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CDSS-PACE
Child Care Planning Project

Findings from the
Child Care Providers Focus Groups

July 2002

INSTITUTE OF GOVEPNMENTAL
STUDIFS LIBRARY

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Policy Analysis for California Education
University of California, Berkeley

 

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WORKING PAPER SERIES 02-1

CDSS-PACE
Child care Planning Project

Findings from the
Child Care Providers Focus Groups

July 2002

Diane Hirshberg

Policy Analysis for

' i: California Education

 

 

Acknowledgments

The research on which this paper is based would not have been possible without the assistance
of many individuals. First, three resource & referral agencies organized and hosted focus groups for
us: Crystal Stairs in Los Angeles County, 4Cs in Alameda County, and Community Connection for
Child Care in Kern County. Thank you to all who helped in these agencies. Focus groups were con-
ducted by Africa Hands, Lynna Tsou and Laura Mayorga. Their hard work is much appreciated.

 

Table of Contents

 

 

 

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 1
Services Provided to Clients ...................................................................................................................... 3
Philosophy of Care and Related Issues ............................................................................................... 9
Operafionalmsues .......................................................................................................................................... 16
CaNVORKSlssues .............................................................................................................................................. 22
Sununary .............................................................................................................................................................. 30

Appendices .......................................................................................................................................................... 32

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

As part of the CDSS-PACE Child Care Planning Project, PACE set out to learn how
California’s child-care subsidy system and the CalWORKs program affects licensed and license—
exempt child—care providers. PACE also wanted to understand the day-to-day issues facing
providers as well as their opinions about the system within which they work. This report
represents the findings from this study, and hopefully offers some insight into the lives and
experiences of these crucial persons who care for the state’s young children.

During the spring and summer of 1999, and again during summer 2000, PACE conducted
five focus groups with child-care providers. Four were with licensed providers, and one was
with license-exempt providers, all of whom either were participating in a program to get licensed
or worked for that program (for a description of the participants, see Appendix A). One focus
group with licensed providers who speak English was conducted in Los Angeles County, and
another was held in Alameda County. The other three focus groups were run in Kern County.
One was with English-speaking, license-exempt providers, another with English-speaking
licensed providers, and the final was with Spanish-speaking licensed providers.

The timing of the focus groups is important; counties were still in the process of ramping
up their CalWORKs programs in 1999, and changes were still being made to the child-care
subsidy structures in 2000. For example, Los Angeles County began contracting with alternative
payment programs (APPS) for Stage 1 child care in 2000. In addition, it is important to note that
the child—care subsidy structures across the three counties are different. In Kern County, one
agency handles all three stages of CalWORKs as well as Alternative Payment Program (non-
CalWORKs) funding. In Los Angeles County, at the time these focus groups were conducted,

ten agencies handled Stage 2 and 3 subsidies and APP (non-CalWORKs) funding streams, and

were taking over Stage 1 care from the county social services department. In Alameda County,
two agencies administered Stage 1 funds, and seven administered Stage 2 and 3 funding as well
as the APP (non-CalWORKs) subsidies.

All of the focus group participants were asked a series of semi-stmctured, open-ended
questions on a wide range of topics (see Appendix B). The sessions were tape recorded,
transcribed, and then coded and analyzed for recurrent topics and themes. Because we have
strived to maintain the confidentiality of our data, we neither know who the participants are in
these groups, nor which participants made which comments. Thus we cannot make definitive
statements about the number of participants stating any one opinion, although we do try to reflect
when a majority of the providers share experiences or attitudes. None of their responses were
corrected. As this is a qualitative study with a small number of participants, we also are not
claiming that this work is representative of the child-care industry in California, or even within
each of the counties in which we worked. Rather this paper simply provides some insight into
the experiences, thoughts and beliefs of several groups of child-care providers across a broad
geographic swath of California.

This report is organized according to thematic topics. The topics reported both follow the
questions that were asked of providers (see Appendix B for a list of focus group questions) and
reflect the subjects that generated the most discussion in the focus groups. The first section is a
general overview of the kinds of services provided by the participants in these focus groups,
including whether or not they provide transportation, care to sick children and so forth. It is
followed by a description of providers’ philosophies of care, and then a description of the
operational issues they face. Finally, we present the providers’ descriptions of and their opinions

about and interactions with the CalWORKs child-care subsidy system.

Services provided to clients

Flexible hours

Across the focus groups, providers reported a wide variety of schedules of care. Many
were open roughly twelve hours a day, from 6 am to 6 pm. However, a number of providers
talked about providing care on a very flexible schedule, both in terms of the hours and the days
of the week that they cared for children. In all three counties there were FCCH providers who
were willing'to provide care 24 hours per day. In addition, many FCCHs offered care on
weekends or evenings. In addition, in Los Angeles one of the centers stayed open until 2 am to
accommodate staff at a nearby hospital, and another operated six days a week and was looking to
expand to 24-hour care.

While most providers were adamant that parents pick up children within agreed-upon
hours, they were open to changing their hours for parents who needed alternative schedules.

Some indicated that were doing this to help parents who had just returned to the workforce:

I start at 5:45 in the morning. My last one leaves anywhere from 7:30 to 7:40,
no I take that back, I’m sorry, my last one leaves, four days a week she gets off
at midnight. She worksfor the local Wal Mart store, so she’s at, they’re open 24
hours, so I have, I try to accommodate her hours so, yeah, it’s a new parent that
just went back to work, hadn’t been working in years and she went back to work
and has two children, one is seven and one is the four—month—old.

——Kern English-speaking licensed provider

Other providers talked of being flexible because they themselves had faced difficulty in
finding care at non-traditional hours:

And the reason why I 'm twenty—four hours is I work in a hospital because I do
that like part—time. Whenever I don’t have night kids, someone at night to take
care of, I work at night. I still have my nursing license. And I had the hardest
time trying to find somebody to watch my kids when I worked at night. It was

like nobody wanted to do nothing at night. So that’s why I take care of kids at

night. ”Kern County license-exempt provider

The Spanish-speaking providers in Kern County who serve migrant farm workers
described how they provide care on additional days when their clients are working in the fields.
In certain seasons they care for children Monday through Saturday instead of just five days a
week, as the harvest for grapes as well as other crops typically runs six days a week.

Providers also spoke about special arrangements they make with clients for overnight or
weekend care. For example, a couple of providers in Alameda County arranged for care swaps
with some of their clients, so that they could enjoy free babysitting on some weekend nights in

exchange for watching clients’ children other evenings.

