Examining Child Care Need Among Military Families

Examining Child Care Need Among Military Families PDF Author: Susan M. Gates
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833039024
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
The Department of Defense (DoD) supports the largest employer-sponsored system of high-quality child care in the country. Through accredited child development centers (CDCs), family child care (FCC) homes, youth programs, and other before- and after-school programs, the DoD provides care to over 174,000 military children aged 0 through 12 years. To evaluate the system's ability to meet the child care needs of military families, DoD needs information on the magnitude of potential need. For a number of years, the DoD has been using a formula that translates the basic demographic characteristics of the military population into an estimate of the potential need for child care (see the companion monograph Providing Child Care to Military Families: The Role of the Demand Formula in Defining Need and Informing Policy, MG-387-OSD, by Joy S. Moini, Gail L. Zellman, and Susan M. Gates). The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) asked the RAND Corporation to collect data on child care need and child care use, assess the validity of the DoD formula, and recommend improvements to the formula. Data for the assessment came from a 2004 survey of military families about child care issues. This technical report describes and analyzes the data from that survey. It documents survey methods, defines three outcomes of potential interest to DoD (reported child-care usage, unmet child-care need, and unmet child-care preference), presents detailed results of an analysis of these outcomes among military families, and analyzes the relationships between these outcomes and military readiness and retention. For example, the data identified an important relationship between unmet child-care preference and propensity to leave the military: Families that express unmet child-care preference-that is, they are using one form of child care but would prefer another-are also more likely to report that child care issues might drive them to leave the military. This report will be of interest to officials responsible for DoD child-care policy and other quality of life issues. It should also be of interest to child care managers in other federal organizations, child care researchers, and child care policymakers at the national, state, and local levels who grapple with the issue of estimating the need for child care.

Examining Child Care Need Among Military Families

Examining Child Care Need Among Military Families PDF Author: Susan M. Gates
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833039024
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 127

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Department of Defense (DoD) supports the largest employer-sponsored system of high-quality child care in the country. Through accredited child development centers (CDCs), family child care (FCC) homes, youth programs, and other before- and after-school programs, the DoD provides care to over 174,000 military children aged 0 through 12 years. To evaluate the system's ability to meet the child care needs of military families, DoD needs information on the magnitude of potential need. For a number of years, the DoD has been using a formula that translates the basic demographic characteristics of the military population into an estimate of the potential need for child care (see the companion monograph Providing Child Care to Military Families: The Role of the Demand Formula in Defining Need and Informing Policy, MG-387-OSD, by Joy S. Moini, Gail L. Zellman, and Susan M. Gates). The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) asked the RAND Corporation to collect data on child care need and child care use, assess the validity of the DoD formula, and recommend improvements to the formula. Data for the assessment came from a 2004 survey of military families about child care issues. This technical report describes and analyzes the data from that survey. It documents survey methods, defines three outcomes of potential interest to DoD (reported child-care usage, unmet child-care need, and unmet child-care preference), presents detailed results of an analysis of these outcomes among military families, and analyzes the relationships between these outcomes and military readiness and retention. For example, the data identified an important relationship between unmet child-care preference and propensity to leave the military: Families that express unmet child-care preference-that is, they are using one form of child care but would prefer another-are also more likely to report that child care issues might drive them to leave the military. This report will be of interest to officials responsible for DoD child-care policy and other quality of life issues. It should also be of interest to child care managers in other federal organizations, child care researchers, and child care policymakers at the national, state, and local levels who grapple with the issue of estimating the need for child care.

Providing Child Care to Military Families

Providing Child Care to Military Families PDF Author: Joy S. Moini
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 083303927X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
The Office of the Secretary of Defense asked the RAND Corporation to assess the Department of Defense (DoD) child-care demand formula as a tool for translating information on military families into measures of potential child-care need and to suggest ways that the tool might be improved. The authors assess the validity of the DoD formula in meeting child-care needs, analyze the factors that influence key child-care outcomes, and address the broader issue of how DoD can refine its goals for military child care.

Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society

Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309489539
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
The U.S. military has been continuously engaged in foreign conflicts for over two decades. The strains that these deployments, the associated increases in operational tempo, and the general challenges of military life affect not only service members but also the people who depend on them and who support them as they support the nation â€" their families. Family members provide support to service members while they serve or when they have difficulties; family problems can interfere with the ability of service members to deploy or remain in theater; and family members are central influences on whether members continue to serve. In addition, rising family diversity and complexity will likely increase the difficulty of creating military policies, programs and practices that adequately support families in the performance of military duties. Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society examines the challenges and opportunities facing military families and what is known about effective strategies for supporting and protecting military children and families, as well as lessons to be learned from these experiences. This report offers recommendations regarding what is needed to strengthen the support system for military families.

