Help researchers, policymakers, and program administrators to better understand your experiences taking care of children and helping out families
Help public programs offer better resources for people who take care of children
Researchers from Mathematica and Erikson Institute are conducting the study on behalf of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Mathematica and Erikson Institute are committed to protecting the privacy of everyone who contributes to this study. We will not identify you in any reports, presentations, or publications without your explicit permission. While the family and community members you connect us with will know you are participating in this study, we will not tell them—or anyone else outside the study team—anything you share with us in the study activities.
Participation in the study is completely voluntary. If you have any questions or would like more information about participating in the study, please contact [trusted partner name] at [phone] or [email] or [site lead name] from the study team at [phone] or [email].
For more information about the larger project that this study is a part of, you can visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/home-based-child-care-supply-and-quality-2019-2024.
The HBCC P&E study seeks to learn about the strengths of home-based child care and to highlight the voices of people who care for the children of their family, friends, and neighbors. The study will help researchers, policymakers, and program administrators more fully understand the important work that people like your child(ren)’s provider do and the ways they support children and families. It will also help public programs offer better resources for people who take care of children and for the children and families who use home-based child care.
We want to hear from parents or guardians of children who are cared for by their family, friends, and neighbors in order to understand what is important to parents about their children’s experiences in care. Your ideas and opinions about what is important for your child’s care will help us understand the types of resources and supports that could benefit child care providers.
Participate in a one-on-one interview over the phone that will take an hour. Everything we discuss in the interview will be private and will not be shared with the person who cares for your child(ren).
The interview will be scheduled for a date and time that is convenient for you, including evenings and/or weekends.
Researchers from Mathematica and Erikson Institute are conducting the study on behalf of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Participation in the study is completely voluntary. If you have any questions or would like more information about the study, please talk with your child’s provider or [site lead name] from the study team at [phone] or [email].
For more information about the larger project that this study is a part of, you can visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/home-based-child-care-supply-and-quality-2019-2024
The HBCC P&E study seeks to learn about the strengths of home-based child care and to highlight the voices of people who care for the children of their family, friends, and neighbors. The study will help researchers, policymakers, and program administrators more fully understand the important work that people who care for children in their homes do and the ways they support children and families. It will also help public programs offer better resources for people who take care of children and for the children and families who use home-based child care.
We want to hear from people, who we are calling community members, who give information and support (formal or informal) to providers who care for children. Your experiences will help us understand the types of resources and supports that could benefit child care providers.
Participate in a one-on-one interview over the phone that will take a half hour. Everything we discuss in the interview will be private and will not be shared with the provider you support.
The interview will be scheduled for a date and time that is convenient for you, including evenings and/or weekends.
Researchers from Mathematica and Erikson Institute are conducting the study on behalf of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Participation in the study is completely voluntary. If you have any questions or would like more information about the study, please talk with the provider who told you about this study or [site lead name] from the study team at [phone] or [email].
For more information about the larger project that this study is a part of, you can visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/home-based-child-care-supply-and-quality-2019-2024
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Ragonese-Barnes, Marina |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-12-15 |