Design Phase of the National Study of Child Care Supply and Demand (NSCCSD): Feasibility Test Report

Publication Date: January 15, 2009
Current as of:

Introduction

This report describes the feasibility test conducted for the Design Phase of the National Study of Child Care Supply and Demand (NSCCSD) and articulates implications from that test for the NSCCSD main study. The purpose of the feasibility test was to inform the implementation of the National Study of Child Care Supply and Demand with design options to match research goals and budget constraints. The NSCCSD design includes three survey instruments: parent/household (demand), center‐based provider (supply), and home‐based provider (supply). A significant advantage of the NSCCSD over recent studies is the dual emphasis on both the supply and demand sides of the market. The two have not been studied together in a nationally representative study in two decades. In fact, a comprehensive nationally representative supply‐side profile has not been constructed since that time. In addition to replicating the breadth of the supply‐side profile from the 1989‐1990 studies, the NSCCSD design aspires to include the family, friend, and neighbor sector of providers, which would be a significant expansion over the previous design. Also on the supply‐side, the previous studies included only providers that served pre‐school (and possibly other) children. The current proposal for the NSCCSD includes school‐age‐only programs and other providers that serve the under‐13 age group, whether or not these programs and providers offer preschool services.