Understanding Child Care Decision-Making for Families who have Young Children with Disabilities: An Explanatory Mixed Methods Study

Child care is an essential service. However, families who have young children with disabilities often face challenges to accessing child care. To further complicate matters, young children with disabilities often attend special education services in addition to childcare, and families have little choice in how their special education services are provided. This presentation discusses a federally-funded mixed methods dissertation study about understanding the child care decision-making process for families who have young children with disabilities. Through an examination of national and local data, this study uncovers surprising insights that have implications for researchers and policymakers in the child care and disabilities fields. Family preferences, daily arrangement patterns, and family experiences negotiating between child care needs and special education services will be discussed.

Danielle is a 6th-year PhD student in the College of Education and Human Development, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, and a graduate research assistant at the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP). Her research focuses on child care and families who have young children with disabilities, with an emphasis on conducting research studies with a strong methodological foundation.