2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups Child Care Selection family focus groups – February 2014
In February 2014 Regional Key staff conducted 11 Child Care Selection Family Focus groups.
The focus groups were held at nine STARS-rated child care programs representing every STAR
level, urban and rural, family and center-based programs and one Head Start program. Groups
averaged four parents. Each focus group lasted approximately a half-hour. In some cases, the
child care provider was in the room during the focus group.
Families were asked about the process they went through to find child care, as well as what is
most important to them when looking for child care and what their “deal breakers” are.
Observations:
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Most parents felt they had enough time and enough information to make a good child
care choice. Many were pregnant when they began looking, so they felt they had plenty
of time to look. They were also in the mindset of collecting whatever information they
could.
Families talk to family and friends first. CCIS agencies were the main point of contact for
families looking for child care – need to include them in distribution of messages.
Several parents recommended getting more information to pediatricians as they are a
trusted source but don’t have a lot of information available.
All families agree that safety is critical. Many used the words “trust” and “scary” when
thinking about their children being safe. A couple of parents said they have a “trust
issue” – many parents used the term “trust” - how do you trust someone to care for your
children. Many also reference horror stories or videos on youtube – “you never know
what can happen” mentality. Three families said they waited to enroll their children into
child care until they were old enough to talk and could tell them if something bad
happened or someone hurt them.
Most parents also wanted their children to learn, but don’t seem to understand what
learning looks like in early childhood. They thought play wasn’t learning. They use words
like “academics” and “curriculum” “structure” to describe learning. Play was just for fun.
They mentioned watching the teachers teach children things, teaching them the names
of other children, letters, numbers or songs. The idea of guiding children’s play or
helping them explore didn’t come out from the conversations.
When parents talked about teachers, they valued their children being comfortable with
the teacher, being able to talk to the teacher about their child, openness and
friendliness. Two mentioned developmental or developmentally-appropriate practices,
but there may be an educational/messaging opportunity to help parents understand how
trusted adults should interact and bond with a young children to promote the child’s
development. If parents understand that dynamic and what it looks like, then they would
be able to identify it at a quality program.
Typically parents look for different things depending on the age of the child. Parents of
infants and toddlers looking for homeyness- parents don’t start talking about learning
until their children are 3 or 4.
1 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
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Families looked at the features first, then compared price. Price/cost was almost never
mentioned as the first factor, even though it has to be a deciding factor. “I knew to shop
around for location or even the price. Because if you are paying for quality, you are
paying for quality.”
Many of the parents had very specific reasons for family vs. center. Especially families
with children in family child care programs talked about what they didn’t like about
centers. Some things that seem to be personal preference but a priority – whether
children are in a family setting or center, whether they are with children of mixed ages or
all one age.
Several families said “as soon as I walked in the door, I knew.” Their “gut” and instinct
plays a huge role in their decisionmaking process.
Over time parents have a better sense of what quality looks like. They become educated
through experience.
Repeatedly parents said different people look for different things – individual choice is
important. “You know, but as parents we have to be the last one to judge for our children
because you know your child better than anybody.”
Summary:
How much time it took families to find child care
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Several families (8) said it took between 15 and 20 hours of research/searching over a
few weeks. A couple of parents commented that it “was like a full-time job for a while.”
Nearly all took at least six hours to search for child care.
The majority of families that responded to this question (10) felt they had enough time to
choose a program. Six parents were looking while they were pregnant and felt they had
plenty of time to search.
Where families went for advice/information on choosing child care
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Family and friends. Overwhelmingly, parents talked to friends and family. Several (7)
also spoke to their CCIS representative. A few parents with children with special needs
talked to their pediatricians/doctors and saw them as a reliable source. One group
recommended having parents available to sit down with others to talk about the options
available.
DPW and CCIS websites. The majority of families that used the internet mentioned
looking at the DPW or CCIS website. They were typically searching for violations history
or STAR ratings.
