was just so fantastic there is no way I would ever be able to afford that.” - Participant from parent focus group
Many parents described how access to child care, due to the ACCM Pilot Program, had positive impacts on their child’s development. Observing healthy child development was particularly important to parents in the focus groups, many of whom were parents of infants and toddlers. During the focus groups, parents were excited about how their children were thriving thanks to the stable, regulated care afforded through the ACCM Pilot Program. Parents cited various examples of how the child care programs were positively promoting their children’s development—such as potty training, learning to walk, saying new words, improvements in writing and spelling, and growth in their social skills. Many of these parents were grateful for the opportunity for their child to socialize and spend quality time with other children and learn from them. They described this as a major benefit and improvement compared to their previous arrangements that were often at home or with relatives. “Developmental learning has skyrocketed... family’s fun and stuff, but they weren’t doing those lessons that they get in the morning with circle time and the art and all the things that they’re doing... My son comes home saying things all the time that I’m like, ‘Wow!’... I’m so happy that he gets to experience that.” - Participant from parent focus group “The greatest benefit for me is… being able to actually afford to put him in a facility… Because he was at home with me and my mom… not around other children.” - Participant from parent focus group
Despite the many benefits, families faced some challenges finding open child care slots.
Once receiving the ACCM Pilot subsidy, some parents struggled to find open child care slots that met their needs. While parents were grateful to have financial support for child care, many who were participating in the ACCM Pilot Program struggled to find open slots when seeking to enroll their children in child care programs. They faced issues common among many families searching for child care in Allegheny County and Pennsylvania. xvii For example, many parents described going on multiple waiting lists to secure a slot. Likewise, other parents struggled to reach or communicate with programs to learn whether they had available slots. These issues were particularly difficult for parents who needed immediate child care or those transitioning from an informal child care arrangement. Child care providers who participated in the focus groups also noted that long waiting lists were a major barrier to serving more families. In addition, a few parents also discussed struggling to find programs that provided care during the non-regular hours that they worked. “It was difficult finding a spot. I got put on about nine wait lists because I called the top ten in my area and they’re all like, ‘oh, we’d love to, but we can’t take any newborns right now…give us a year.” - Participant from parent focus group
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