Assessing the Validity of the Qualistar Early Learning Quality Rating and Improvement System as a Tool for Improving Child-Care Quality

Assessing the Validity of the Qualistar Early Learning Quality Rating and Improvement System as a Tool for Improving Child-Care Quality PDF Author: Gail L. Zellman
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833045237
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description
As a result of the generally low quality of child care in the United States, quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) are proliferating in the child-care arena. This study examines the QRIS developed by Qualistar Early Learning, a nonprofit organization based in Colorado, evaluating how reliable the system's components are, whether the QRIS process helped providers to improve, and whether and how much children benefit from such improvement.

Options for Improving the Military Child Care System

Options for Improving the Military Child Care System PDF Author: Gail Zellman
Publisher: RAND Corporation
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
"The evidence presented in this paper questions whether the current U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) system of in-kind subsidies for child care is meeting DoD recruitment, readiness, and retention goals or service member needs in an optimal way. DoD appears to be reaping limited benefits from the substantial subsidies provided to families that use Child Development Centers. Many families cannot or choose not to use the subsidized on-base DoD programs; these families receive no support for child care costs. The authors' findings suggest that the DoD child care system could change in a number of ways to better meet DoD and family needs. First, it could redistribute resources within the current system. Rethinking priority policies from the perspective of both child care need and the degree to which care characteristics fit with likely DoD and service member needs would be another important way to change the system. DoD may also wish to expand the child care benefit to cover more military families and a broader set of child care needs. Alternatively, DoD could expand access to child care through the use of cash benefits, vouchers, and/or negotiated discounts with local providers that meet quality standards, while continuing to provide some amount of DoD Family Child Care homes and Child Development Center care. DoD may also want to invest more resources in assessing the value of child care benefits, as it does for other military compensation components." -- provided by publisher.

Family Resilience in the Military

Family Resilience in the Military PDF Author: Sarah O. Meadows
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833084534
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 55

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Book Description
Most leaders in the Department of Defense (DoD) agree that family resilience is an important construct, yet DoD does not have a standard definition. The authors of this report review existing definitions of family resilience and offer a candidate definition for DoD use. They also review models of family resilience, identify key family resilience factors, and make recommendations for how DoD can manage family-resilience programs and policies.

Economics of Child Care

Economics of Child Care PDF Author: David M. Blau
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610440609
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
"David Blau has chosen seven economists to write chapters that review the emerging economic literature on the supply of child care, parental demand for care, child care cost and quality, and to discuss the implications of these analyses for public policy. The book succeeds in presenting that research in understandable terms to policy makers and serves economists as a useful review of the child care literature....provides an excellent case study of the value of economic analysis of public policy issues." —Arleen Leibowitz, Journal of Economic Literature "There is no doubt this is a timely book....The authors of this volume have succeeded in presenting the economic material in a nontechnical manner that makes this book an excellent introduction to the role of economics in public policy analysis, and specifically child care policy....the most comprehensive introduction currently available." —Cori Rattelman, Industrial and Labor Relations Review

Caring for Veterans and Their Families: A Guide for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals

Caring for Veterans and Their Families: A Guide for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals PDF Author: Rita F D’Aoust
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
ISBN: 1284171345
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 526

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Book Description
Of the approximately 20 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces, less than half utilize the Veteran's Health Administration health care system. That means the majority of veterans are receiving care from nurses and healthcare professionals who may not be trained in treating or caring for patients who have served in the military. This unique book guides nurses and healthcare professionals through the specific set of needs veterans can present, including but not limited to PTSD. Topics covered include, defining military culture and how to apply that knowledge to provide informed treatment, transitioning from service to civilian life and the many challenges expected during re-adjustment and re-entry, recognizing and treating substance use disorders, identifying suicidal behaviors and warning signs, long-term care for elderly veterans, and many more topics unique to the healthcare of veterans.

Protecting Children in Military Families

Protecting Children in Military Families PDF Author: Ralph Blanchard
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0788118277
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
Helps clarify the military1s role in child protection. Aims to strengthen the bridges between the military installation1s child abuse prevention team and civilian agencies involved in each community1s child protection efforts. Glossary and bibliography.

Families Under Stress

Families Under Stress PDF Author: Benjamin R. Karney
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833042734
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
The authors estimate marriage and marital dissolution trends from 1996 to 2005, and the effects of recent deployments on risk of ending a marriage. Marital dissolution rates across services and components are currently similar to those seen in 1996, when the demands on the military were measurably lower. Service members who were deployed had a lower risk of subsequently ending their marriages than those who did not deploy or deployed fewer days.