Process & Outcome Evaluations of a Multifaceted Child Care Improvement Effort

Child Care Solutions is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1975 to provide information and resources to parents, providers, employers, and community leaders in Onondaga and Cayuga Counties (NY) who seek solutions to their child care needs. In partnership with the Early Childhood Alliance, Child Care Solutions has been working tirelessly to assure child care options are not only available but of high quality.

Beginning in 2021, The Child Care Quality Improvement Pilot (CCQI) funded by Onondaga County, provided extra resources to this effort. This year the pilot’s focus is on family child care. Key components include training family care providers to implement an evidenced-based curriculum (The Creative Curriculum), one-on-one coaching in using assessments (a curriculum fidelity tool, the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale [FCCRS], and the Ages and Stages questionnaire) to inform lesson planning, and communication with parents. There are also stipends for the providers.

As the independent evaluator of the pilot, A&O’s work will have two key components. First, a process evaluation. This is designed to assess CCQI’s progress implementing the project components they’ve planned.

Second, an outcome evaluation will measure progress toward the intended outcomes and describe the activities’ early impacts. Stakeholder feedback and assessment data will be important to that evaluation, and A&O will synthesize data from a variety of sources to formulate suggestions for improvement.