Transportation

In all counties there were child-care providers who offered transportation services to their
clients. In Los Angeles, of the four centers participating in the focus groups only one didn’t
offer some sort of assistance. One ran a shuttle service, while the others had staff walk to local
schools to pick up children for after school care. Many of the FCCH providers said they did not
intend to transport children, but ended up doing so to accommodate the needs of parents. Among
the English-speaking licensed providers in Kern, four of the five offered some kind of

transportation, though only for certain parents or at an extra cost. As one put it,

The only difference that I see in it is that there are a lot of parents that are
willing to go to work and have, I ’11 say, average, three to four children, but they
don’t have transportation, and with the buses only running six days a week and
the hours of the bus only runs up to seven o’clock hour, there’s, you know, that’s
closing in on them as far as the hours that they can work. So a lot of them call
me that don’t have transportation and they ask me if I ’d provide only to a
certain extent. I don’t provide openly for transportation, you know, but, you
know, the way it boils down, you know, to the one parent is that, you know, she
had a great need and she called me and asked me, you know, she had been on

my waiting list from the time she got pregnant and she knew, had her mind up

that what she wanted to do was to go back to work and provide for, being a
single parent, provide for her two children, so she asked me, you know. during
the time that she did have a car, but you know, her car got disabled during the
time she was well on my waiting list, so then I just came, you know, stepped in
and helped her. So that’s why, what got me into providing the three dzflerent
parents with transportation. But I don’t go too far out of the area, you know,

can’t afiord that. —Kern English-speaking licensed provider
Both of the Spanish-speaking providers in Kern County picked up or dropped children

off at home or school:

...And also we get them in the morning. When the mother arrives and brings her
kids at 5 :30 in the morning, the nine-year—old also comes, the one that goes to
school. So from there, at 8:00, one has to take the kid to school and at 2 in the
afternoon, one has to pick up the kid because the mother doesn’t arrive until 3,

or 4, or 4:30. -—Kern Spanish—speakin g licensed provider

Alameda County providers were less likely than those in other counties to offer
transportation. However, these providers are in an area that is better served by public
transportation. In addition, fewer of them were offering care at non-traditional hours at the time

of the focus group. Still, one large FCCH did operate a van shuttle for its clients.

Providing food

In several groups, providers raised the topic of providing food to the children. Many of
the providers were concerned that the children they cared for did not get adequate food at home.
They talked about how the mothers they served were often too tired to serve proper meals to
their children and instead gave them cereal for dinner, and of how the children they cared for
often were hungry. While some of the providers participated in the state food program, or were
in the process of applying to it, others did not seem to be familiar with it, and talked about the

expense involved in preparing food, as well as the time. One provider talked about her cooking:

My group is good. The people, the mothers, they are happy with me. Even my
husband. Because I cook every day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. The food is
fresh, always. I don ’t like thefood canned. Forget it. For me, no good. Every
day. Sometimes, my husband tell me. “Oh, you ’re cooking a lot. It’s too

much. ” 0h, quiet. It’s my program. It’s very, very important for to get the
food. The vegetables and the fruit and balance.

—Los Angeles County licensed provider

Sick care

Providers were quite concerned about sick care issues. Some were able to set aside space
to care for sick children, but most had to set strict rules over when children were too ill to be in
their homes or centers.

For myfamily childcare, my policy is, if the child has a fever, the child must be
picked up by someone, either a family member or the mom to come and pick
them up. Even though I have space for that child to be there, but I don ’t want
the other children exposed. So I don’t have sick care. Sometimes, the parent
knows the child is sick and they bring them with a fever and that child gets
worse, so by the time they pick the child up I have to call parents. You’re
exposing—but that is the rule.

—Los Angeles County licensed provider

Many of the providers were willing to take mildly ill children, so long as they didn’t have
high fevers. In Alameda County four of the FCCH providers specifically said they would serve
mildly ill children, and one had a house with a separate room so that she could care for children
who were sick. Likewise, in Los Angeles all of the providers said they had language in their
contracts regarding parents not bringing in seriously ill children, e. g. those with a high fever, but
most were willing to keep mildly ill children. One specifically mentioned that she took in
chronically ill children, e.g., those with asthma who needed to be given medicine during the day.
Many of the providers mentioned that they understood the hardship parents faced when children

were sick and they could not miss work.

Yes, mildly ill. Runny noses, that’s kind of children ’s middle name, runny noses.
As long as they’re running around and they don’t have that gloppy, drunk or
drugged—GLAZED OVER? Yes, glazed over look. I bring them. in. If they
vomit at my house once, and they still look okay, I’ll call the parents. “Just
want to let you know that duh-duh-duh got ill...I’ll watch them. If they don’t do
it anymore, if they’re running around, it might ’ve just been sour stomach. If
they vomit again and they’re looking a little green, you’ll need to come pick
them up. ” I will take commute time into consideration. The same thing with
diarrhea. Same thing, yes. Well, if it ’s one bout, maybe it was just has or
maybe something they ate the night before or whatever. And, you know, I just
kind of like feel it out. I don’t, I...you bring your children to me to work for you.
It’s like a vicious circle. As long as you bring your children to work for me, you
can go on with your career. You’re making an income, you can pay me. This is
what I’m doing, this is my career. Do you understand what I ’m saying? So I’ll
keep the children for as long as I can. If they have a fever of 102 or more. I ’m.
going to call you and you need to come pick them up. They need to go to their
mommy. They really do. That’s where they want to go. They just want to go
home and they just want to be with their mommy.

——Alameda County licensed provider
For some of the providers, sick care was just one part of the medical service that they
helped provide to the children in their home. One described how she took children to doctors’

appointments in addition to taking care of ill children:

I have a big house. And like I said, I have three children, now I have three

empty rooms. So I have one room, it’s called the “sick room". It’s got a double
bed in it and it’s got a TV and toys that they usually don’t get to play with so it’s
difierent in that room. So I do take sick kids. I take kids to their orthodontists, I
take kids to the dentist, if it's during school time when I have no kids. And I take

kids to the doctor. ——Alameda County licensed provider

Special needs children
In response to questions about special needs children, the child care providers had very

different responses. Some, including both of the Spanish-speaking providers in Kern, felt that

they were not equipped to care for children with special needs. Others, like some in Alameda
County, really enjoyed caring for special needs children and were taking additional courses to
get more skills and certifications. Some providers worked with children who received special
services from local school districts or social services programs for children with disabilities, but
others did not seem to be connected with these services. The majority of licensed, English-
speaking providers in all three counties had served special needs children, and even one of the
license-exempt providers cared for children with disabilities. Many found that parents whose
children displayed difficult behaviors had not had their children tested, and some even brought in
school district testers themselves, as they could receive extra funding if the providers worked
with children whose disabilities were identified.

But the parents don ’t want to admit it, so it’s hard. I don’t have any—they will
pay you additional money if you have special needs children. But the parents,
they don’t want to admit it, so I’m sure that a lot of the providers here have the
children with the speech and different things, but the parents they don’t want to
admit it. And even asthmatic children, that’s a special needs child. But you
can’t get the parents really to sign and I don’t turn some of them away, because
you don’t know it in the beginning that they’re asthmatic and later on you find
out, so I don’t turn the child away.

———Los Angeles County licensed provider

Some providers complained of the lack of services for special needs children.

Beyond the expense, the problem is really with the system. There are afew
agencies that deal specifically with those type of children, but part of what those
children need if they’re not severe is a mainstreaming environment. But you
really have to fight with the powers that be to be compensated for that. You
know, if you ’re advocating a learning program. and you ’re trying to teach this
child that needs a one-on—one, well then you know, there goes your money.
Where are you going to get the resources for that?

——Los Angeles County licensed provider

PhIIOSOphV Of Care and Related ISSUES
Relationship with parents
Providers spoke about the kinds of relationships they had with the parents they served. In
all of the groups, providers spoke of having to set limits with the parents - not only having to
make sure that parents picked their children up on time and paid when they were supposed to,
but also having to discourage parents from staying after hours or relying on providers to do

things that the parents should have done, like bathe the children. One provider described this:

I’m very open. I am very blunt. I hide nothing. I expect my parents not to hide
anything because my main concern is not them, it is the kids because they when
they start bringing their child to my home, they become mine. We share this
baby. This is ours, as I love them just as much as I love my own child.

