DEVELOPING A RESEARCH PLAN TO MEASURE THE EFFECTS OF A FAMILY, FRIEND, AND NEIGHBOR TRAINING POLICY ON CHILD OUTCOMES

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In line with the goals of the CCDBG Act of 2014 to enhance the quality of childcare for low-income children, the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services Child Care and Development Program enacted a policy on March 1, 2016 to require specific training for Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) providers. Non-licensed providers must take 30 hours of health and safety training pre-service or during an orientation period of 90 days and then 24 hours of training annually thereafter. It is expected that the implementation of this new policy will improve the quality of care received by children who access informal care through FFN providers. The goal of the Phase I planning grant is to develop a rigorous evaluation of the implementation of this new policy that could be carried out during Phase II. By increasing health and safety and early education and childcare training for FFN providers through this new policy, it is expected that the quality of care received by children from FFN providers will increase. During Phase I, the lead agency will work with stakeholders and researchers to determine how to measure the effects of the new FFN training policy on child outcomes. Through this process, it is also expected that the lead agency will outline processes for data collection, analysis and data sharing, expand partnerships, and better utilize data to educate stakeholders and State leaders and inform decision-making processes. The existing Quality Rating and Improvement System in Nevada, Silver State Stars QRIS, assesses and promotes quality in formal early childhood care settings including child care centers, family care centers, and school district pre-kindergarten programs. An outcome study is currently being conducted in the State in which the outcomes of children that attend high quality rated childcare centers are being compared to the outcomes of children that attend low quality rated childcare centers. Centers are identified as being high or low quality based on their QRIS star rating. Lessons learned during the current outcome study will be reviewed during Phase I and will help inform the research design for the proposed project. Additional considerations that will be examined during Phase I planning include: operationally defining the variables of interest for the outcome study, selecting appropriate valid and reliable outcome measurement assessments, and evaluating data system needs and improving data infrastructure.