Most parents said they could find all the information they were looking for. However, a
few parents said they wished there was a website to search for providers by STAR level
and location, etc., which does exist.
Was your decision an easy one?
2 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups Parents were nearly evenly split on whether their decision was an easy one, with a few more
parents (17) saying it was not an easy decision.
Those that found the decision an easy one (11) seemed to have clear expectations of what they
were looking for, had been through the process before, or had referrals from trusted sources.
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“Was looking for a program with a good rating, was easy to fill out the paperwork, we
live nearby”
“Looking for a family setting – as long as it was a family setting, I was okay”
“Um, the fourth time, it was more these are the things you are not supposed to do and
the things you are supposed to do and I need someone who is going to do everything
the right way. Um, so that is what happened all the times.”
The majority of parents that found the decision a difficult one cited the difficulty of trusting
someone to care for their child (6) and not being clear about what they wanted in a child care
program.
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“Because you have to want to know who is going to be around your kid, the food they’re
going to serve to your kid, exactly what they’re going to be doing in the daycare, the
childcare what they’re going to be teaching them, who’s going to be around them, stuff
like that.”
“You know what you want in your mindset, but it’s not out there.”
Family “must-haves”
Quality staff- friendly, responsive, good with children (21), Learning activities (15), safety (12),
and cleanliness (10) were the top must-haves. Although families mentioned cost as a factor, it
was never the first factor. Socialization and learning were the two biggest hopes for their
children in child care.
Family “deal-breakers”
Most deal-breakers related to safety. If the program didn’t have an open door policy was the
most mentioned deal breaker (3). Two parents mentioned price as a deal breaker. In most
focus groups, when the facilitator mentioned their biggest concerns, parents got quiet.
Overwhelmingly, they fear someone harming or mistreating their child. Many referenced “horror
stories”; two families made the conscious decision to care for their children at home until they
were old enough to be able to talk, so they could tell their parents if they were mistreated.
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“My husband and I agreed on was that we weren’t going to put her in daycare, that I was
going to stay home until we both felt comfortable enough to put her in daycare and for us
that was when she was old enough to talk to be able to say if someone’s hitting me or
somebody was doing this to me…”
“you never know until you get used to the other people”
Advice families would give to others
3 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups When asked to offer advice to other families, many parents noted that each person is looking for
something different so they weren’t sure how they could offer advice to another family. The
main advice was to visit the program (5) and take your children with you when you go (4); don’t
be afraid to ask questions and bring a list of questions with you (3). One parent noted that you
can’t really know what a program is like after one visit, so see how your child does and don’t be
afraid to switch programs if you aren’t happy with your child’s progress or behavior.
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“Your child is only a child once, so if you can’t be home with them, how do you want
them to be”
“Speak to people, open your mouth, tell them how you feel, get opinions. That’s about it.”
“You know, but as parents we have to be the last one to judge for our children because
you know your child better than anybody.”
How families measure the quality of a program
Although this wasn’t a direct question during the focus groups, their responses gave insight into
how they measure the quality of a child care program. Most families measure the quality of the
program by how their children react, how they behave, what they learn. Many families
mentioned that their children were immediately comfortable. They also mentioned teaching and
that their children are safe.
Expectations are different depending on the age of the child. Families with infants and toddlers
seemed to focus on homeyness, their child’s comfort level; families with preschoolers focused
more on getting their child ready for kindergarten.
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“I feel our kids are ahead of other kids at the ages they get into school. And, um, their
behavior is very good compared to others, I feel, too. I think a lot of it has to do with their
daycare program.”
“Your children are being cared for by another individual, so you want to have them to
have the best care possible when you’re not there as the parent. So, you want to make
sure that your daycare providers have specialized training, have continuing education
requirements, meet the minimum regulations.”
“So I think like basically you look for teaching, like how they teach your kid, the safety of
our kids, and we look for the way the staff is and how they treat your kids, and also their
availability and time and how much they can put into your child.”