—Kern County English—speaking licensed provider

Teaching parents

Many of the providers talked about how they had to teach parents about rearing children.
They believed that the parents they served had not been taught themselves how to raise or
discipline children, nor in some instances even the basics of feeding and bathing the children
properly. As one provider put it:

You know, with me, um, I’m a mother and a grandmother, and I was a young
mother. And I see a lot of thing with young mothers as far as disciplining and
being consistent with their children, being nurturing with their children. That
the fact of it is, goes back to what I said before. The reason they don’t know
how to do it is because it wasn’t taught to them. Since they don’t know, they
can’t teach anyone else. They can ’t teach their child. So my job as a childcare
provider would not only be to instill discipline into the child, but to help that
parent understand more about how to parent, how to be consistent with certain
things because sometimes kids with behavioral problems, the parents don’t
understand that just because at home it’s okay to do this. Oh, you can say a bad
word, or it’s alright to throw stufir and all that kind of stufl at home, but then

when you get somewhere else, you’re like “Oh, no no no, be good Johnny”

So, teaching them how to be consistent, teaching them how to be nurturing. Yet
be consistent. They don’t understand that balance. And sometimes they don’t
understand the responsibility of parenting. They just want to say, “Well, he big
enough to go now. Let him go on. ” You know, but you have to train a child.

You have to teach a child. —Kern County license-exempt provider

Child rearing & teaching

Many of the child-care providers shared with us their ideas about how children should be
raised and cared for, and their participation in this effort. They took quite seriously their role in
raising children and assisting parents in their efforts to teach children:

I heard that they form. their personalities and their character between the ages
of one and three, and if they ’re with us nine, ten hours a day, their character is
gonna be formed from. how we act. And that’s why I would like to take, you
know, classes, on child development to know why a child behaves a certain way
because maybe they don’t need to be disciplined for that issue.

—Kern County English-speaking licensed provider

The license-exempt providers we spoke with were as interested in, and familiar with child
development theories as the licensed providers. They also were very cognizant of how big a part
they played in preparing children for school:

And that’s the reason why I want to get into it because you see the need so
much. Both parents are working. The kids are being at home by themselves, or
with somebody else that’s another kid or whatever. And a lot of the learning
things that they need to be taught, I don’t believe is happening. ...Then I think
about the fact that they will be shortly going into school, a school setting, a
social setting where they will not be able to achieve because they haven’t been
taught. And then that only smashed down their self-esteem because it’s so hard
for them to get up there where they’re, you know, where the other people that
have had that good input, that good one-to-one parenting or whatever. So, I just
feel like it’s kinda like a mission. It’s just so important. We have to take care of
our children because they’re our future. And right now, looking at a lot of
children, the fitture don’t look too bright.

—Kern County license-exempt provider

10

Many of the providers described having to impart basic life skills to children in place of

the parents, like potty training and hand washing. As one described it:

There are some kids, well, I have a two-and—a-half year old who uses diapers
and we take away the diapers and teach them. and we teach the other ones. We
teach the other ones how to go to the bathroom, how to eat, all that...Drawing,
so that they learn how to hold a pencil. But we teach them how to go to the
bathroom. If there are kids that don’t know how, we teach them. Even washing
their hands before eating because a lot of kids eat without washing their hands,
and some of them know that they need to wash their hands, butothetsdon’tlatow

—Kern County Spanish—speaking licensed provider

Some of the providers also spoke clearly of their love for working with children as both
the reason for being a child—care provider and also as prerequisite for the job:

That's why we took our classes, our study, to do this job, and because we like to
do it because we 've worked with children. I 've been working with children for
four years. I've worked with kids forfour years, but I work with childrenfrom
Delano. those type of children, and I’ve worked with them forfour years. And
one likes to take care of children not because anyone can do it, one has to like
what they're doingfrom the heart to take care of babies because it’s always
difi‘icult to take care of children, but you have to like children. One doesn ’t just
enter into this kind of work.

——Kern County Spanish-speaking licensed provider

Concern about the quality of care available to and chosen by parents

As providers talked about finding clients, they also discussed their concerns about how
their clients went about selecting child-care providers. Several felt that the parents they met did
not either take the time and care they should to find and choose providers, and also were
concerned that parents would sometimes choose friends and relatives who provided poor or even

unsafe care rather than using licensed providers outside of the home.

Well, I’ve had parents, just like... I have these two children now that I’ve had

since both of them were newborns, but when the parents, and these are just

11

straight, cash paying parents, and when they came to me they said, “Okay,
you’re great. When can my kids start?” And about six months later, I asked
them, “Why did you pick me to take your children? I was your first interview. ”
And she says, “Well, your house is clean, your children are clean, and you guys
are nice. ” And I said, “You know, when I asked you over for the interview, I
asked you about twenty questions.” The whole part of the interview thing was
that we interview each other. You ask me questions, I’m going to ask you
questions. I want to know about you and your kids, your lifestyle. You know,
what to expect from you, what do you want front me. But she didn’t ask me any
questions, and I had to kind of weed her out, and that ’5 just from a straight,
cash-paying parent. And so they ’re not educated on what to ask. So I think the
fact that 4Cs gives a questionnaire makes the parents, “Ding, ding. Hello, I
should be asking these questions of a provider. ”

—Alameda County licensed provider

Another provider commented: “You know, women shop more for shoes for special
occasions than they do for daycare.” ——Alameda County licensed provider.

In all of the focus groups, the providers discussed their concerns about the poor quality of
the child-care that many parents had selected or considered for their children. Some had

experienced this themselves, when they were searching for care. One provider told us:

I, you know how I became a day care provider? My son was ill, right, and he
came home front. the hospital, and I had to get a job. There was no way I was
gonna sit at home. So I interviewed 18 diflerent providers, and I ’m thinking,
“There is no way my kid is gonna go there, no way. ” You know, something
about them, you know, aggravated me. And I could not imagine going around
looking now. You know, I had a woman come yesterday and she said I was like
her 18’” person to interview in just this week, just five days...

——Kern County English—speaking licensed provider

One family child care home operator related the tales that parents had told her: “I’ve
heard that same fear from some of the parents who’ve done interviews. One step inside the place

and they wouldn’t even leave their child there, which is horrible.” --Alameda County licensed

12

provider. Still others were upset that parents were opting for license-exempt providers who

would not provide quality care and who might even endanger the children:

Okay, I’ve had several take the application, start, come a week, and find a
reason. Either they don’t come back or they call and they pretend or they won’t
return your call. I went through all of this. And then they say, “Oh, I’ve got my
sister” or “my mother” or “My boyfriend just got out of jail and he ’s going to
keep the kids because I ’m afraid. ” I ’m just telling it like it is, okay. You’re
here, and you want to know what’s going on. He’s out of jail, and he’s going to
keep the kids, and these are his kids and he hasn ’t seem them and da da da da
do... Well, you go through the paperwork, you go through the transition and
you fill the spaces up, but you could ’ve took someone else. They’re snatched out
of your care, and now you have four slots or five slots available from a family
that had five kids. Okay, so that ’s a lump sum of your income walking out the
door which you have no control. And I don’t like the fact that Trustline can do
this. I don’t know what all the Trustline requirements are, but I’m told it’s
nothing like being licensed. It’s nothing about taking a CPR class, afirst aid
class, nothing about fifteen hours. So how come these people come in, get out of
jail, go get a grandmother that barely can see, and come and take children out
of your facility when you are licensed, you have taken all the classes. I have an
education, getting a BA in early childhood development. I have... I can offer... I
don’t care what I offer, I don’t care how big my portfolio is, they find a way.

