NNCC

Child Care Needs Assessment 1

National Network for Child Care's Connections Newsletter

Assessment Instrument title: Child Care Needs Assessment Considerations

Target Audience: Community Asst.

Comments about the tool:

Contact who has experience using this assessment instrument:
Karen DeBord
North Carolina State University
(919)515-9147
(919)515-2786 (FAX)

Copyright Access Information

I. Work Patterns

- numbers of working parents, single parent, and two-parent working families
- where do they work, are there commuters out of the county
- is child care accessible to their workplace or home
- incomes - low, medium, high
- number of children under 5, under 13, belonging to single parent and two-parent working families

II. Children's age groupings (difficult to assess exactly)
A. Under 5 years

- use birth data
- county growth projections
- number of spaces for child care in the locale - ask licensing agency
- numbers on waiting list in centers, licensed family day/child care
- School census

B. School-age

- school records
- school census

III. Shortage

- use formula below to determine shortages of child care spaces
- map the child care facilities and licensed providers on a county map to see the geographical spread of care and gaps in care

Formula to determine approximate number of family child care providers needed in a locale:

Step 1:

*children 0-5 years x %working mothers x %children needing care = _____(A) children

1342 x 43% x 42.5% = 245 (A)

Step 2:

A (above) x growth rate of county** = ____(B) number of additional children needing care
245 x 15% =36

Step 3:

A + B = Total 281 (total number of children needing care)

Step 4:

Total number of children needing day care divided by (no more than) six children per provider. To meet state licensing standards for total number of family child care providers.

281/6 = 46.8 providers

*42.5 is a national statistic cited by The U.S. Dept. of Labor
This figure is seen quoted in the range of 40-75%
***Each census projects growth during the next decade

IV. School age child care (assess need by area of county)

- usually 5-13 years
- where do the children live?
- how many have care with an adult?
- how many are in self-care?
- how are the others cared for?
- can the need for care be divided by school service region?

V. Potential child care needs survey question topics

- current care arrangements
- amount parents are paying, willing to pay
- rate quality (define for audience first)
- number of miles from home, work
- employer assistance with child care (flexible hours, leave, vouchers....)
- number of days of work missed per year due to child care problems (sick child care, etc)
- your preference for care - family day care, child care centers, in your home, at the work site......
- amount per year you spend on child care
- willingness to pay for higher quality care
- number of children
- ages of children
- range of income levels
- other

Evaluation Tools Page

DOCUMENT USE/COPYRIGHT
National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Part of CYFERNET, the National Extension Service
Children Youth and Family Educational Research Network. Permission is granted to reproduce
these materials in whole or in part for educational purposes only (not for profit beyond the cost of
reproduction) provided that the author and Network receive acknowledgment and this notice is
included:

FORMAT AVAILABLE:: Internet
DOCUMENT REVIEW:: Level 3 - National Peer Review
DOCUMENT SIZE:: 30K or 4 pages
ENTRY DATE:: April 1998