Defining the ages of the children

• Will the survey use the same age brackets as the State - usually those brackets defined in the State's licensing requirements.
• Does the Tribe cover the same age divisions?
• How will age bracket data from outside sources, such as the State's Market Rate survey, translate into the Tribe's?

A typical question for providers about the ages of the children served might be:

Defining the Units of Service

The unit of service is the time element that providers use to charge for their services. Some child care providers charge only full-day or full-month rates regardless of how long the child stays in care. Others have a part-time rate, a weekly rate, or an hourly rate. These are the units of service. A limited number of units of service must be selected as a part of the survey since all possibilities can not adequately be covered. It is best to use units of service that match what the majority of providers in the area use to establish their rates. A formula must be determined to convert other units of service into the selected categories. Tribes may want to consult both the local CCR&R and State Agency to find out how they measure the units of service and what conversion formulas were used. This would make the transfer of State and/or CCR&R data into a Tribal survey much easier.

Here is a sample question that combines both the ages of the children served with the unit of service:

	Infants	1 year olds	2 year olds	3 year olds	4 year olds	5 year olds preschool	5 to 12 year olds in school	Total:
How many children in each age group were enrolled full-time time in X month?
How many children in each age group were enrolled part- time in X month?

 

Enrollment data reflects the current number of children being served rather than the maximum number that provider could be serving. The licensed capacity of a center is often overestimated. Sometimes providers get licensed for the maximum number of children in case they choose to expand at a later date; or family child care home providers choose to serve only two or three children even though they are registered or licensed for a larger number. So enrollment data provides more accurate information than the licensed capacity data.

Market Cost

The purpose of the survey is to describe the cost of child care in the area. This guide has defined three possible approaches to defining the cost:

Market rate: the price charged to families who receive no help in paying for their child care services OR the price paid by a government subsidy plus the portion of the fee paid by the family. This is the one most typically measured.

Market cost - the cost per child when all contributions are taken into account, such as free rent, discounts, or donated services.

Full cost of care: the market cost plus the unpaid wages and benefits that would be paid to workers in other jobs who have similar educational backgrounds.

Because child care is expensive and subsidies are limited, many child care providers establish sliding fee scales, scholarship programs, or reduced rates for additional children in the same family to assist families who do not receive any outside financial assistance. Some providers receive outside help from agencies such as the United Way or receive free rent and other assistance. Some providers make up the difference in income by having fundraisers. This cost data can seriously affect the results of the Market Rate Survey. Therefore, the Market Rate Survey may collect data on the market cost: the amount of fees paid plus the value of any donated items, scholarships, or sliding fee scales. A sample question to retrieve some of this data is:

List the items you received in the past 12 months as donations or gifts from private sources:

Item: 1. ______________ 2. ______________ Estimated Value: ______________ ______________

Another possible question is:

During X month, how many of the children counted above received a scholarship or subsidy from your center or from another organization other than the CCDF monies?

These and other questions will help the Tribe estimate what the cost of child care really is - above what rate is actually charged.

Additional Fees

Child care providers often charge additional fees for registration, transportation, supplies, meals and field trips. The Market Rate Survey can include questions that determine what additional fees are charged above and beyond the hourly/weekly/monthly fees. A sample question to collect this information is:

Please indicate whether your facility charges for the following (show estimated ANNUAL COSTS PER CHILD):
	NO	YES	Estimated ANNUAL COST
Deposit	__	__	___________
Registration or Enrollment	__	__	___________
Activities and Field Trips	__	__	___________
Transportation to school or home	__	__	___________
Supplies	__	__	___________
Other charges (please describe)	__	__	___________
______________________________________________________________			___________
______________________________________________________________			___________

Having this type of information will help the tribe know whether some providers charge a low rate and add on special fees to the base rate reported in the survey. Also, if a lot of providers charge additional fees, it may be difficult for low-income families to get that quality of care if they are unable to pay the fee. The Tribe may need to establish a policy that allows payment of special fees from the Tribal CCDF monies or includes the costs of additional charges in the payment rate.

Preparing the survey instrument requires skills and understanding in methods of survey. A carefully prepared instrument can collect the information needed. The information needed in a simple Market Rate Survey includes:

• NUMBER of children cared for in EACH AGE BRACKET
• RATE charged the general public for FULL-TIME and PART-TIME CARE
• HOW rates are charged: by the HOUR, DAY, WEEK
• CURRENT ENROLLMENT by AGE GROUP
• VACANCIES by AGE GROUP
• TYPES of CARE offered: flexible care, evening care, overnight, weekends; care for sick children or children with disabilities
• RATES for each special TYPE of CARE
• ADDITIONAL FEES CHARGED: what fees are charged, what amount is paid by the highest private paying customer, and how often is the fee charged

Sometimes additional questions are added if the State or Tribe has a special interest or need for data. An example of this is: "Do you participate in the Child Care Food Program?"

When constructing the survey instrument, the Tribe will need to pay careful attention to the terms and definitions used in the survey.

Terms and Definitions

• Are the terms and definitions similar to terms and definitions used by the majority of the child care providers in the area?
• Is every term specifically defined? See the sample questions for examples of this.
• Are definitions part of the actual question rather than a separate set of instructions?
• Are the questions very specific so they can not be misinterpreted?

Survey Format

The format of the survey needs to ensure that it can be completed easily and quickly. If the survey is to be mailed, the design may direct the provider to fill in the appropriate blanks as in the sample questions shown in this guide. To make sure the providers only fill in the blanks needed to describe their services, be clear that providers are instructed NOT to fill in all the blanks if they don't serve all ages or charge rates in all units of service. It is a good idea to ask for the same key information in several different questions. Then the answers can be used to check on the accuracy of the data.

If a telephone survey is used, make sure the format is well spaced on the page and can be quickly and easily read. Surveyors need to be scripted so each one has the same conversation with each provider. Telephone surveys should not last more than five to ten minutes.

Pre-Test

It is always helpful to try out the survey on a few child care providers before giving it to the entire survey population. After "Pre-testing" the survey instrument, changes can be made to improve the questions before the actual Market Rate Survey is completed.

Once the information is collected, the data is tallied mathematically depending on the nature of the question. Typical calculations are:

• Total Responses in Each Category of Care
• Total Number of Children Cared for in Each Age Bracket
• Total Number of Children Cared for In Each Type of Care Total Number of Children cared for full-time, part-time, etc.
• Average Rate Charged for Each Unit of Service. This may be divided high, medium, and low cost areas
• Rates for Special Types of Care: flexible care, evening care, and weekend care, care for sick children or children with disabilities
• Additional Fees Charged

This chapter has described the development of the Market Rate Survey including defining the ages of the children, defining the units of service, market rate versus market cost and additional fees charged by providers. Preparing the survey instrument was discussed with an emphasis on terms and definitions, survey format, pre-testing the survey instrument, and calculating the data.

The next chapter describes using the survey data in making decisions about rate policies that support quality care for children.

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