—Alameda County licensed provider

Exempt providers were also concerned about the quality of care that parents were
accessing. They discussed their experiences with children from the foster care system as well as

those who had been with other care providers. One commented:

I ’ve seen some pretty horrible things with regards to children, you know, being
cared for in some daycares or some foster care. And you see these children
coming out and they don ’t have any skills. You know, there’s nothing been put
into them. They’re just a little blank page with nothing on it.

-Kern County license-exempt provider

Two providers expressed concern that there were some people entering the child—care

field strictly to earn money, without having any interest in children, and several commented that

13

it was critical that there be more home visits and drug testing for all child-care providers. One
provider talked about the importance of having the right motivation in order to be a good quality
provider: . .to be a good child-care provider, you can’t just be in it for the money. You have to
be concerned about that child. And like she said, be a good role model. Be glad you can be a

good role model, instill some good values.”

The need for subsidies for low-income parents

Providers recognized the need for child-care subsidies for low-income working clients
who did not have access to them. Some of the Spanish-speaking providers told us that they had
clients who were on their child-care waiting lists not because of a lack of slots for their children
but because the parents could not afford to pay for care at that time. This concerned the providers,
who feared that the parents were selecting unsafe care, the homes in their community that

charged only $5 per day and served upwards of 20 or even 25 children. As one provider noted:

The parents who need it the most are those who’ve never been on welfare or
they aren ’t migrant parents but they work in the fields. Those are the ones that
need the most because many of the mothers work in the hospital or a lot of the
poor women work in the bank, in difierent places like that. So they are the ones
that don’t qualify, and they still don’t make that much money in a bank or in a
hospital, they don’t make much because primarily they are people that aren’t
nurses, that aren’t doctors, right? They’re people with low positions, the
minimum available.

—Kern County Spanish—speaking licensed provider

Networking/sharing information
The Kern County Spanish—speaking providers seemed to have a greater sense of

community than the other provider groups we talked with across all three counties. They

14

indicated that they shared clients and information among their group of providers, in order to
provide the best and most convenient service for their clients. One described it as follows:

...Because we all know each other and we’re in contact with each other. When a
provider doesn’t have space for any more kids, they tell us and send them here.
It’s like we all watch the kids and we share. Between us all, that ’5 how we
decide which one should take, care of the kids. Whichever one is closest to the
parent, for example, if a provider lives farther and another closer to the parent,
then that provider tells the parent, “You know what? This other provider lives
close to your house and you don ’t have to take as much time to get there. ”

—Kern County Spanish-speaking licensed provider

15

Operational ISSUES

How providers find clients

Providers described how they found their clients. While most had some interactions with
resource & referral agencies, and .some relied exclusively on the R&Rs for client referrals, many

of the FCCH providers reported that word of mouth was their best means of bringing in new

clients. One provider noted:

I used to advertise in a paper and I never really got a big response. You know,
I ’ve even taken the ads out, the larger ads in the yellow pages, but I’ve been in
business fifteen years and my gig is resources, families, you know, that have
gone through our program. And they tell other families or they have children
after they’ve gone, more children then they come back. We have, like, several
people that have come through a couple times because of the babies and stuff
like that so my biggest advertisement was word of mouth and Carl’s Junior.
We’re located across the street from a fast food restaurant and you know, they
say, “We looked across the street. ” And our school has been there since the
early, late 30’s or so. You know, it’s an old building. I mean, the area has been
there, people have passed through many years and... like, adults. I used to see
this school, and now they have their children there. It’s been there a long time.

—Los Angeles County licensed provider

Another echoed this sentiment:

I ’27: listed. I do not advertise, and the majority of the people that I get referrals
through is from word of mouth and front the school down the street. And just
like my friend over there, I’ve had parents who have come through my facility,
and grew up, and have referred people to me, so it '5 like a generation that keeps

coming back. So it makes it really nice.

—Los Angeles County licensed provider

Assistance getting licensed

The license-exempt providers in Kern County were all participants in a

program that assists them with obtaining their license. They took classes that

16

provided information on the requirements for child—care licenses, and also
received financial and materials assistance for these requirements. All spoke
quite positively about this program. The staff person from this program described
her role:

...it’s a position where we go out and try to get exempt providers to become
licensed. If they don ’t, it ’s fine, but it gives us the opportunity to go into the
house and help them with whatever they need. Whether it be the safety covers,
whatever information they need, just so we will know that the care is being

provided.

As we discussed the classes offered through this program, one provider described what
she was learning:

And then they told us about who in our house would need to subject to some of
the same things as far as finger-printing, child... clearance, you know all that
kind of stufi‘. They let us know what would be the conditions under which people
could come to your house. They would be pretty thorough. And they gave us
that big, two or three big thick packets of information that we needed to read
over. You know, they highlighted the highlight points and then they gave it us
for to continue to read over and stress to us that we had to read it because we 're
responsible for knowing, Because once we sign those paper, that’s saying well,
you read this and you thoroughly understand it. So, they let us know it’s not
their responsibility to tell us all of this. We have to take responsibility for
ourselves and get that information because it’s gonna be our business and our
name on the line.

——Kern County license—exempt provider

Another of the program participants talked about how much she was learning in the classes,
noting that at first she was not sure she wanted to attend classes, and almost didn’t continue, but
found that she was glad she had. She commented “I’m learning a whole lot. And I was even
thinking, even if I didn’t go for the license, which I am now, just what I learned helped me.”

One of the providers described a home visit by one of the staff people in the training

program:

17

Now [she] came to visit me. She went and brought me information and she came
with another young lady. They came over and they brought me information.
And they also brought me a free gift, which was a fire extinguisher. Which you
need as a licensed provider. It ’s mandatory that you have one. And she brought
some activities. They brought some activities that they left for the kids that I was

taking care of. And I thought that was really neat.
f—Kern County license-exempt provider
The program participants had different reasons for getting licensed. One hoped to have a
job teaching preschool upon completion. Another wanted to be a round—the-clock care provider
to serve parents who work at night, as she does as a part-time nurse. One provider talked about
going into child care to provide the nurturing that she felt children needed, and didn’t get in

other settings.

Expansion. issues

The FCCH providers who wanted to expand from small to large homes or to centers
described several different barriers to expansion. In Los Angeles, one large FCCH was interested
in becoming a center, but did not have enough space in her current location to make the
transition. Another in the same group brought up that there were zoning restrictions that
prevented her from expanding her facility from a large FCCH to a center. In Kern County, one
of the Spanish—speaking providers described her interest in expanding, but stated that she needed
additional resources, like cribs and another refrigerator in order to increase her capacity. Some
of the Kern providers were working with the local resource and referral agency to expand their
homes from small to large FCCHs. One had received one of the new expansion grants, and

already had children lined up for when the expansion was completed.

