Utilization rates of early care and education (ECE) programs among young children (ages 0-5) involved with child protective services (CPS) are significantly lower than those of all U.S. children in this age group (39% vs. 74%). Research on factors contributing to this disparity, potentially driven by inequitable access to care, is limited. Expanding access to quality ECE for CPS-involved children depends on ECE providers’ willingness and capacity to serve them, yet no studies have examined ECE providers’ experiences in this context. This study analyzes focus group data from 84 diverse ECE providers across Massachusetts who provide subsidized child care to CPS-involved children, aiming to understand providers’ experiences and identify resources and supports needed to meet these children's needs. Using the social ecological model, providers’ experiences are categorized into three major themes and subthemes: (1) individual factors (responding to critical needs of children, a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment through serving them, relevant knowledge and experience with the population), (2) child and family-related challenges (meeting children's behavioral needs, challenges in engaging with families, inconsistence attendance due to transportation), and (3) community and policy factors (need for resources and financial support, specialized trainings such as trauma-informed care, behavioral management, better information-sharing about children's circumstances, influence of foster care placement on child care settings, needs for greater subsidy policy flexibility). Implications for policymakers, ECE providers, and future research are discussed.

中文翻译：

---

儿童保育服务提供者为参与儿童保护服务系统的接受补贴的儿童提供服务的经验：对公平机会的影响


参与儿童保护服务 （CPS） 的幼儿（0-5 岁）的早期护理和教育 （ECE） 计划的利用率明显低于该年龄段的所有美国儿童（39% 对 74%）。关于导致这种差异的因素（可能是由获得护理的不公平驱动的因素）的研究是有限的。扩大参与 CPS 的儿童获得优质 ECE 的机会取决于 ECE 提供者为他们服务的意愿和能力，但没有研究检查过 ECE 提供者在这方面的经验。本研究分析了来自马萨诸塞州 84 家不同 ECE 提供者的焦点小组数据，这些提供者为参与 CPS 的儿童提供补贴托儿服务，旨在了解提供者的经验并确定满足这些儿童需求所需的资源和支持。使用社会生态模型，提供者的体验分为三个主要主题和子主题：（1） 个人因素（响应儿童的关键需求，通过服务他们获得满足感和成就感，与人群相关的知识和经验），（2） 与儿童和家庭相关的挑战（满足儿童的行为需求、与家庭互动的挑战、交通造成的出勤不一致）， （3） 社区和政策因素（需要资源和财政支持、创伤知情护理等专业培训、行为管理、更好地分享有关儿童情况的信息、寄养安置对儿童保育环境的影响、需要更大的补贴政策灵活性）。讨论了对政策制定者、ECE 提供者和未来研究的影响。