Webinar Recap: Promoting Equitable Pandemic Recovery for Hartford's Young Children
On Thursday, May 2, 2024, we held an event discussing the findings of our most recent research report, Promoting Equitable Pandemic Recovery for Hartford’s Young Children. We also heard about how the City of Hartford is using our findings to inform their work, discussed some other early childhood research going on at CTData, and heard from Courtney Parkerson at The Connecticut Project about the statewide RAPID survey of families with young children that has just launched.
Insights on Hartford’s Young Children and the Early Care & Education System
Our research explored how the pandemic has impacted Hartford’s young children, with the aim of informing efforts to promote equitable pandemic recovery. We analyzed administrative data from the City of Hartford, conducted a survey of Hartford child care providers, and led focus groups with parents of young children to understand. Explore the findings and read the full reports here. This research was conducted in partnership with the City of Hartford with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and the Fund for Greater Hartford.
Some high-level findings include:
Enrollments in Hartford’s state-funded child care centers dropped by 43% following the onset of the pandemic. In September 2022, total enrollments were still 30% lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Insufficient demand from families was cited as the top reason for child care slot vacancies at both child care centers and family child care homes, followed by child care centers not having enough staff to operate at full capacity.
The pandemic-related drop in enrollments was concentrated among children in poverty.
Child care center administrators expressed high levels of concern regarding children's language, cognitive, and social development, and reported high levels of emotional and behavioral problems.
86% of child care center administrators reported difficulties hiring and retaining qualified staff, and 85% said staff seem stressed or burnt out on the job.
During focus groups with parents in Hartford, many indicated that they were unaware of affordable child care options and identified cost as a major barrier to access. They also expressed the need for more before and after-school care options.
How the City of Hartford is Using Data to Inform their Work
We heard from Shyleen López, Assistant Director of Early Learning at the City of Hartford Department of Families, Children, Youth and Recreation, about how the City of Hartford is using our findings to inform their work supporting Hartford’s young children and their families.
Early Childhood Research at CTData
We discussed several other early childhood research projects that are going on at CTData:
The Connecticut Head Start Program Analysis and Needs Assessment Survey developed by CTData for the Connecticut Head Start Collaboration Office.
The work of the CT 359 network, a project of CTData that uses data to understand the needs of children in our state, and is working to build the evidence needed to inform policies and practices that will put those children on track for success now and throughout their lives.
Our new research project, funded by The Connecticut Project, to help the City of Hartford use CT DOTS assessment data to understand children’s developmental needs.
The Connecticut RAPID Survey
Courtney Parkinson, Director of The Connecticut Project, discussed the Connecticut RAPID Survey, a project aimed at gathering ongoing, timely data from parents of young children in 17 Connecticut communities to inform early childhood policy and program improvements.
Webinar Recording & Slides
Watch the full webinar recording or view the slideshow below to learn more!
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you are interested to learn more about the resources and services that can help you make informed decisions with data, check out this page. You can learn more about our research, as well as the consulting services we provide. For training and tips on how to use data, register for one of our CTData Academy workshops or browse our blog. You can keep up with us by subscribing to the CTData newsletter and following us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.