18

Difi‘iculties with Community Care Licensing

In one county, Alameda, providers spoke about their experiences with Community Care
Licensing home visits. Their interactions with the family child care home inspectors were not
positive. They described them as invasive and overly critical:

The moment they step in, it’s like, it’s a new...I know a lot of providers... I’m not
more important, but I know a lot of providers that have been wrote up for
ridiculous, just ridiculous... I know somebody that’s been reported to the police,
and the news channel came out to their house because the girl lost her tooth.

—Alameda County licensed provider

Another described her encounters with inspectors:

...when they came to do my license... I have a redwood swing set, and I have
peak gravel, and I wrote up because the peak gravel was against the fence, I
mean there was still peak gravel in the but there was an abundance of peak
gravel against the fence, and they wanted it raked out... and I got wrote up for
that. When they come to my house, and I ’m. not afraid of too many things, they
are... brutal.

——Alameda County licensed provider

However, even as providers in one county complained of the strictness of Community
Care Licensing’s inspections, providers in others complained that there weren’t enough visits or
oversight to catch those providers who violated rules and compromised child safety. One of the
license-exempt providers commented:

...Like for instance, I wish they would be a little bit more stricter with some
things with regards to home visiting more often, doing drug testing, like they do
in regular employments and stufi‘ like that. Because things be going on in some
of those atmospheres and it’s not good. And so, if they were to do more home
visits and if they were to implement drug testing, um, you know, they would
probably find out some things. And it’s kinda scary.

—Kern County license-exempt provider

19

Language issues

Providers discussed the languages they spoke, those of their clients, and the impact of
differences in the languages spoken among clients and providers. Many of the providers we

spoke with in both the Spanish and English-language groups spoke Spanish. One described how
she incorporated bilingualism into her care practices:

Well I have it in my contract that I speak Spanish. I do speak Spanish, but if
they don’t want to speak there. They know that I speak Spanish. And like an
hour, like on a circle time, I do read a book in Spanish to everybody. And
because I have quite a few kids that speak Spanish. And so I don’t want the
parents to go, “Oh, I don’t want my kid to learn another language. It’s not
good for them. ” Because some parents think that it ’s not good for them. So I
had to put it in my contract so I don’t want to get sued.

——Alameda County licensed provider

Another described difficulties she had with children whose first or only language was one
she couldn’t speak:

I had to decide not to take a child because the language barrier. I had a child
who came from Korea. Four years old, boy. And my philosophy with daycare,
if you don’t have control then you’re not watching them. And after two days, I
couldn’t control him. He kept putting hisfinger in between the fence. And the
lady next door, her Rottweiler dog would bite. And I would try to tell him, “No,
no, no. ” And you know, you can’t be responsible. you know.

~—Alam.eda County licensed provider
Many described creative solutions for addressing language mismatches. A couple of
providers used neighbors to translate when they had children with whom they had difficulty
communicating. Others made an effort to hire bilingual staff so that they could take in children

who spoke languages other than their own.

20

Setting rates

Many of the providers complained that they did not have enough information about how to set
their fees, or what the ceiling was for rates; they were concerned that they could be charging
more for their services than they were. This impacted both the exempt and licensed providers.
One of the exempt providers expressed frustration that the APP counselor would not help her set
her fees, as she found out after she had set them that she could have charged more. They shared
strategies to counter this problem, with two of them discussing how they put very high rates on
their rate sheet and let the APP staff lower the rate to the maximum reimbursement rate for
exempt—care providers.

Some of the licensed providers felt that the regional rates did not reflect the costs of the
areas within which they worked. One in Los Angeles noted . .it’s kind of deceptive because
you have to take into consideration regional biases... so if I charge more for potty training, or
what you’ve you, when you put me against a county wide average, you’re not being fair to me.”
Another complained, “and it’s not fair, because it’s a big secret as to what your charges are. So
different providers have different fees because you don’t know.” They noted that their only
source of information on the rate ceilings was their professional association.

A couple of providers said that the biggest problem they faced was the rate ceiling
imposed by the Alternative Payment Program. One complained that she had been told that there
was a cap on payment regardless of how many hours she kept the children who were subsidized,
noting . .This parent... for 10 to 10 hours, her child is in my care, and they’re only gonna give
me $18 a day regardless of how many hours this kid is here.” This provider’s solution was to ask
the parent to pay the difference between her standard rate and what the child-care subsidy would

cover, and others across both Kern and Los Angeles counties instituted the same policy.

21

CalWORKs ISSUES
A number of issues about the CalWORKs program were addressed in the focus groups.
These included the payment process, the flow of information, and participant characteristics and
behaviors. While some of these topics were asked about specifically, others, in particular the

issues related to parents, were raised by the providers themselves.

Payments for Cal WORKS clients

One of the major concerns for the providers was getting paid on time for their services.
We heard of both good and poor experiences with the CalWORKs child—care subsidy system;
providers felt that they could be assured of getting paid if a parent was on CalWORKs, but often
there were long delays before payments began and there were bureaucratic difficulties, especially

when clients were unreliable. One provider noted:

The hardest period is when you first get started because it takes about, four
weeks to even get your file complete. But once you pass that, they process
payments the first two weeks of the month. That ’s the only month, you know,
that they process and as long as you get your paper work in by the fifth, then
you’ll get your money back.

——Kern County license-exempt provider

In Kern most of the providers spoke of a smooth payment and reimbursement process.
One commented: “All the girls that are getting subsidy, we have to talk to their workers, and
they’re really good people, very nice, and we’ve never had any problems with them. We’ve
never had any problem with them.”

However, one of the exempt providers described having difficulty initially getting

approved to care for the son of a cousin, commenting “. . .they really kinda gave us the run—

22

around at first because I had to prove the other kids that I was keeping were related to me. ‘Cause
I couldn’t just say they were related. They didn’t believe that. So I had to go take some written
proof.” In the end she was approved to care for children from two families, both related to her.

Some of the providers described their efforts to get the system changed; they advocated
not only for timely payments, but for payments up front, as providers were risking their own time
and money to take in CalWORKs or AFDC clients instead of cash paying customers. One
family child-care home provider detailed her efforts:

I ’ve been in businessfor 23 years...and I was probably, I was with the social
service deparnnent before it became state. And so it was happening then. And
then we foughtfor that after they changed over to the state. Wefought trying to
tell them that at least you know the child ’s coming to afamily childcare setting,
so pay two weeks in advance. You know the child is there. And that didn’t work
out because they don ’t pay you in advance. You ’re still, you’re still waiting for
your money. Even though that child, you’ve signed the papers, everything has
gone through and it’s still months and months. And they promise it’s difierent
now, it's changed now, but it ’s not different now, it’s still the same.

