Child Care and Development Fund, Report to Congress for Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003
Child Care Bureau Research Grants: FY 2003
In FY 2003, CCB awarded $187,829 for six new Child Care Research Scholars Grants. In addition, CCB awarded $3.5 million for three new cooperative agreements in partnership with Federal partners. These new projects are summarized below. In addition to these projects, CCB also continued funding for grant projects begun in prior years. These included 14 Field-Initiated Research Grants, 4 Child Care Research Partnerships, 4 Child Care Research Scholar Grants, and 6 State Data Capacity Grants.
Child Care Research Scholars Grants
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Columbia University, Teachers College: "Understanding State Early Childhood Education Policy Choices" ($30,000). This 2-year study tests the effects of all 50 States' political and economic contexts over the past decade on a range of State policy choices using time-series methodology. The findings from this study will provide insight into the strengths and limitations of Federal devolution, which will be directly applicable to Federal policy debates over the use of block grant programs to provide needed child care assistance for low-income families working toward economic self-sufficiency. Findings from this study are expected in 2005.
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University of Nebraska: "Learning Outcomes for Low-income Children: Child Care Quality and Social Knowledge" ($27,829). This study investigates the relationship between child care quality, children's social skills, and learning outcomes for low-income preschoolers. It examines whether observed classroom quality relates to children's social skills. It also investigates the relationship between social skills and learning outcomes. Findings from the study will inform child care providers and administrators about strategies to enhance children's development. The study will also inform policymakers interested in implementing cost-effective strategies that positively relate to low-income children's preacademic skills. This grant was completed in 2004.
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Cornell University, "Stress Reactivity and Immune Function in Preschoolers" ($30,000). This 2-year study examines the potential effects of elevated cortisol levels for children in child care. Cortisol is a stress-sensitive hormone that at times can suppress the immune system. Children who attend child care have more frequent upper respiratory infections. This project will examine the relationship between children's cortisol levels, caregiving quality, temperament, and immune function. Findings from this study could be used to help policymakers and parents plan for preventive health measures if their children are enrolled in child care. Findings from this study are expected in 2005.
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University of Washington, "Child Care Subsidies and Entry to Employment Following Childbirth" ($30,000). Women's employment following childbirth is influenced by the cost and quality of available child care arrangements. High costs and lower quality depress lower-skilled women's employment because they typically spend a large proportion of their earnings on child care. Child care subsidies may shorten the time between the birth of a child and the entry to employment among lower-skilled mothers. Using the Fragile Families and Well-Being Study's nationally representative data set and local policy indicators, this study tests the hypothesis that child care subsidies allow new mothers to enter the labor force sooner. Findings from this grant are expected in 2005.
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Florida State University, "Research on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers in Florida" ($30,000). This study examines professional development and articulation by examining the formal systems of early childhood education in Florida. The project will provide data about the number of programs and the kinds of coursework and practicum experiences provided to students. The researcher will compare the status of early childhood programs with the overall status of the institution on key variables and describe the challenges faced by faculty members in meeting the professional development needs of the early childhood workforce. This grant was completed in 2004.
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University of Pennsylvania, "Promoting Educational Well-Being of Young Children With Out-of-Home Placement Histories: The Protective Influence of Formal Early Childhood Learning Experiences" ($30,000). This study examines the prevalence of out-of-home placement experiences in a cohort of kindergarten children and how formal early childhood experiences contribute to resiliency for these children. This project provides an opportunity for dialogue between child welfare and education professionals to identify strategies to promote the educational well-being of children in the child welfare system. This can stimulate the creation of policies that support access to formal early childhood experiences for young children in foster care. This grant was completed in 2004.
Cooperative Agreements
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National Center on Children in Poverty (NCCP), "Early Child Care and Education Research Connections" ($1.5 million). This project is a collaborative partnership among CCB, ACF's Office of Policy and Research Evaluation, the National Center on Children in Poverty (Columbia University), and the Inter-University Consortium of Policy and Social Research at the University of Michigan. Research Connections is a Web-based, interactive database of research documents and public use data sets available for conducting secondary analyses on topics related to early care and education. Begun in FY 2000, the project completed its development phase in FY 2003. The Web site was publicly launched in FY 2004.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Georgetown University, Quality Interventions for Early Care and Education (QUINCE) ($2 million). These two cooperative agreements are collaborative partnerships among CCB, DHHS' Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and a consortium of seven academic institutions along with their partners in State and local agencies and community organizations. In FY 2003, QUINCE began its evaluation of promising models and delivery approaches for child care provider training. Outcomes will be assessed in terms of caregiver's knowledge, skills, and practices, as well as children's early learning and literacy.