The Role of Licensing in Early Care and Education: Licensed Providers

Overview

Child Trends, funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will collect descriptive information for The Role of Licensing in Early Care and Education (TRLECE): Licensed Child Care Providers project. The goal of this information collection is to deepen the field's understanding of child care and early education licensing systems, which play a critical role in supporting positive outcomes for providers, families, and children. The investigators will conduct one round of survey data collection with a nationwide survey of licensed child care providers from all states.

This study aims to advance understanding of the landscape of child care and early education licensing systems. State/territory child care and early education licensing agencies establish and monitor regulations that child care programs serving young children must meet to operate legally. These regulations and monitoring practices play a large role in the operations of child care programs but have received relatively little research attention. The field has limited information about features of state/territory licensing units and limited information about child care and early education providers' experiences and perceptions of licensing (i.e., there are a few findings from individual states but no national survey). Ultimately, TRLECE: Licensed Child Care Providers findings can inform changes to licensing policies and practices in the child care and early education field, guidance and technical assistance to state leaders, and future research. The investigators will gather information for this descriptive study through a survey of licensed child care provider. This survey is designed to collect information about licensed child care and early education providers' experiences with child care licensing, including regulations and inspections; perceptions of the burden, value, and fairness of the licensing system; and perceived strengths of and challenges with the licensing system. The investigators intend to invite a stratified random sample of directors of center-based programs and family child care providers from all 50 states and the DC to participate and will aim to have 1,000 participants from each group.