“the atmosphere makes a big difference, the learning facility with their teacher and stuff”
How families talked about learning
Families were not directly asked about learning, but comments indicate that most parents in the
group felt “learning” took place in a structured activity with a teacher. Several parents made
comments that play is not learning. Terms like “curriculum,” “academic,” and “teaching” were
used to describe learning, whereas “just play” was considered fun time, not learning time.
4 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups Parents referenced skills like a child learning his birthday or a mealtime prayer as examples of
learning. Two parents mentioned “developmental” and “developmentally appropriate practice.”
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“Helps my son learn his birthdate, and his full name, and everybody else’s birthdays stuff
he didn’t know before he came here, I’m hoping that continues and he continues to learn
with the other kids.”
“Making sure they were in an environment where they would be socialized and learn
things that a stay-at-home parent might be able to teach their children—counting, ABC’s,
that sort of things. Because we both work full-time, sometimes that’s hard to do when
you’re not home 8-10 hours a day with them.”
“not just them playing all day”
“As Madison started growing and started learning more and then like it made me see just
how much they actually do. It’s not just like fun and play all the time, they actually learn.”
“And the balance between fun activities and education. Like, am I paying for education,
or am I paying for him to have a play date for ¾ of the day?
“The other was like a play daycare, this is actually a learning child care.”
“Actual teacher that is going to help your child learn…”
Compilation of responses:
How much time did you have
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Looked while I was pregnant (6)
Already had care, made the decision to switch (4)
3 weeks (3)
2 weeks (2)
Could work from home until I found appropriate care
Hours
A few days
4 or 5 months
One month
Did you have enough time
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Yes (10)
No (2)
How much time did you take
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Not sure (2)
“like a full time job for a while” (2)
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2 weeks (2)
Didn’t take much time. Walked in the door and said okay, we’re here! (2)
2-3 days over the course of weeks
6 hours
Over 20 hours
3 months
About a year
15 hours
16+ hours
3 weeks
Looked around a lot
Who did you talk to
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Friends (8)
Family (5)
CCIS – Resource and referral (7)
o “Felt going to CCIS was easier than trying to google all of them online”
Coworkers (2)
Pediatrician (2)
The provider (2)
Woman that taught me when I was in daycare
Neighbors
Friends that work at centers
“I would start with my pediatrician, ask their suggestion, not that I would go there for that,
but at least they would be able to guide me in the level of medical needs my child has,
maybe they can give me suggestion. If not, I will have to go out on my own to research
things and to find it. It would be important, like that one parent was saying, if I could
speak to someone that um let’s say I was thinking about a facility they should have
parents that would be willing to sit down and talk to you and explain their experiences
there. Facilitator: Almost like a parent interview. Parent: Yeah, absolutely yeah (other
parents expressing agreement) I think that is most important. They will tell you what you
want to hear.”
“I didn’t talk to anyone. I had a list from CCIS that gave me people in my area that
participating with CCIS so I was just looking at the age groups and I was calling. This is
close to my work.”
What advice was most useful
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Nothing on paper is really what it seems, ya’ know. Having to meet someone and
actually be comfortable with them.
6 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
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Pick where you feel is comfortable
clean
What websites did you look at
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CCIS (3)
STARS/ DPW websites (7)
o List of Keystone STARS programs in the community (3)
o State website for checklist on what to look for at a center (2)
o DPW – where could you look up violations (2)
The program’s website (2)
Googled child care (2)
Looked at lot of websites
County website
EOC website – one county
Facebook
After each visit, went online and checked their STARS
Went online just to get phone numbers
Other resources
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The website had the STARS rating, even “in house” providers – appreciated that
Was there information you were looking for that you couldn’t find?
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Most parents said no
Search engine to narrow your results of possible locations (this person looked for child
care before COMPASS was updated)
“I don’t know if this is out there, but it would have been nice I know how each facility
does have a rating, is there is somewhere to go and see what facility has a certain STAR
rating so you could avoid places that might not have as many STARS.”
