States are required by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Final Rule to ensure that families receiving child care assistance have equal access to comparable care purchased by private-paying parents. A market rate survey (MRS) is a tool States use to achieve this program objective. Some States conduct a survey to collect the child care market rate, and other States use administrative data, such as data collected by child care resource and referral (CCR&R) and State licensing agencies to analyze the market rate for child care.
The following is an overview of State child care market rate studies and related resources, including a summary of the findings from a research project funded by the Child Care Bureau to examine State practices, and links to a sample of recent State child care market rates studies.
The Child Care Bureau, Office of Family Assistance, funded a research project—Guidance for Validating Child Care Market Rate Surveys—to provide information about market rate studies. This information is intended to help States, Territories, and Tribes establish reimbursement rates for child care assistance programs funded through the CCDF. The study was conducted by the Oregon Child Care Research Partnership, Oregon State University Family Policy Program. It includes information from the 50 States and the District of Columbia, the 5 U.S. Territories, and 28 Tribes, all of which indicated that they had completed their own MRS since 2001. The following publications provide a summary of the study findings:
The National Child Care Information Center’s (NCCIC) examination of the CCDF Plans for Fiscal Years 2006–2007 and Market Rate Surveys revealed that some States conducted surveys, and other States analyzed existent administrative data collected by agencies such as CCDF Lead Agencies, CCR&R agencies, and/or the State child care licensing agencies. States used a variety of Government and private agencies to conduct analyses of child care market data. Some studies focused on the analysis of child care prices, and others included additional information about the market, including workforce statistics. The following provides information about the types of organizations involved in State analyses of child care market data:
The following is a sample of recent State child care market rate studies available on the Web, organized by the type of agency involved in the data collection and analysis, and the components of the MRS included in the document.
State |
MRS Conducted by the CCDF Lead Agency |
Components of MRS |
---|---|---|
Alabama |
“Attachment E – Child Care Market Rate Survey” (2005), Child Care and Development Fund Plan for FFY 2006-2007,by the Alabama Department of Human Resources. www.dhr.state.al.us/large_docs/2006-2007StatePlan_Alabama.pdf |
|
Alaska |
Alaska Child Care Market Rate Survey Report for 2005 (March 2007), by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. www.hss.state.ak.us/dpa/programs/ccare/files/AkChildCareMarketRateSurvey.pdf |
|
Michigan |
“Attachment G1 – 2005 Market Rate Survey Results” and “Attachment G2 – 2005 Market Survey Instrument” (2005), in the Child Care and Development Fund Plan for FY 2006-2007, by the Michigan Department of Human Services. |
|
Missouri |
Childcare Market Rate Survey 2006-2007 (2007), by the Missouri Department of Social Services. www.dss.mo.gov/cd/childcare/pdf/ccaresurvey06_07.pdf |
|
Nebraska |
Nebraska Health and Human Services Child Care Market Rate Survey 2005: Final Report (May 2005), by the Nebraska Department Health and Human Services. www.hhs.state.ne.us/chs/chc/docs/MRS-2005-Final.pdf |
|
New Jersey |
New Jersey Child Care Market Rate Survey 2004 (April 2005), by the New Jersey Department of Human Services. |
|
State |
MRS Conducted by CCR&R Agencies |
Components of MRS |
---|---|---|
Kansas |
2004 Kansas Child Care Market Rate Survey (August 2004), by the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. |
|
Wyoming |
Wyoming 2004 Child Care Market Survey (2004), by the Children and Nutrition Services, Inc., for the Wyoming Department of Family Services. http://dfswapps.state.wy.us/DFSDivEC/Home/documents/2004MarketSurvey.pdf |
|
State |
MRS Conducted by Private Consultants or Consulting Firms |
Components of MRS |
---|---|---|
Delaware |
