Chapter 1: Conducting a Child Care Community Needs Assessment

1. What is a Community Assessment?
   
2. Why Do a Community Assessment?
   
3. Who Should Participate in a Community Assessment?
   
4. What Method Should Be Used?
   
5. What Information Should Be Gathered?
   
6. What Should a Community Assessment Report Look Like?
   
7. When Should the Community Assessment Process Begin?

A Tribal Lead Agency should conduct a community needs assessment to determine the need for construction or renovation of a child care facility.  A community assessment usually examines the entire child care service environment, including facility needs.

I. What is a Community Assessment?

A child care community assessment is the collection and analysis of information on the characteristics of the eligible children and families in the service area and the resources available to assist families in child care services. 

The emphasis of the community assessment should be on issues having the greatest impact on the eligible child care population.  It covers the entire service area that a tribal child care lead agency is funded to serve.  It should not be limited to the geographical areas from which the lead agency is drawing the children and families it is currently serving.

A completed child care community assessment is a tool that will assist a Tribe in making decisions about the types of child care services to be provided in a tribal community.

II. Why Do a Community Assessment?

There are several important reasons for conducting a community assessment. They include: 

• Program planning and decision-making;
• Documenting the eligible population;
• Leveraging funds to support Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) services;
• Responding to changing programs and policies;
• Establishing collaborative community partnerships; and
• Conducting internal education for tribal officials and program staff.

Program Planning and Decision-Making

The community assessment is an integral part of the CCDF planning process for a Tribal Lead Agency.  It can be an important tool for making decisions in a number of areas, such as:

• Establishing a Tribal Lead Agency’s mission and service goals and objectives;
• Establishing plans to attain the desired goals and objectives;
• Determining the accessibility of, and gaps in, child care services;
• Projecting the eligible population within the service area;
• Determining the types of program services to be offered;
• Determining the locations of child care services within the service area;
• Determining the marketing and recruitment priorities; and
• Establishing need for construction and renovation of facilities.

Decisions will cover different time spans. The Tribal Lead Agency’s two-year CCDF plan requires that decisions are made for a two-year period. The lead agency should be engaging in long-term strategic planning for management tasks requiring extended lead times, such as planning for and developing new facilities, expanding services, increasing and changing the types of services provided, and revising the method and criteria for determining eligibility.

Documenting the Eligible Population

Documenting the number of eligible children within a tribal community is an annual CCDF funding requirement. Collecting this data will assist the Tribal Lead Agency in projecting future trends of the child care population. Understanding trends in the target population provides the lead agency with information to design program services that adequately meet community needs. For example, projections for a significant increase in infant/toddler or school-age children might affect the types and locations of services offered.

Leveraging Funds to Support CCDF Services

Supplemental resources can support innovative methods for educating child care consumers, extending child care services, meeting specialized service needs of participating children and their families, and/or implementing collaborative working relationships. Most decisions about child care services will be made by the Tribal Lead Agency relative to its existing resources. Nevertheless, information gleaned from a community assessment can be used to plan new programs and support other applications for public and private funding.

Responding to Changing Programs and Policies

Understanding the environment in which child care services are provided allows the lead agency greater flexibility in meeting the demands of funding agencies and the needs of the eligible population. For example, having conducted a community assessment, a Tribal Lead Agency will be more equipped to respond to new program regulations, or develop funding proposals based on the needs of the community.

Establishing Collaborative Community Partnerships

The community assessment can assist the Tribal Lead Agency in collaborative efforts with various other agencies operating within the service area. The process of collecting information and opinions from these community resources can help to develop and enhance personal ties with the staff in these agencies. Information about the programs operated by these other agencies can be used to develop effective referral services for CCDF families and to establish partnerships that help provide a seamless array of early care and education services to families in the service area.

Conducting Internal Education for Tribal Officials and Program Staff

The community assessment information can be used to educate staff, parents, tribal council members, consortium board members, early childhood service providers, and other community leaders about the needs of CCDF-eligible families. The assessment highlights the strength of the community and indicates where there are gaps in services. The information can be used to support the efforts undertaken by the Tribal Lead Agency during the public hearing process for the CCDF two-year plan. 

III. Who Should Participate in a Community Assessment?

The Tribal Lead Agency has great flexibility in designing its community assessment, which includes determining who should be involved in the process. The community assessment process should involve different types of people. They may include, but should not be limited to:

• CCDF staff: This planning function is an administrative activity for which the CCDF director has the operating responsibility. Other child care management staff, where they exist, should participate actively in collecting and analyzing information.
• Tribal Staff (Non-CCDF): Depending on the structure and organization of the Tribal Lead Agency, technical staff such as planners or information management specialists may be called upon to participate in the process. Directors of other tribal human services programs may be kept informed or asked to participate in appropriate ways.
• Decision-Making Bodies: The tribal council and any of its relevant special committees should be consulted regarding the plan for conducting a community assessment. Members of these bodies may be asked to participate directly in collecting, analyzing, or interpreting information as individuals or as part of an existing advisory committee.
• Consultants, Volunteers, or Students: While most Tribal Lead Agencies are capable of planning, conducting, and preparing a community assessment without outside assistance, the CCDF management staff may choose to seek assistance to accomplish this activity. If outside help is used, care must be given to coordinating and supervising the work to be accomplished. Outside assistance should not substitute for the active involvement of the CCDF director and/or other management staff.  
• Other Early Childhood and Support Agencies: Joint efforts can be undertaken through collaborative efforts of the various providers of early childhood programs within the tribal community. Private and public agencies can share considerable information on the needs of the CCDF service populations. The CCDF lead agency can provide similar information to other service programs within tribal communities.

