Results of the 2007 North Dakota Licensed Child Care Dismissal Study HNDECA Meeting Bismarck, ND April 23, 2008 Dr. Richard Rathge Professor and Executive Director North Dakota Kids Count

About the study Commissioned by Child Care Resource & Referral, through funding from HNDECA Conducted by the North Dakota State Data Center Data collected in September 2007 Survey mailed to complete list of licensed child care providers (N=1,518)

About the study Response rate of 38% (N=583 completed surveys) Typical discussion of “error” does not apply Providers asked whether they dismissed children, and if so, characteristics of the child, reasons for dismissal, and resources that could help prevent a dismissal

Clarification of terms Some providers who had 2+ dismissals combined the dismissal information in their answers and treated it as a single case ~10% of the cases represented multiple children Thus, data should be viewed as # of dismissal cases rather than # of individual dismissed children

Provider comment: “What an excellent survey, I hope it helps children. Without something like this to get a better insight, these children would have no ‘voice.’”

Providers by type of age groups in child care setting

Dismissal cases by age group 1 in 5 providers had dismissal cases in the last year (14% previous year) Half had more than one dismissal case Number of dismissal cases = 244

For providers with a dismissal “last year” or in the “previous year” Dismissals “last year” or in the “previous year” were: More common among providers with infants 0 to 11 months (and, among these, were more common among settings that have 1 to 2 infants 0 to 11 months) More common among providers with infants 12 to 23 months More common among providers with preschoolers

Distribution of child care providers and dismissals by type of licensure

Distribution of providers and dismissals by number of children enrolled in child care

Reasons for dismissal Behavior problems of the child - 51% of cases Inability of parent/guardian(s) to pay for child care - 31% of cases Safety of other children - 26% of cases Other reasons - 29% of cases Parental behavior problems, issues with hours, health issues, etc.

Reason for dismissal: behavior Dismissals for behavior-related problems were: Less common among infants (0 to 11 months and 12 to 23 months) and toddlers More common among school-age children More common among child care settings with 20 or more children, followed by settings with 1 to 9 children

For dismissals due to child behavior: 14% of providers were aware of the behavior problem when the child enrolled. When behavior became a problem, actions the providers took included: Behavior was observed and documented - 62% of providers Parent/guardian was provided with outside resources to assist the child - 33% of providers Once it was determined the child would leave, the family was given other resources to contact for placement - 37% of providers

Examples of reasons for dismissal from child care Behavior problems of the child “Touching of private parts on other children.” “Child was constantly wetting pants.”

Reason for dismissal: issues of payment Dismissals for issues of payment were: More common among toddlers Less common among school-age children and children living with both parents

Examples of reasons for dismissal from child care Issues with hours, payments “Parent’s hours at work no longer fit with day care hours of service.” “Parent said the children would be full- time, but treated us like a drop-off day care without notice.” “Always were late with payments.”

Reason for dismissal: safety of other children Dismissals for the safety of other children were: Uncommon among infants (0 to 11 months and 12 to 23 months) More common among school-age children More common among child care settings with 20 or more children More common among child care settings with “other” types of licensure (e.g., center, pre- school, school-age, Head Start*, and those with multiple types of licensure), followed by settings with “group” licensure *Head Start’s federal regulations do not permit local Head Start programs to expel children for any reason.

Examples of reasons for dismissal from child care Issues with parents “Parent’s behavior was threatening and defensive.” “Parents would not allow child to be evaluated.” “Parents were unwilling to follow through with advice given to them on discipline and biting issues.” “Parents wouldn’t keep a consistent schedule to help resolve behavioral issues.” “Parents would not follow illness guidelines.” “Children kept coming with lice.”

Examples of reasons for dismissal from child care Not enough resources/child had special needs “Unable to provide the specialized one- on-one care child needed as well as taking care of other children.” “He had [an] attachment disorder and I was not informed about it.”

Prior to dismissal: The vast majority of providers had at least one meeting with the parents prior to dismissing a child (89%). A time limit was given for the dismissal in 64% of cases, while in 30% of cases the dismissal was immediate.

Formal assessments A professional conducted a formal assessment of the child in 15% of the dismissal cases. Conditions identified included ADHD, Asperger’s, Autism, and hearing impairment. Recommendations were given to the parent based on the child’s assessment in 24% of the cases. The child care program was an active participant in developing the recommendations in 23% of cases. Providers perceived that parents showed little follow-through on recommendations to prevent dismissal.

Resources that would help prevent dismissal Advice from a health professional “Additional information on Asperger’s Syndrome.” “Someone to help staff with child’s anger management.”

Resources that would help prevent dismissal Staff ratio issues “Extra help to care for the child.” “One-on-one with child.” “Money to support extra staff for child with psychological needs.”

Resources that would help prevent dismissal Payment issues “Payment on time in full.” “Child care assistance in larger amounts, paid up front instead of at the end of the month.” “The guarantee that if we get families on day care assistance we’ll get paid.”

Resources that would help prevent dismissal Counseling “Family counseling.” “Counseling to come in so I would know what triggers to avoid.”

Resources that would help prevent dismissal Government help/input “More cooperation from County Social Services.” “State required documentation to help support illness guidelines.”

Resources that would help prevent dismissal Parent education, training, involvement “Cooperation of parents on suggestions to modify behavior.” “Information and resources to give to families.”

Resources that would help prevent dismissal Prior knowledge of problems, honesty from parents “Knowing about his issues before he came.” “Parents being honest when filling out the informational forms.”

Resources that would help prevent dismissal Training “More information on psychological diseases.” “Techniques to use, ideas and activities.” “In home observation and guidance when we need help.” “Training on how to communicate with parents when behavior problems occur, suggestions on policies and procedures that providers can use.”

Provider comment: “I feel it is unprofessional to just ‘pass off’ a challenging child/family. This does not serve the child/family or the child care profession. The responsibility lies with the provider to seek out and participate in appropriate training to meet the needs of the children/families in our state. The resources are available to all providers.”

Dismissal Study Presentation Dr. Richard Rathge, Executive Director North Dakota Kids Count NDSU, IACC 424, Fargo, ND Phone: (701) Fax: (701) URL: