Licensed Family Child Care Providers' Participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): Greater Benefits and Fewer Burdens in Highly Urban Areas?

Research Findings: Family child care providers widely participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), yet their participation experiences have not been studied. To fill this gap, we used a mixed methods approach that combined survey data collected from a random sample of 224 CACFP-part...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Early education and development 2020-02, Vol.31 (2), p.153-176
Main Authors: Speirs, Katherine E., Gordon, Rachel A., Powers, Elizabeth T., Koester, Brenda D., Fiese, Barbara H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Barriers
Child Care
Children
Costs
Family (Sociological Unit)
Federal Programs
Food
Food programs
Geographic Location
Individual Characteristics
Nutrition
Nutrition Instruction
Participation
Program Effectiveness
Purchasing
Rural Areas
Technical Assistance
Urban Areas
Welfare Services
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Research Findings: Family child care providers widely participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), yet their participation experiences have not been studied. To fill this gap, we used a mixed methods approach that combined survey data collected from a random sample of 224 CACFP-participating licensed family child care providers and in-depth qualitative interviews (n = 40 survey respondents). Working within a cost-benefit framework, we sampled from Chicago and small cities and towns in central Illinois in order to compare providers' perceptions of the benefits and burdens of CACFP participation by reimbursement level and urban/rural location. Reimbursement rate was related to providers' perceptions of the adequacy of the reimbursement and how difficult it was to purchase food that met program requirements. Location was related to providers' perceptions of how difficult it was to prepare meals that met program requirements. Practice or Policy: Our findings suggest modifications to reduce inequities in who has access to the higher reimbursement rate. How providers qualify for the higher reimbursement rate could be reconsidered to ensure that providers outside of urban areas are not disadvantaged. Sponsoring organizations could expand efforts to provide technical assistance and nutrition education, especially for providers outside of urban areas.
ISSN:1040-9289
1556-6935
DOI:10.1080/10409289.2019.1648087