IV. What Method Should Be Used?

Decisions about how to plan and conduct a community assessment will depend on the size and characteristics of the Tribal Lead Agency. Choices may include utilizing existing structures such as existing advisory committees or an existing group within the Tribe’s planning department; or establishing a special community assessment committee or design team. In designing the community assessment, it is important to:

• Determine the desired results and outcomes of the assessment;
• Determine the best use of time and resources;
• Outline tasks, assign responsibilities, and establish timelines; and
• Include the correct mix of community agencies in the planning process.

Community assessment preparations should also take into account the number of staff, volunteers, and students that will be used to implement the assessment, analyze the information, and prepare a community assessment document.

V. What Information Should Be Gathered?

There is no required process to be used in conducting an assessment of child care services by a Tribal Lead Agency, nor is there a required format for reporting the community assessment findings.  The CCDF regulations, program instructions, information memoranda, and CCDF Plan requirements should be reviewed to determine what information to include in the community assessment. 

The tribal plan preprint and instructions provide guidance on information that must be gathered by Tribal Lead Agencies in planning for the provision of child care services. For example, data to be gathered to support the services outlined in the Tribal Plan include:

• Number of eligible children under age 13 residing within the defined service area;
• Information on the special needs of children in the service area population;
• Demographic information on the eligible population, including health needs, education levels, economic status, employment, and participation in workforce development activities and/or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF);
• Types of early care and education services provided within the service area;
• Rates charged for child care in the service area (based on market rate survey);
• Documentation of the income levels used by the lead agency for determining eligibility;
• Health and safety standards governing the community’s child care programs; and
• Number and types of community resource agencies that may provide supportive services to CCDF families and may be participating in collaborative activities with the Tribal Lead Agency.

Information on a number of these items could be gathered using the community assessment.  The Tribal Lead Agency may decide to include other information, as well, such as information required to apply to use CCDF funds for construction or renovation of a child care facility.

Information Sources for Community Assessment

Data to be used in a child care community needs assessment may be obtained from clients, from competitors (if applicable) and other community agencies providing similar services, and by researching local demographic information. Within each of these areas, information can be gathered to support a lead agency’s decision-making processes. 

Client Information

Information gathered from current and potential clients can provide valuable information about child care services.  Consumers of child care services have opinions regarding the service they receive and can provide a wealth of information that can assist a Tribal Lead Agency and child care providers.  Client information can be gathered through client satisfaction surveys, meetings, interviews, or a mix of these methods.  Information gathered from clients can be used to identify and prioritize issues that need to be addressed by the lead agency and/or providers; to determine lead agency goals, objectives, and activities; and to identify areas of focus for quality improvement efforts.

Input from families not currently using child care services can help the lead agency improve program options and identify potential geographic areas in need of expanded services.  If some of the lead agency’s services are being underutilized, information from these families can help the lead agency understand why.

Community Agency Information

Useful information can be obtained from various community agencies within and outside of the Tribe including, but not limited to, Head Start programs; child welfare agencies; social service agencies; education agencies; workforce development/employment and training/TANF agencies; health and wellness agencies; and Indian Health Service.  Information from these community partners can be gathered through interviews, written questionnaires, or meetings with agency representatives.

Information on the availability and accessibility of community resources to support child care families, which can be attained from these agencies, can be used to determine the information and referral services needed within a community.  This information can also be used to develop collaborative working relationships between the CCDF lead agency and others serving CCDF families, and can lead to the sharing and blending of resources to create a more seamless continuum of child care services.

Community agencies also can be valuable partners in providing resources to child care providers for quality improvements, family advocacy efforts, and strategies for enhanced service delivery.

Demographic Information

Demographic information about the lead agency’s service area can assist a lead agency in identifying and prioritizing issues that need to be addressed, the types of child care services to provide, the best place to locate child care programs, and how to market the program to the service area population.  It can help the lead agency establish its overall goals and objectives for the CCDF program.  Some potentially useful data types and sources are noted below.

• Demographic data on the service area’s population, basic economic activities, location, poverty levels, and future trends can be located in the Tribe’s overall economic development plan or tribal action plan.  This general background information for the community assessment may be obtained from the tribal planning department, tribal census office, and/or the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Data related to unemployment rates, number of public assistance recipients, protective service caseloads, infant mortality rates, the condition of housing and public facilities, and environmental assessments may be obtained from various tribal agencies and programs, the Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and various county or state agencies.
• Information on the tribal service area’s racial/ethnic composition can be obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau and its updates; the tribal census office; and tribal, BIA, public, and private school systems.
• Information on the number of children served by other early childhood programs and the characteristics of these programs can be obtained from tribal and state licensing agencies; local Head Start and Early Head Start programs; child care resource and referral agencies; and local school districts.
• Other data may be gleaned from the lead agency’s Child Care and Development Fund Annual Report (Form ACF-700 and Supplemental Narrative). This annual report, submitted to the federal government each December, provides aggregate information on CCDF program services.

VI. What Should a Community Assessment Report Look Like?

There are no requirements regarding the format, length, or content of a written community assessment report.  The assessment should only address the issues and concerns of the children and families who make up the lead agency’s service area population. It should be long enough to be comprehensive, yet short enough so that the report will be used by decision-makers. As a general guide, a report from a small to medium size Tribal Lead Agency may be 10–30 pages.  A report from a larger tribal agency may be between 20-50 pages and would include an executive summary.  The suggested page length does not include graphics, charts or exhibits. 

VII. When Should the Community Assessment Process Begin?

Generally the lead agency should plan to begin the community assessment process at least 10 months prior to the scheduled submission of the tribal plan preprint.  Allowing more than 10 months for completing the entire community assessment process will permit a more thorough and accurate analysis of the information collected and should provide lead agency staff with sufficient time to draft a comprehensive summary report.

Introduction | Table of Contents | Chapter 2