2019 - 2024
Funded in 2019, this 5-year project seeks to strengthen the field’s understanding of the role of the child care and early education (CCEE) licensing system. Features of CCEE licensing systems include, but are not limited to, establishing licensing standards, practices to monitor provider compliance, pre-service and ongoing health and safety training for CCEE providers, and training and management of licensing staff to perform roles related to monitoring and ensuring compliance. This project will:
- Identify and address gaps in knowledge about how key features of the CCEE licensing system are related to CCEE quality and outcomes for children, families, and key stakeholders (e.g., child care providers, licensing agencies, and state administrators) and
- Develop resources to support states and territories in evaluating and strengthening their licensing systems.
The team will begin its work by:
- Refining existing conceptual frameworks and developing a new conceptual framework for how licensing systems can support CCEE quality and key outcomes;
- Synthesizing existing information about CCEE licensing research, policies, and administrative practices and identify the most pressing research questions to address in the field;
- Interviewing State and Territory licensing administrators and staff to hear their perspectives and experiences with CCEE licensing, including their experiences dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Determining both the availability of existing data sources and the need for new data collection that may inform licensing-related decisions of States, Territories, and the Federal Government and
- Engaging stakeholders and experts to inform the project.
The team will analyze findings from the synthesis and needs assessment; discuss findings with stakeholders and experts; and, in collaboration with OPRE, identify gaps and priorities for future research.
Additional project activities include secondary analysis of data (e.g., national data sets, state licensing administrative data) and may include new data collection. The products resulting from this project will inform efforts by States, Territories, and the Federal Government in evaluating and strengthening CCEE licensing systems.
The task order was awarded to Child Trends, with a subcontract to ICF.
Point(s) of contact: Tracy Carter Clopet and Ivelisse Martinez-Beck