Table 9 Home-based child care staff survey topics and sample questions
Survey topics | Sample questions |
|---|---|
Types and frequency of support services offered to providers | Please indicate which of the following services you offer family child care providers. Visits to provider homes Delivery of materials and equipment Modeling caregiving practices Talking with provider about children and families Training workshops Support groups |
Topics covered with providers | For each of the following topics please indicate if the topic has been the primary focus of a training you held, a topic covered but not the focus of training, or you have not covered this topic in training with home-based child care providers. Infant-toddler care Preschool-age care School-age care Working with mixed-ages children Balancing your own family needs with your child care business QRS standards Working with parents and families Working with special needs children Accessing community resources Business skills Taxes Licensing Nutrition Health and safety Environments Literacy Math and/or science |
Experiences working with and developing relationships with providers | Please think about the relationships you develop with home-based child care providers. For how many of the providers you work with would you say the following statements are true? Providers count on me for support like a friend or family member I have a close and trusting bond with providers I have a teacher-student relationship with providers There is not enough time to develop relationships with providers |
View of home-based child care | Please indicate whether you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the following statements:  High-quality early care and education can take place in home-based child care settings  Working with home-based child care providers is different from working with center-based teachers  It takes time to help home-based child care providers change and improve their practices  It is important to develop close relationships with providers to help them improve quality |
Challenges of working with providers | Please indicate how challenging the following are in your work with home-based child care providers:  Organization and time management  Provider cancellations and scheduling conflicts  Working evening and weekends to accommodate provider schedules  Dangerous or uncomfortable home environments  Dangerous or uncomfortable neighborhoods Inappropriate practices with children in provider homes  Providers who are defensive about learning new information or ways of helping children  Mental health or trauma issues of providers  Providers who are only motivated by gifts or monetary gain  Establishing personal/professional boundaries with providers  Supervisors don’t understand the realities of my work with home-based child care providers |
Staff support and supervision | How much support or supervision do you receive at your job for your work with home-based child care providers? |
Staff perception of training needs | Please indicate whether or not you’re received enough training in this area, received some training but would like more, or not enough training in this area. Adult learning theory Communication and listening skills Organization and case management Understanding family child care How to work with families and family support Coaching and consultation models Child development across the age span (0–8) School-age development Business development |
Staff background including prior education, work experience, demographic characteristics | What were your two most recent jobs? Family child care provider Child care center or preschool teacher Child care center or preschool director Agency specialist similar to my current job Other |