7.1 Quality Activities Needs Assessment

7.1.1 Needs assessment process and findings a. Describe the Lead Agency needs assessment process for expending CCDF funds on activities to improve the quality of child care, including the frequency of assessment, how a diverse range of parents and providers were consulted, and how their views are incorporated: In 2024, the University of Connecticut (UConn), School of Social Work explored access and barriers to early childhood care as well as quality of care reflected through the accreditation status, to identify potential areas of early childhood resource need. For this work, UConn reviewed existing secondary data sources from 2022 and published the 2024 Report on Child Care Quality, Access, and Needs in Connecticut. The 2022 report included secondary data sources from FFY22 OEC Parent Survey and data collect on provider’s quality improvement levels in the OEC Elevate System. This report provided high-level initial information from which to build a more comprehensive, systemic CCDF Quality Activities Needs Assessment for SFY 25 that will include primary sources of data, including stakeholder input collected through listening tours, interviews, and surveys for the purposes of assessing which quality improvement activities are most in need. The design of the CCDF Quality Activities Needs Assessment will also incorporate a process for using the results to develop a strategic plan to improve the availability, affordability and quality in our early childhood. b. Describe the findings of the assessment, including any findings related to needs of different populations and types of providers, and if any overarching goals for quality improvement were identified: Primary findings from the UConn report include 1) Income, racial/ethnic, and regional disparities in access to and affordability of child care. Child care challenges were heightened for parents of color, parents with lower household income, and parents in SFCCN Regions 1 and 3 compared to non-Hispanic/Latino White parents, parents with higher household income, and parents in other SFCCN regions. 2) Challenges accessing preferred or specialized child care, particularly among parents of infants/toddlers and parents of children with disabilities/special needs. 3) Nuanced differences in Elevate engagement by provider type, program capacity, and SFCCN region. Outreach targeting family child care home providers and/or providers with lower licensed capacity (who may have less infrastructural and financial support than larger, center- based providers) is warranted. The OEC has not yet identified goals. The OEC is working closely with UConn and our Quality Division to develop these goals for the Quality Needs Assessment.