Numerous studies have examined the processes parents use in accessing early care and education (ECE) for their children and the barriers parents face to enroll. To our knowledge, previous studies have not engaged both parents and frontline ECE enrollment staff as co-investigators to examine family perspectives and a systems perspective simultaneously. This qualitative study compiled a research team of diverse (family, provider, academic) perspectives combining principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and human-centered design in peer-led qualitative interviews (n = 20), focus groups (n = 5) with local ECE staff and managers, and several community synthesis and design sessions (n = 6) with caregivers, ECE staff, and local thought leaders in Cincinnati, Ohio. The goals of the study were to: 1) identify policy-relevant and system-level barriers that keep families with low incomes or families of color from enrolling in high-quality ECE programs and 2) co-design potential policy- and system-interventions or prototypes with parents and local ECE agency partners to overcome these barriers. Nine types of barriers in three categories were elucidated by parents and ECE staff: 1) enrollment barriers such as parents’ lack of awareness of options, excessive and redundant paperwork, outdated technologies used, and lack of transparency paired with poor follow-up communication from ECE staff; 2) practical and logistical barriers such as cost, transportation, and concerns about COVID; and 3) human-factors concerns related to safety, trust, and diversity of ECE environment. Peer researchers co-created eight policy- or system- prototypes or interventions to address these barriers. While our findings suggest that access challenges remain ubiquitous locally, they also demonstrate what is possible when researchers and policymakers intentionally involve targeted users of ECE policy in the designs of those policies and systems.

中文翻译：

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为什么 ECE 注册如此复杂？来自前线的障碍和共同创建的解决方案


许多研究检查了父母在为孩子获得早期护理和教育 （ECE） 时使用的过程，以及父母在入学时面临的障碍。据我们所知，以前的研究并未让父母和一线 ECE 招生人员作为共同研究者同时检查家庭观点和系统观点。这项定性研究组建了一个由不同（家庭、提供者、学术）观点组成的研究团队，在同伴主导的定性访谈 （n = 20） 中结合了基于社区的参与式研究 （CBPR） 和以人为本的设计原则，与当地 ECE 工作人员和管理人员的焦点小组 （n = 5），以及与护理人员、ECE 工作人员和辛辛那提当地思想领袖的几次社区综合和设计会议 （n = 6）， 俄亥俄州。该研究的目标是：1） 确定阻碍低收入家庭或有色人种家庭参加高质量 ECE 计划的政策相关和系统级障碍，以及 2） 与家长和当地 ECE 机构合作伙伴共同设计潜在的政策和系统干预措施或原型，以克服这些障碍。家长和 ECE 工作人员阐明了三类九种类型的障碍： 1） 入学障碍，例如家长缺乏对选择的认识、过多和多余的文书工作、使用的技术过时以及缺乏透明度，以及 ECE 工作人员的后续沟通不畅;2） 实际和后勤障碍，例如成本、交通和对 COVID 的担忧;3） 与 ECE 环境的安全、信任和多样性相关的人为因素问题。同行研究人员共同创建了八个政策或系统原型或干预措施来解决这些障碍。 虽然我们的研究结果表明，访问挑战在当地仍然普遍存在，但它们也表明，当研究人员和政策制定者有意识地让 ECE 政策的目标用户参与这些政策和系统的设计时，会发生什么。