2007 Child Care Market Rate Study (April 2007), by Workplace Solutions. www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dss/repstats.html |
|
Louisiana |
Louisiana Child Care Market Rate Survey 2005 (September 2005), by Care Solutions, Inc. www.dss.state.la.us/Documents/OFS/Attachment_3_2_1.pdf |
|
New Hampshire |
Final Report of the New Hampshire Early Care and Education Market Rate Survey for 2005 (September 2006), by Michael F. Kalinowski and Fanny X. Kalinowski for the Child Development Bureau, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. |
|
Massachusetts |
The Massachusetts 2006 Market Rate Survey (July 2006), by Ann Dryden Witte, Peter Schmidt, William Horrace, Marie Sweeney, and Corrine Corso, published by Wellesley College. |
|
Maine |
Child Care Market Rate Analysis & Workforce Follow-Up Study (August 2004), by Mills Consulting Group, Inc. |
|
Vermont |
Child Care Programs in Vermont: A Survey of Market Rates and Capacity, January 2003 (January 2003), by Learning Partners, Inc. |
|
State |
MRS Conducted by Universities |
Components of MRS |
---|---|---|
Connecticut |
“Attachment 3.2-B – Rate Survey Instrument” and “Attachment 3.2-C – Rate Survey Methodology” (2005), in the Child Care and Development Fund Plan for FFY 2006-2007,by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis, University of Connecticut, for the Connecticut Department of Social Services. www.ct.gov/dss/lib/dss/pdfs/approvedccdfplan2005thru2007.pdf |
|
Georgia |
Georgia 2005 Child Care Market Rate Survey (January 2006), by the School of Social Work, Georgia State University. http://dfcs.dhr.georgia.gov/DHR-DFCS/DHR-DFCS%20CAPS/ |
|
New Mexico |
Children, Youth and Family Department Market Rate Survey, Year 2003 (2003), by Institute for Public Policy, University of New Mexico. www.newmexicokids.org/Resource/pdf/ |
|
North Carolina |
North Carolina 2005 Market Rate Survey (March 2006), by the Center for Urban Affairs and Community Services, North Carolina State University. |
|
Oklahoma |
2003 Oklahoma Child Care Market Rate Survey (2003), by the Bureau of Social Research, Oklahoma State University, for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. |
|
Ohio |
Final Report on the Analysis of the 2006 Ohio Child Care Market Rate Survey (May 2006), by the Ohio State University Center for Survey Research and the Ohio State University Statistical Consulting Services. |
|
Oregon |
2004 Oregon Child Care Market Rate Study (August 2004), by the Oregon State University Family Policy Program. |
|
Rhode Island |
Statewide Survey of Child Care Rates in Rhode Island (2004), by the Schmidt Labor Research Center of the University of Rhode Island. |
|
Tennessee |
Determining the Child Care Market Rates in the State of Tennessee (September 2004), by the Center for Business and Economic Research, University of Tennessee. |
|
Texas |
“Attachment 7 – Market Rate Survey” (2005), in the Texas Child Care and Development Fund Plan for FFY 2006-2007, by the Texas Workforce Commission. The survey was conducted by the University of Texas Center for Social Work Research. |
|
Washington |
Licensed Child Care in Washington State: 2004 (April 2005), by Laura Schrager and Steven Rouswell. |
|
State |
MRS Conducted by a Combination of Entities |
Components of MRS |
---|---|---|
Indiana |
“Attachment F - Child Care Development Fund Market Rate Survey Process” (2005), in the Child Care and Development Fund Plan for Fiscal Year 2006-2007, by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. |
|
Illinois |
Market Rate Survey of Child Care Programs in Illinois (2004), by the Department of Human and Community Development, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
|
South Dakota |
Child Care Market Rate Study Summary of Results (March 2007), by the South Dakota Department of Social Services and South Dakota Department of Labor. |
|
Utah |
2006 Utah Child Care Market Rate Survey Study (September 2006), by the Utah Department of Workforce Services, Workforce Information Services, and Office of Child Care. |
|
State |
MRS Conducted by Local Government |
Components of MRS |
---|---|---|
Arizona |
Child Care Market Rate Survey 2004 (2004), by Maricopa County Office of Research and Reporting, for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. |
|
Updated July 2007