—Los Angeles County licensed provider

Payment problems with Cal WORKS parents

In addition to difficulties with the CalWORKs child-care subsidy system, providers also
face payment problems created by uncooperative or irresponsible parents. One provider
described the lengths she went to in order to have the required signatures on the child-care

reimbursement forms:

What I had to do each time, this is the truth. I went and bought a long van,
too... had to put car seats in there, load the kids up. Had to take so many with
me, and leave so many with my assistant and chase these people down. I had to
knock on their doors, I had to leave notes, I had to go at four o’clock in the
morning to get signatures on a timesheet. And then she refused to sign it, but I
had her kids for three months. And [the APP director] was nice enough to pay
me anyway, because I had the childcare request form. It saved me, but it was...

she didn’t have to do it. I didn’t know at the time like you didn’t know, that they

23

had these meetings to attend to. So once again, to me, it’s like this: when the
Cal WORKs people come in... I don ’t know how the meetings g0 and they have
their meetings and they sign up for childcare... something else needs to take
place. If we can prove that we have those children, I don ’t feel like we should
be punished, if they don ’t want to sign documents to be issued. They’re fleeing
the system. They think they’re fleeing and we’re the one that suffer in the end.

—Alameda County licensed provider

A number of the providers also complained of clients cycling on and off aid and not
informing them. We heard several instances in which parents continued to drop children off
for care even though they were off aid and their providers would not be paid by the social
services agency.

My problem is that I’m working on this one now, and this has happened to me
with CalWORKs. You get the person into your program and they do something,
you know, to disqualify them for the program. So they’re ofi‘ of the program, so
the time that you kept the child for three months and you’re waiting to be paid.
Then they’re ofi‘ of the program, cause you’re tracking it. You know, I usually
track about a month or two later. If] haven’t gotten paid, then I ’m. calling and
finding why. And this particular one that I ’m going through now, it’s been three
months that she was there, and now, she’s off of the program. So now I’m
having to talk to the worker and having to go back and dig and then they’re
saying resubmit. So I just resubmitted my portion of it, wrote a letter saying that
I could not get the parent in to sign, you know, and these are the months that
you owe me, like that. And that’s it. And fortunately, I have a parent that’s in
our school that works for CalWORKs. And I just so happened, I called someone
else, and there she answered, so hopefully I’ll get paid.

——Los Angeles County licensed provider

Several providers spoke of the need to have special or separate contracts for CalWORKs

parents, because they often were less reliable than cash-paying clients. As one provider noted:

I mean, most people have contracts in their facilities. I have two of them. I have
one to subsidized families. I have felt that I needed to separate them. They need
to be aware that they are still responsible for the tuition payment even though it

does not come directly out of their pocket. And they sign it and it’s very strict

24

and it’s very straightforward. And then they also sign the other contract that
everybody else does also. But for subsidized families it ’s just one single piece
of paper.

———Alameda County licensed provider

Poor communication with caseworkers

One of the major complaints that providers had about the CalWORKs program was the
lack of communication from caseworkers and program managers. This came up in focus
groups in all three counties. Providers felt that they were not informed adequately about the
rules and regulations of the program nor were they told when the rules had changed. One
provider commented:

See, when I signed up for the CalWORKs program. I didn’t even know about
the classes for the parents, but I also wasn’t given, I was just given a paper to
sign my license number and you know, whatever information. But I wasn’t
given a pamphlet on the program. I wasn’t given any kind of offering of “come
to this workshop, learn about this program that you ’re going to take on with
these children. ” That should be there for the providers, so they can, if they need
to, help a parent delve into the rules. This week, this rule has changed because
I’ve been informed of this change.

——Alameda County licensed provider

Another provider described how case managers used to visit providers at their homes or
centers, which would lead to more fruitful relationships between the welfare agency and the
providers. She noted:

I wanted to bring up one thing. I have been on different agencies from 1979 on
to now, when they was like other names. And one thing that was like in the
olden days, I know that the workload wasn ’t as heavy, but you had caseworkers
that would come out. That made such a big difference. You know what? That
even breaks the ice of what you paying money for, what type of service you
paying for this child to get. And it’s so much difierent. It is so hard to service
and deal with the unknown. And just someone on the other end of the phone or

behind another piece of paper. That would be so much better. And I think the

25

interview should go, when that parent choose the provider, there should be some
kind of way, the parent and caseworker should come out with the provider and I

think the final meeting should be in that home.

—-Alameda County licensed provider

Some providers mentioned that high rates of turnover among case managers impacted

their ability to get approved or paid. One in Kern County noted, “. . .that’s a real problem, they

keep moving and switching workers. Just the turnover rate.”

Paperwork burden

The paperwork and bureaucratic requirements of the CaIWORKs child-care system were
identified as a significant burden by many of the providers. In particular, the Alameda County
providers seemed to feel that they spend too much time dealing with the administrative issues

surrounding payments and approvals and not enough focusing on the children. As one noted:

Seriously, cause I got into it because when I first got into childcare, it was to
stay home with my daughter, but it relieved me from. the stress I was already in
another business. 000, this is not as bad. It’s not as much paperwork. Well,
now I ’m doing the same thing. I’m doing the same thing I was doing before I

got in childcare.

—Alameda County licensed provider

Another provider echoed these concerns:

And you were saying... we spend 60% to 70% of the day on the phone. That’s
ridiculous. How can I do my curriculum, how can I do my circle time, how can I
even... I need to watch kids, changing diapers, you’re doing your responsibility
and I find myself on the phone 60 to 70% of my day. And that’s just ridiculous.
Trying to, like she’s saying, up at two or three in the morning trying to get

I ’m. online.

—Alameda County licensed provider

One provider was considering refusing to serve any more CalWORKs clients because of

the paperwork burden and the delays in getting paid. She commented:

26

I haven’t been called to take any more CalWORKs children, but I might not take
any more because it’s a lot of my time, it’s a lot of paperwork. And then, again,
you have to deal with the parents. And it’s hardfor me knowing they can ’t pay.
That the parents can ’t pay. And it’s not their fault if the agency is not paying on
time. And so you ’re kind of like in the middle and you ’re like, okay, let’s wait on
the agency. But then again, that’s a big chunk of your income. And I think that
for me was the hardest thing about the program. Eventually, yes, they did pay.
But it took like a month and a half. almost even two months. Which was hard
because that 's a slot that's taken up which you could be getting paidfor cash
each week.

—Alameda County licensed provider

CalWORKs success stories

While providers often focused on the operational difficulties of the CalWORKs program
during our focus groups, we also heard very positive stories about the impact of CalWORKs on
the clients they served. One Alameda County provider told us about two of her clients who had

succeeded through the program:

I had two people that were on CalWORKs. They were trained for their jobs.
They quit their jobs. One ’s working at the courthouse, no both of them are
working at the courthouse. One ’5 in Alameda and the other one ’s in Oakland.
They’re ofir welfare. 1 'm so proud of them both. And Cal WORKS is still paying
for their childcare. They’ve moved out on their own. They have an apartment
now. I’m like, “YES! ” When they came to me, they were just like crawling. It's
great, they’re walking. Oh, yes, it works, and I’m so proud. I 'm so proud of
them... It ’s great. Oh yes, you see them grow, and take advantage and have
more self esteem. for themselves.

—-Alameda County licensed provider

In Kern County the Spanish-speaking providers talked about their overall impression of

the CalWORKs program, as well as how they believed the parents felt about it:

(R1): They like it because they have to work. And it’s good for them because
they send them to study. Because there are a lot of young mothers who get their

welfare money and those are the ones who are going to school and getting

27

training, and it’s good for them. (R2): They give them. training for how to fill
out applications, how to present oneself at work, and as they try to look for
work, they still pay for their child care. (R1): And it ’s good for them because
they were at home because they didn ’t have any way to pay for the child care for
their little children. That’s why so many people stay home and they can’t do
anything, what can you do? That’s why they go and ask for help because who ’s
going to watch their kids? One can’t just leave a child anywhere, there ’s so
much abuse, and mothers don ’t just leave their children wherever.

