One parent raises the question of whether there are commented that they did not think the topic of opportunities for a child to remain in the same keeping a child in the same program “really comes ECE program during transitions to provide some up because they’re so desperate to find homes for continuity of care. [...] One private child who stayed in the program after being center-based director remarked, “The foster reunified, describing the situation as positive parent gets notified the night before or and the child “gravitated to the mom very well.” sometimes the day of.” Another said, “We’ve had foster parents drop a child off in the morning A couple of resource parents noted that there and DHS pick them up. [...] Because I don’t want anybody to get hurt.” In It’s not fair of us to ask our teachers to deal with addition, another resource parent remarked that that level of bullying and aggressiveness.” the lack of this type of expertise among staff led Referring to the need for trauma-informed to significant challenges in that “our foster child training to better support children, a center- is being extremel. [...] format to resource parents searching for • Develop resources for resource parents and licensed child care providers that meet the ECE programs that explain exceptions to criteria for serving children in foster care and voucher attendance rules and specify who in that have openings. [...] Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.
Authors
Kirby Chow, Sheila Smith, Nancy Perez, Maribel Granja, Todd Grindal, and Nicola Conners Edge
- Pages
- 19
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- Improving Participation in High-Quality Early Care and Education for Young Arkansas Children: Perspectives of Resource Parents and Early Childhood Educators 1
- STUDY PURPOSE 1
- Key Findings 1
- FINDING 1: CHILD CARE IS A MUST-HAVE, NOT A NICE-TO-HAVE, FOR MOST RESOURCE PARENTS 2
- Child care availability affects resource parents’ ability to accept new children in foster care 2
- ECE programs provide children in foster care with important support for their development 2
- Some resource parents praised ECE programs for supporting their children’s development 3
- FINDING 2: RESOURCE PARENTS STRUGGLE TO FIND CHILD CARE ON THEIR OWN 4
- Social media is a key source of information 4
- Many resource parents lean on faith-based communities for support 4
- Caseworkers provide varying degrees of assistance 5
- Some experienced resource parents rely on connections with ECE programs 5
- FINDING 3: PROVIDING CONTINUITY OF CHILD CARE DURING TRANSITIONS TO NEW LIVING ARRANGEMENTS IS CHALLENGING 6
- FINDING 4: USING AND ACCEPTING VOUCHERS IS CHALLENGING FOR RESOURCE PARENTS AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS 8
- Resource parents express concern about finding quality programs that accept vouchers 8
- Some ECE providers may hesitate to accept vouchers because of misunderstanding DHS regulations 8
- Delayed voucher payments create stress and challenges for resource parents and ECE programs 9
- Attendance policies associated with vouchers are challenging for resource parents and have financial implications for ECE providers 10
- FINDING 5: PROVIDING EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION TO CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE REQUIRES SPECIALIZED SKILLS AND DEEP COMMITMENT 11
- Some ECE providers’ commitment to serve children in foster care is rooted in their personal connections to the foster care system 11
- Many ECE providers see children in foster care as having special needs and concerning behavior 11
- Serving children in foster care can require specific expertise 12
- While professional development and supports help ECE programs meet the needs of children in foster care, satisfaction with these supports varies 12
- Some ECE program directors and home-based providers want additional support and training to enhance their ability to meet the needs of children in foster care 14
- IMPLICATIONS FOR IMPROVING ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY CARE 15
- Possible strategies to address Findings 1 and 2: Child care is a must-have, but resource parents struggle to find child care on their own 15
- Possible strategy to address Finding 3: Continuity of care during transitions to new living arrangements is challenging 15
- Possible strategies to address Finding 4: Using and accepting vouchers is a challenge 15
- Possible strategies to address Finding 5: Providing ECE to children in foster care requires specialized skills and deep commitment 16
- CONCLUSION 16
- REFERENCES 17
- APPENDIX A: STUDY METHODS 18
