Child Care and Health in America
Today's Challenges for Tomorrow's Children

Summary

Brief Video Highlight

CHILD CARE AND HEALTH IN AMERICA: Today’s Challenges for Tomorrow’s Children
Presented in Collaboration with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NPR

Quality child care can help children develop lasting social, emotional, and learning skills and can promote healthy eating and play. But high-quality care, whether it comes from a nanny, a sitter, a daycare, or a preschool, can be difficult to find—and to afford. Drawing on the findings of a newly released poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, this Forum event brought together a panel of experts to discuss parents’ priorities and perceptions about their children’s care and how they square up against expert assessments of child care quality. How do parents find and select child care, and how does that care impact the health and well-being of children and families? How can child care be made accessible, high-quality and affordable? How do we even measure quality in a meaningful and accountable way? Forum panelists discussed ways to equip parents with better information about child care, and policy changes that can help children thrive.

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Part of: Policy Controversies.

Presented in Collaboration with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NPR

Image Credit: iStockphoto.com | kot63

The Forum Moderator

Welcome everyone. We are so pleased that you can join us today.
The Forum Moderator

This event is in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NPR.
The Forum Moderator

This poll related to this event is available here: http://www.npr.org/documents/2016/oct/Child-Care-and-Development-Report-2016.pdf
The Forum Moderator

I also wanted to acknowledge that the short clip that you saw earlier was from a documentary series called The Raising of America that can be seen here: http://www.raisingofamerica.org/. We thank the makers of that film series for letting us show a clip.
Krista Scott

Child Care Aware of America is so thrilled that this forum is addressing the critical need for accessible, high quality child care in this country; we stand ready to support families and communities find high quality, affordable child care.
- The Forum Moderator
  
  Thanks so much for joining us today.
  - Krista Scott
    
    It’s my pleasure. What a fantastic discussion–such great panelists!
The Forum Moderator

This clip is courtesy of NPR. The full video is here: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/04/22/304563233/what-exactly-is-high-quality-preschool
The Forum Moderator

We will have a brief Q&A towards the end of this event. You can post questions here for the panelists or email them to theforum@hsph.harvard.edu
The Forum Moderator

If you missed any of This Forum, you can watch it in full on this website later this week. You can also watch it on YouTube and iTunesU.
The Forum Moderator

The ACF Office of Child Care is here: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ
And the Child Care Aware site: http://childcareaware.org/
Jodi Mitchell

How can we reinforce and broaden awareness of the definition of high quality CC for parents to include health and wellness initiatives?
The Forum Moderator

We are wrapping up our discussion. Quick reminder, that you can watch this event in full later this week, when we will post the full on demand video on this site. We also will post it on YouTube and iTunesU. We will post the audio on this site, SoundCloud and iTunesU, too.
The Forum Moderator

We thank our panelists, moderator and all of our viewers today for joining us.
The Forum Moderator

Join us again on Monday, October 24, when we will discuss The Domestic Violence Crisis at 12:30pm ET https://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/events/child-care-and-health-in-america/
The Forum Moderator

We also thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NPR.
The Forum Moderator

Look for the on demand video here.
Forum Staff

Question from a viewer from Singapore: What can we learn about from other countries with successful child care policy, programs, and happy populations (i.e. Northern European countries like Denmark Sweden Finland, or Asian countries like Singapore, Japan) to improve our child care?
Forum Staff

Question from Martina via email: There are many children with no disability who have working parents with income levels above financial eligibility for Head Start. However, quality child care not including basic needs (clothes, private health insurance costs, etc.) would be over 50% of one parent’s monthly salary especially in my state of SC. What are ideas, plans or programs do you think should be in place for families with children in the gap?
Forum Staff

Question from Elizabeth via email: With large class sizes and lack of primary caregiving policies to unable the fostering of intimacy, how can infant group care provide the essential relationship-building stimulation for early brain development that supports crucial healthy secondary attachment behaviors for very young children so that infants and toddlers don’t suffer in a “terror state” on a daily basis while away from their parents?
Forum Staff

Question from Susan by email: Research shows that child care staff provide better care when they have an ongoing relationship with a pediatric health consultant. How can we make sure that all child care programs have a “school health” component that offers input from pediatric health professionals to prevent harm and promote health in child care settings?
Forum Staff

Question from Elizabeth by email: What is the common consensus about the role of mindfulness activities and programs in aiding children’s positive development?
Forum Staff

Question from Brian via email: There’s so much attention paid to the high cost of college tuition and very little attention paid towards child care, which can cost more per capita than in-state college tuition. My question what is being done to relieve the enormous cost of child care on families in this country?
Forum Staff

Question from Elizabeth by email: How can we encourage healthy eating habits and behaviors in early childhood?
Forum Staff

Question from Nancy: What steps have been successful in the recruitment and retention of quality child care home providers? Any suggestions? What suggestions do you have for reaching parents face to face on a zero budget?
Forum Staff

Question from Harvard Chan student: We have discussed childcare in America at length today, but we are far from being the world leaders when it comes to affordable, accessible, and quality care. What are some lessons we can learn from foreign countries, and models we could try to adopt or imitate?
Forum Staff