Can you put materials in pediatrician’s offices? Developmental info on doctor’s office and
obgyn would have helped a lot.
Recommend a combination of the CCIS database and STARS (parent found a STARS
program that had violations – wouldn’t find that info on the same site)
Want to be able to read comments from other parents – like Angie’s list for child care
Was your decision an easy one?
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No – 17
Yes - 11
7 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups Why was it easy?
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Looking for a family setting – as long as it was a family setting, I was okay
The program I was interested in wasn’t in STARS at the time but was doing everything
that STARS requires. Now they are a STAR 4 program.
Second time around it was an easier choice
CCIS gave me the list, so all I had to do was call people
This program was ready to fill out paperwork and get him on the waiting list, get to meet
people so we were ready to go when we came off the waiting list
It surprised me that he was accepted here.
Was looking for a program with a good rating, was easy to fill out the paperwork, we live
nearby
OCYF introduced me to this program. (already had 5 great-grandchildren who had gone
through the program)
Availability and location was very important. The program was very accommodating,
both children on the autism spectrum.
“Um, the fourth time, it was more these are the things you are not supposed to do and
the things you are supposed to do and I need someone who is going to do everything
the right way. Um, so that is what happened all the times.”
Why not?
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Hard to trust someone to watch your child - “it’s my baby” (6)
o “But the facilities, having so many people around your kid, and constantly hiring
new people and you don’t know their background, it’s scary so – yeah, I had to
wait a while to (inaudible).”
o “Because you have to want to know who is going to be around your kid, the food
they’re going to serve to your kid, exactly what they’re going to be doing in the
daycare, the childcare what they’re going to be teaching them, who’s going to be
around them, stuff like that.”
o Worked in mental health and seen a lot of family situations
Financial issue
First time out you don’t know what you are looking for
You know what you want in your mindset, but it’s not out there.
What are your must haves
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Good staff (21)
o Communication with parents (6)
o Commitment of staff to your children – putting children first (3)
8 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
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o Friendliness of staff (3)
o How they discipline the children/ behavioral management (3)
o Staff trained to work with children with special needs (4)
o Staff- child ratio
o Interaction between staff
Learning/ academics/ developmental/ age-appropriate activities (15)
Want kids to be fully safe and secure (12)
Cleanliness (11)
Location (7)
Flexibility (4)
Socialization (3)
I had to feel comfortable leaving my child/ trust (3)
Are my kids comfortable there (3)
Keystone STARS certified (2)
Environment (2)
Size of program/classroom (3)
Within my budget (2)
Days of availability (2)
Willingness to work with outside providers (child with special needs) (2)
Transportation
Ability to play outside
Continuity (family provider)
Combination of education and care
Preparation for kindergarten
As teachers, not having to pay to hold a slot during the summer
Balance between fun activities and education
Child was able to tell me if anything was going on
Have to be able to visit
Children my child’s age
How the kids are behaving
“They need to feel like they are comfortable, like, they need to be relaxed to be able to
learn.”
What are your deal breakers
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Not having an open door policy (3)
o “I am going to pop up, don’t tell me I can’t pop up. Because I am going to pop
up, if you don’t my child is not going there.”
“it’s scary” (2)
Price (2)
Violations
Young children with older children
9 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
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Staff not properly watching and interacting with the kids
Not clean – smell bleach (two parents mentioned bleach smell as a negative)
If programs/preschools weren’t open all day – flexibility on hours
If my child were harmed
Didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, but got a feeling in my gut when it wasn’t
somewhere that I would use.
