A DUAL GENERATION APPROACH: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF THE CCDBG 12- MONTH ELIGIBILITY PERIOD ON CHILD CARE CONTINUITY AND PARENTAL EMPLOYMENT FOR FAMILIES RECEIVING WISCONSIN SHARES

作为管理儿童保育和发展基金（CCDF）的牵头机构，威斯康星州儿童和家庭部（DCF）每月通过威斯康星州共享儿童保育补贴方案向大约45 000个家庭提供儿童保育援助。2014年的儿童保育和发展整笔补助金法案（CCDBG）导致了重大的政策变化，包括为获得威斯康星州股份的家庭实施所需的12个月资格期。这个拟议的第一阶段项目的目的是制定一项研究和评估计划，以确定12个月的资格期如何影响获得和儿童保育的连续性，父母选择高质量的儿童保育，以及父母的就业趋势和结果接收威斯康星州股份的家庭。儿童发展基金会的优先事项之一是利用整个家庭或两代人的办法为家庭服务。该项目将采取双代的方法，制定一项研究计划，以更好地了解12个月资格期的实施如何影响接受威斯康星州股票的儿童及其父母。 第一阶段项目的目标是：1）对文献进行彻底审查，为我们的项目计划提供信息; 2）制定严格的研究和评估计划，以检查12个月资格变化对儿童保育的获得和连续性的影响;根据威斯康星州的YoungStar质量评级和改进系统（QRIS）对父母选择高质量儿童保育的影响;以及对父母就业的影响; 3）设计一个数据仓库，将现有数据系统的联合收割机行政数据结合起来，回答研究和评价计划的问题; 4）制定一项行动计划，加强发展合作论坛研究人员和决策者之间的合作，以提高研究成果在制定政策方面的效用。当第一阶段的目标完成后，DCF将有能力申请第二阶段的资金。如果获得资助，第二阶段项目的目标将是开展第一阶段的研究和评估项目，并利用其结果改善获得威斯康星州股份的家庭的成果。具体而言，研究结果将用于增加儿童护理的可及性和连续性，鼓励父母选择高质量的儿童护理，并通过DCF研究人员，DCF政策制定者和其他威斯康星州利益相关者之间的合作努力改善父母的就业成果。

As the Lead Agency for administration of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) provides child care assistance to approximately 45,000 families each month through the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program. The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 (CCDBG) has resulted in substantial policy changes, including implementation of the required 12-month eligibility period for families receiving Wisconsin Shares. The purpose of this proposed Phase I project is to develop a research and evaluation plan to determine how the 12-month eligibility period impacts access to and continuity of child care, parent selection of high-quality child care, and parental employment trends and outcomes for families receiving Wisconsin Shares. One of DCF’s priorities is to utilize a whole family, or dual generation, approach to serving families. This project will take a dual generation approach by developing a research plan to better understand how implementation of the 12-month eligibility period has impacted both children and their parents receiving Wisconsin Shares. The objectives of this Phase I project are to: 1) conduct a thorough review of the literature to inform our project plan; 2) develop a rigorous research and evaluation plan to examine the impact of the 12-month eligibility change on child care access and continuity; on parent selection of high-quality child care based on YoungStar, Wisconsin’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS); and on parent employment; 3) develop the design for a data warehouse that will combine administrative data from existing data systems to answer the research and evaluation plan questions; 4) develop an action plan to increase collaboration among researchers and policymakers at DCF to increase the utility of research results for informing policy. When the objectives of Phase I are complete, DCF will be well positioned to apply for Phase II funding. If funded, the goal of the Phase II project will be to carry out the research and evaluation project from Phase I and use the results to improve outcomes for families receiving Wisconsin Shares. Specifically, study results will be used to increase access and continuity of care for children, encourage parent selection of high-quality child care, and improve employment outcomes for parents through collaborative efforts among DCF researchers, DCF policymakers, and other Wisconsin stakeholders.