Question from Harvard Chan student: Early childhood development is absolutely crucial for cognitive, motor, and emotional learning. Unfortunately, America’s children lag behind many of their European or Asian peers when it comes to performance in grade school (especially in math). What are ways in which childcare can change to better prepare children for a life of learning and strong academic performance?
Forum Staff

Question from Harvard Chan student: Innovation is the new buzz word in the education world — with the new tools, technology, and research we have, how can we constantly improve on the status quo and provide a better learning and interactive experience for our children? What are some gaps in childcare that innovation and technology could address?
Forum Staff

Question from the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN) via email: A small but growing number of studies reveal elevated levels of certain contaminants in indoor air in child care facilities. Research also indicates that the majority of child care providers are not aware of potential environmental hazards in the child care setting, nor of how to reduce children’s exposures. As the country’s number of children suffering from chronic conditions such as asthma increases, we need to address harmful exposures in settings where children spend a significant portion of their days in order to prevent illnesses and to properly manage existing illnesses. Why does the definition of “quality child care” often omit measures of environmental health?
Forum Staff

Question from the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN) via email: The Children’s Environmental Health Network’s Eco Healthy Child Care® program has been working with Quality Rating and Improvement Systems in several states, and 2 national child care accreditation organizations to incorporate more or improved environmental health best practices into their assessment criteria. These voluntary, non-regulatory programs are a major step forward, but how can we better provide the educational resources and technical assistance to child care programs in low income communities where children are already at increased risk for adverse health and developmental outcomes?
Forum Staff

Question from Brittany via email: Rating and improvement also comes with accountability, and that usually means testing. How can we address quality of child care, when the increasing culture of testing is beginning earlier and earlier? What are the alternatives to holding providers accountable besides testing?

The teacher in your clip advocated for less testing for younger students and was fired from TPS last year:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/education/teachers-who-instigated-over-testing-examination-in-tps-no-longer/article_157a6031-9da2-5794-840a-40d194c750fc.html
Forum Staff

Question by Margee via email: Why does childcare vary so much across the country? For example, we live in Brookline and pay $2000 to 2500 every month (depending on if it is a 4 or 5 week month) for full time daycare for my 1 year old. This is similar, if not more than daycare prices in Manhattan. Initially I thought it was related to median or average family income but Brookline is about $93000 and UES is $106,000.
Forum Staff

Question from Harvard Chan student: The NPR poll was also interested in looking at the difference between mothers’ and fathers’ perception of the care their child was receiving. Can you talk more about some conflicting priorities that occur among couples and childcare programs?
Forum Staff

Question from Cindy via email: Our research on The Satellite Babies phenomenon was featured this past week on NPR’s Morning Edition (http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/13/492860463/born-in-the-u-s-raised-in-china-satellite-babies-have-a-hard-time-coming-home) where Chinese immigrant families send their U.S. born infants back to China to be cared for by relatives until they can enroll or afford child care in the U.S. Twenty percent of our research sample have sent their children to China. I’m wondering if you could comment on how policies can reach immigrant population?
Forum Staff

Question from Harvard Chan student: The care of children with special needs oftentimes represents a huge financial burden to families, in addition to the fact that appropriate facilities and institutions may be hard to come by, not available close to home, already over-capacity in terms of enrollment, or too expensive. How can childcare tailored to children with special needs be integrated into “normal” childcare programs, and what are ways to help parents of children with disabilities provide the best services for their children at a point in time where it matters most?
Forum Staff

Question from Harvard Chan student: For parents or parents-to-be who are starting to look into childcare options. What are your recommendations for choosing an institution, and what measures are put in place to regularly evaluate programs at a local/city/state level?
Forum Staff

Question from Harvard Chan student: We have talked a lot about childcare, the quality of childcare, and the US’s parent population perception of childcare. What about theabsence of childcare, which is a reality for so many parents and families in the US. What can be done to improve accessibility and awareness about the importance of childcare?
Forum Staff

Question from Harvard Chan student: The NPR survey released yesterday points at the fact that many parents report having had difficulty finding a childcare match they like? What are the reasons that make this process so difficult for families?
Forum Staff

Question from a viewer: Licensing for child care centers doesn’t ensure quality, but it does guarantee training standards and minimum health and safety requirements. Can we establish similar licensing guidelines for quality – and not just ratings guidelines?
Forum Staff

Question from a viewer: Is there a process for applying for subsidized child care? I work overnight, can I get support for child care so that I can get rest during the day?
Forum Staff

Question from a viewer: Mothers seem to be the ones to manage shifting childcare needs due to illness, etc. Should workplaces be taking gender role differences into account when looking at flextime and leave policies?
Forum Staff

Question from a viewer: Transportation to daycare is a huge issue for me. I’m a single mom and have to be at work at 7:30am. I need help getting my 3 year old daughter to the center but there are no transportation options. Any ideas about this? We have public school buses for elementary age kids, but what about toddlers and pre-Ks?
Forum Staff

Question from a viewer: The cost of daycare is so prohibitive that parents are delaying childbirth because they can’t afford care. Aside from the potential role of the government in providing relief, what about the role of the workplace? How can we encourage employers to recognize the benefits to their workers of providing much more expansive child care benefits?

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