——Kern County Spanish-speaking providers

Opinions of and relationships to Cal WORKS participants

Many of the child-care providers expressed strong attitudes about the CalWORKs clients
they were serving. In some cases they really saw these parents as needing a lot of hand-holding
to get them to fulfill all the paperwork requirements for child care:

You gotta understand the clientele that you ’re dealing with. You gotta
understand a lot of times the mentality of these participants..Generational
welfare recipients. There’s not much sophistication. If it was there, they
wouldn’t have a need for GAIN, CalWORKs or whatever. You have to spoon
feed them, you have to watch your back and make sure that you’re processing
the paperwork.

—Los Angeles County licensed provider

Some providers also felt that they had to impart to the parents information about the

CalWORKs system and child—care subsidies because they weren’t getting it elsewhere:

Mine is kind oflike theirs. It’s a little bit difierent, because I... Like I told you, I
have mine from infancy and go all the way through, but I do have some

Cal WORKS recipients. What I ’ve found and observed and just listening to other
horror stories, the parents really need to be educated. And the education that
the parents were getting and what they were being told is totally different from
family childcare or the centers. The information that they were getting, they
were getting it from agencies which had no current knowledge of childcare nor
what goes on in the business. I hate to sound like this, but you know I even had
to go back and do the research and then, you know, I go to this school called

CalWORKs for Underclass... That was a really good research. What it is is

28

these people you’re getting, people from all walks of life. And you have people
that have been generation from generation on assistance and now you’re pulling
them out of their world putting them in a totally different world. And what
should have happened, and what I do with my CalWORKs recipients... What
have R&.R told you, what do you expect from me. You need to sit down and have
meetings and then correct these people. And that’s one of my policies...But it’s
not safe to take these people on their word. It is very, very scary. We are just as
afraid of them as they are of us.

—Alameda County licensed provider

A number of the child—care providers saw their role as greater than just caring for
children. They went to great lengths to provide support to their CalWORKs clients who they
saw as trying to change their circumstances and succeed in the workplace. In several cases they
described going as far as lending clothes to parents, fixing their hair, and driving them to
interviews. The child—care providers indeed seem to take on the role of surrogate case manager

and counselor to some of the parents. One provider told us how this had come about:

No, I think what happened was I’ve become a mother to... the parents. I have
children in their thirties, okay. I have traveled around the world. I’ve seen the
world. And I just reach out and I help them along. I mark my calendar and I
remind them when their meeting is. I will drive them to their meeting. I have a
diflerent belief And if I can do it, or my husband can do it, or my nineteen-
year—old daughter can drive them, we do it. Because I have seen a lot of
success. I have seen parents finish school and get good jobs and their kids still
come to me and pay. The ones who are usually flaky flake out real quick.
They’re not going, you know. But I mean, I’ve had great success. I become
their parent, and it’s okay. Even to their children, it’s okay.

—Alameda County licensed provider

29

summary

This study is too limited to allow for the drawing of definitive conclusions about child-
care providers in California. However, it does permit us to see how many providers see
themselves vis-a-vis the families, children and communities they serve. Center staff and family
child-care home operators alike recognize that they play an integral role in contributing to the
development and education of the children in their care. They also see that they provide critical
services to parents, often extending far beyond the care taking function that allows parents to
work. In some cases the child-care providers play a surrogate parenting role, teaching children
skills and behavior normally taught by parents. In others, the providers educate the parents
themselves about child—rearing practices. In some instances, the providers seem even to take on
the roles typically played by case managers in social service agencies, helping parents prepare
for success in the workplace.

The greatest need expressed by the providers is for information and communication, in
particular from the social service agencies. In their efforts to help their clients, this seems central
to the providers. Those reporting the best communications with the social service agencies also
reported the least difficulty with payment and reimbursement issues. Providers also identified
the need for more subsidies for parents and higher reimbursement rates to help them meet the
costs of serving children.

In general, the affection and concern that providers felt toward the children they watched
and the parents they served was quite evident. Strengthening the child-care system to further
support these child—care providers would benefit children and parents in California alike.

More information, and more current data on the experiences of providers would be

useful. A broader survey of child-care workers, by phone or in writing, might assist

30

policymakers in determining whether the experiences reported in this paper are typical or
anomalous. It would also allow for the inclusion of opinions from a more representative and
diverse population of providers. Moreover, as CalWORKs implementation is now complete and
the counties have smoothed out many of the wrinkles in the system, it would be helpful to find
out if providers have seen improvements in program operations, or if problems remain. Finally,
ongoing conversations among child—care planners and providers would be useful simply to
facilitate the sharing of information and experiences that might inform and strengthen child-care

policymaking in California.

31

Appendices

Appendix A:
Focus Group Participants1

1. Alameda County licensed provider focus group, conducted July 25, 2000
Total number of providers: 8 FCCHs

1.
ii.

iii.
iv.

vi.
vii.
viii.

FCCH licensed to care for 12, caring for 6, age 18 months to five years old
FCCH licensed to care for 12, caring for 12: 3 infants, 9 three and four year olds.
She has three part-time helpers, and 16 years experience.

FCCH licensed to care for 8, caring for 6 ages 1 to 5.

FCCH licensed to care for 12, caring for 4 infants, 5 toddler to pre-school age
children, and 4 first-graders. She was two assistants, one full-time, one part-time.
FCCH licensed to care for 14, caring for 14, 2 infants and 12 preschoolers. She
has two full-time assistants, plus her 18 year-old daughter helps. She has been
providing care at the same location since 1979.

FCCH licensed for 14, serving two infants, 7 toddlers, 4 school-age children
FCCH licensed to care for 8, serving 5 children

FCCH licensed for 14, serving 14 school-age children. She has two helpers, and
they provide transportation to and from school for their clients.

2. Kern County Spanish—speaking licensed provider focus group, conducted May 8, 1999
Total number of providers: 2 FCCHs

i.
ii.

FCCH licensed to care for 6. She serves four children, ages 1,3, 4 and 9.

FCCH licensed to care for 6. She services four children, ages 20 months, 2 _, 4,
and 9.

3. Kern County license-exempt provider focus group, conducted July 19, 1999
Total number of providers: 4 exempt individuals, 1 newly licensed FCCH, 1 R&R
support person

1.

iii.

iv.

Exempt provider caring for 4 children, all related to her but from two separate
families, ages 13, 6, 4 & 2. She cares for the two—year old Monday through
Friday, but only cares for the other three Thursdays and Fridays.

Exempt provider caring for 1 five year old granddaughter, and will care for a
second baby due in a month.

Exempt provider who, at the time of the interview was not caring for any children,
but was planning to do care for evenings and weekends.

FCCH licensed for 6, caring for four children part—time, two full-time, plus one of
her own, ranging in age from 2 to 10.

