This summary highlights key takeaways from a partnership between SRI International and the California Departments of Education and Social Services funded by a grant awarded in 2019 by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Children and Families. Explore takeaways from other Child Care Policy Research Partnership Grant teams here.

Studies have shown that including children with disabilities in classrooms with same-age peers benefits both groups. However, in 2019 only 3 percent of preschoolers receiving subsidized child care in California had a disability, even though 6 percent of preschoolers in the state were receiving special education services. Why aren’t more children with disabilities in subsidized child care settings with their same-age peers?

In this study, the research team analyzed administrative data; interviewed child care directors, school district personnel, parents, and others; and surveyed child care and special education directors. They identified barriers and facilitators to including preschoolers with disabilities in subsidized child care.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The team found that multiple factors contribute to the small number of preschool children with disabilities in subsidized care, including the following:

• The potential cost of placing preschoolers with disabilities in community-based child care centers deters school districts from working with child care centers. When a school district places a child in a community-based early childhood program to receive special education services, the district is responsible for the costs.
• Many families of preschoolers with disabilities are only offered district-based, rather than community-based, programs to receive special education. This limits families’ ability to choose a program that matches their child care and special education service needs. Some preschoolers in half-day school programs have to be transported to child care for the rest of the day. To avoid using two programs, some families give up their child care. Others decline special education and continue full time in child care.
• Child care centers vary in their capacity to meet the needs of children with disabilities. Many centers can serve children with communication delays. However, fewer centers can meet the needs of children with behavior challenges or provide special equipment, accessible classrooms, and accessible playgrounds.

Previous research identified attitude as a key barrier to including children with disabilities in classes with same-age peers. In this study, however, child care directors reported being open to placing more children with disabilities in their programs, and school district leaders were committed to providing more inclusive opportunities for preschoolers.

POLICY AND PROGRAM IMPLICATIONS

• These and other findings from this study demonstrate a need for more collaboration between child care centers and school districts. To help more preschoolers with disabilities access subsidized child care, local communities could develop new or use existing groups, such as community collaboratives or children’s councils, to focus on increasing collaboration among child care programs and school districts.
• The state child care agency and local institutions of higher education could help more child care centers meet the needs of preschoolers with disabilities by providing professional development and training opportunities to child care staff. School districts could invite child care staff to participate in joint trainings with school staff. They also could provide individualized consultations to child care staff working with children with disabilities.
• State policymakers could identify communities with the lowest rates of children with disabilities enrolled in subsidized care and invest in strategies to support more collaboration between child care centers and school districts in these communities.

METHODOLOGY

To determine the percentage of children with disabilities in subsidized care and special education, the research team analyzed state-level administrative data on both programs. They then interviewed professionals around the state (n = 23) who knew about child care and preschoolers with disabilities to inform the rest of the study.

To understand barriers and facilitators to including preschoolers with disabilities in subsidized child care, the team interviewed a diverse group of people. This included families, child care directors, teachers, school district general and special education administrators, resource and referral staff, family resource center staff, and staff at programs that provide life-span disability services. The research team also conducted statewide surveys of child care directors (n = 198) and local special education and early childhood special education administrators (n = 143).