Missing Out on What Matters: Early Care and Education Quality and Stability Gaps for Children in Foster Care 

Abstract

The Arkansas Office of Early Childhood is collaborating with SRI International, the National Center for Children in Poverty, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to learn about the supply, quality, and stability of early care and education (ECE) for children in foster care, as well as factors that promote or reduce access to high-quality ECE.  

This brief presents key findings about the quality of ECE programs that Arkansas children in foster care enroll in and the stability of their participation in these programs. The project team used a mixed-methods approach, drawing on administrative data analysis, a foster parent survey, and focus groups and interviews with foster parents and ECE providers.  

Key findings from this brief include: 

• Nearly half of children in foster care received a child care voucher to attend an ECE program. 

• Children in foster care were less likely than their non-foster care peers to participate in higher quality ECE programs, and a low proportion of children in foster care attended state-funded prekindergarten or Head Start/Early Head Start programs.  

• Most foster parents expressed positive perceptions of the ECE programs their children in foster care attended, but many expressed concerns about program quality and alignment with their children’s unique needs. 

• Children in foster care were more likely than their non-foster care peers to experience less stable child care, participating in multiple ECE programs over the course of a year. 

The brief also shares recommendations for state leaders seeking to improve access to ECE for young children in foster care.