Exempt provider currently caring only for her own children and trying to get a
license to teach in a pre-school

 

1 We are not able to provide the same details about all of the providers who participated in the focus groups as the
focus group moderators did not ask for the same demographic information in every group. The information reported
here reflects the number of children the providers cared for at the time of the focus group.

52

vi.

Licensed provider currently working as an outreach person for an R&R program
servmg exempt providers interested in getting licensed

All of these providers offer transportation to their clients (or plan to).

4. Kern County English- -speaking licensed provider focus group, conducted May 8, 1999
Total number of providers. 5 FCCHs

vii.
viii.

ix.

xi.

FCCH licensed to care for 14, caring for 13 children ages 3 months to 5 years
FCCH licensed to care for 8, caring for 8 ages 4 __ months to 12 years old, 4 of
whom are school age

FCCH licensed to care for 6, caring for two 3-year olds, two infants, two school-
age children

FCCH licensed to care for 8, serving three school-age children, five children age
2—5

FCCH licensed to care for 8, did not describe clients

5. Los Angeles County licensed provider focus group, conducted July 22, 2000
Total number of providers: 4 child care centers, 6 FCCHs

X11.

xiii.

xiv.

XV.

xvi.

xvii.

xviii.

xix.

XX.

xxi.

Center licensed to care for 31, averaging 20— 25 children two to six years old
(pre- -K program) plus some before and after school care. There are 5 staff
members. The hours are 6 am to 6 pm. Transportation is provided.

Center licensed to care for 34, average 25 children ages infant to six years old.
They operate two shifts and are open 6 am to 2 am to accommodate nurses at a
nearby hospital. They do not provide transportation.

Center licensed to care for 41, full with a waiting list of 15-20 children. They
serve ages six weeks to six years old; ten are infants. There are 8 employees plus
volunteers. They are approved to provide twenty-four hour care, but currently are
open Monday through Saturday. They do not provide transportation.

Center, licensed for 44 children plus a school-age facility licensed for 30. There
is a staff of 10 including the director. They serve children ages 2 to 6 plus they
provide after school care for children up to age 9. They will pick-up students
from local schools on foot.

FCCH licensed for 14, serving 13. They are a husband and wife team.

FCCH licensed for 8, serving 5, 4 infants and 1 after school client. They provide
round—the-clock care, and the daughter helps the provider.

FCCH licensed for 8, serves 8 and has a waiting list. She provides 24 hour care,
and is expanding to serve 14. Her husband assists, and she will hire another
assistant when they expand. She has 4 years experience.

FCCH licensed for 14, is full. She provides 24 hour care and transportation. She
cares for two infants, and her clients are primarily Spanish speaking.

FCCH licensed for 14, hours are 5 am to 10 pm. They provide mostly before— and
after-school care, and pick up children from the school across the street. Her
husband is licensed and they have one assistant.

FCCH licensed for 14, no information on clients. Hours are 6:30 am to 6 pm.
She has 15 years experience.

33

Appendix B:
FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS

1) LICENSED PROVIDERS

We want to better understand the current capacity for licensed child care. We are interested in
your thoughts on the child care system since the implementation of welfare reform, the type of
care you provide, and how the existing child care supply can be expanded and enhanced.
General Operations: Attendance, hours, policies

How many children are currently enrolled in your program?

0 Infants and toddlers, children 2+ years old, and school age children.

What are your hours of operation?

Do you have a waiting list?

0 If so, how many children are on the waiting list?

0 What ages?

Licensing:
How many children are you licensed to serve?

Do you prefer to enroll fewer children than you are licensed to care for?
0 If so, how many and why?

Are you interested in providing child care to more children?

Are there any factors preventing you from providing care to other children?

0 If so, what are these factors (not enough demand, no referrals, short-staffed, lack of
space/funds, don't have the right equipment)?

Additional Services: (Languages, special needs, sick care, transportation, non-traditional hours)

What languages do you and/or your staff speak fluently?

What languages do your clients speak fluently?

Has a client ever decided NOT to enroll their child because of a language barrier?

Do you care for any special needs children? Describe.
0 If not, have you ever considered getting a license to care for special needs children?

What are your policies for children who are mildly sick?

How accessible is your program to public transportation?

34

Do you provide transportation for children between their home/school and your program?

Does your program currently provide care during non-traditional hours (evening, drop-in,
weekend, and overnight)?

Are you willing to consider providing care during these non-traditional hours?
Why/why not?

Have you ever opened early or closed late because a parent needed care at a different time than
usual?

Do you have a substitute available?

Subsidized Clients:
Are you willing to accept subsidized children into your program?

Have you cared for children with CalWORKs subsidies?
0 Describe your experience (good/bad) with CalWORKs/Social Services.
- Payments
- Communications with agency
- Information sharing with the Alternative Payment Provider and county
- Knowledge of CalWORKs documentation

Do you have slots reserved for subsidized clients? How many slots?

Has your program changed in any way since the implementation of welfare reform?
o More clients, more subsidized clients, hours of operation, etc.

Professional Development:
If you are interested in expanding your child care program, what would help you do this?
0 More money, space, resources from Social Services/Resource and Referral agency, supplies.

Are you part of a child care or resource and referral network?

How do parents find out about your program?
- Advertisements, word—of—mouth, R & R?

How often are you able attend to childcare-related workshops, classes and/or seminars?
~ Number of hours per year?

Do you have any suggestions on how the child care system can be improved to better serve
providers and their clients?

35

2) LICENSE EXEMPT PROVIDERS

We want to better understand the current capacity for license exempt child care. We are
interested in your thoughts on the child care since the implementation of welfare reform, the type
of care you provide, and how the existing child care supply can be expanded and enhanced.

How many children do you currently care for?

Infants and toddlers, children 2+ years old, and school age children.
0 Are these children from the same/different family?

0 If one family leaves, do you usually find new clients?

0 Are you caring for relatives' children?

What are your hours of operation?

Are you interested in providing child care to more children?

Are there any factors preventing you from providing care to other children?

0 If so, what are these factors (not enough demand, no license, no referrals, short-staffed, lack
of space/funds, don't have the right equipment)?

What languages do you speak fluently?

What languages do your clients speak fluently?

Has a client ever decided NOT to have you care for their child because of a language barrier?

Do you care for any special needs children? Describe.
o If not, have you ever considered getting a license to care for special needs children?

Do you care for any children whose parents receives child care money from the
government/community agency?

0 Describe your experience with this particular client.

Are you willing to accept subsidized children?

How accessible is your home to public transportation?

Do you provide transportation for children between their home/school and your home?

Do you provide care during non-traditional hours (evening, drop—in, weekend, and overnight)?

Are you willing to provide care during these non-traditional hours?
Why/why not?

Have you ever kept children earlier or later than usual because the parent needed care at a
different time?

36

Has the care you provide changed in any way since the implementation of welfare reform?
o More clients, more subsidized clients, hours of operation, etc.

Are you interested in becoming a licensed child care provider?

If so, what would help you do this?

0 More money, space, resources from Social Services/Resource and Referral agency, supplies,
classes.

If not, why?

Do you have any suggestions on how the child-care system can be improved to better serve
providers without licenses and their clients?

37

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Policy Analysis for California Education PACE
University of California, Berkeley

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3653 Tolman Hall

Berkeley, CA 94720—1670

Telephone: (510) 642-7225
ntto /,/oace.berl<eleyedu