What are your biggest hopes for your child in child care
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They get to socialize (4)
Learn the activities they need to learn (2)
They perform well
They behave well – have manners
“models of big kids”
Learning routines, rules
“I’m the working mom, my husband and I both work however you want to spend that time
with your child and he’s safe here, he’s learning, he’s happy”
Mix between fun and structure
Help him to get ready of kindergarten
What are your biggest concerns
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Safety – “you never know until you get used to the other people” – is this a right fit (7)
The children aren’t being mistreated (2)
My husband and I agreed on was that we weren’t going to put her in daycare, that I was
going to stay home until we both felt comfortable enough to put her in daycare and for us
that was when she was old enough to talk to be able to say if someone’s hitting me or
somebody was doing this to me. (2)
“Like she said about trusting, I want to make sure that they get background checks,
make sure there are no pedophiles around my child (other parents expressing
agreement), you never know.”
Facilities are environmentally safe
Not influenced by other kids
That my child is in “caring, capable hands”
“It is too scary out there”
Professionalism
I’m not there all the time.
what made your mind up
10 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
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the visit (4)
my sister was here for a long time
stability of the program – been there for a long time
got along with staff very well
all the kids were my son’s age
I could trust one person
What do/did you like about child care
Although parents weren’t specifically asked what they liked about child care, they did share the
qualities they liked in their conversations. Quality staff and how they interact with children was
the top quality that families liked.
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Staff (10)
o friendly, happy (4)
o Consistency in staff – low turnover (3)
o Very good to the kids
o Highly qualified staff
o They work with every child if there is a problem – don’t just throw the child out
Flexibility (4)
Family environment – homeyness (3)
Price (2)
You can drop in at any time (2)
Everybody helping each other out
They do activities
Kid-friendly environment
Kids are more independent- have choices
Supporting parents
Child’s comfort level
Structure
Mixed ages – “models they have from the big kids”
Summer program – getting out in the community, learning about the community
Covers the whole child
What do/did you NOT like about child care
Several parents shared stories of leaving child care programs because they were dissatisfied.
Many of the reasons related to treatment of children, children not fed properly or changed in a
timely manner.
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Children stuck in their own age group
11 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
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Weren’t feeding my child properly – food brought from home would be left over at end of
the week
Children not being changed in a timely manner
Teachers yelling at children, not properly disciplining kids or using it as a teaching
experience
Too many children in a classroom
Too many people in the facility – didn’t know who would be interacting with my child
Too much structure – too prescriptive
You don’t want your kid just sitting in a crib
Or playing all day
What advice would you give other families
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Visit the program (5)
Take your children with you to see how they interact with the setting (4)
o “Watch the kids. That’s the biggest thing. Watch the kids play.”
Start early and look around. There are good centers out there, and good people that run
different daycares. There’s a lot of bad ones, as well (3)
Ask questions (9)
o Find a list of questions before you get there (2)
o Ask how they transition children to new classrooms
o Talk to the staff
o Talk to the teachers that will be teaching your child
o Talk to the next group that your child will be moving on to
o “Speak to people, open your mouth, tell them how you feel, get opinions. That’s
about it.”
Research (3)
Go at a time when other children are there (3)
Talk to the parents that have their kids in the program (3)
Even with the research, you still won’t know until you are in the program (2) “because
you really don’t know until you are in it.”
Go with your gut – if you don’t feel comfortable or do, follow that instinct (2)
Check more than one place (2)
Gave my child the dos and the don’ts
Know what you are looking for before you go
Check clearances
“Don’t get caught up on the glitz and glamour.” – Expensive playground equipment isn’t
as important as how they treat your child
“Your child is only a child once, so if you can’t be home with them, how do you want
them to be”
To go to an in-home daycare
12 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
“You know, but as parents we have to be the last one to judge for our children because
you know your child better than anybody.” “What you value, might not be what I value.”
How do families measure the quality of the program?
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“I feel our kids are ahead of other kids at the ages they get into school. And, um, their
behavior is very good compared to others, I feel, too. I think a lot of it has to do with their
daycare program.”
“Interacting with the children when we first visited and my children felt comfortable”
“The developmental. You want them to have different activities that they’re doing,
different skills for the age that they are.”
The early childhood development is key to who they grow into be, when they become
adults.
When we met Jean and Brenda, we knew (laughter) that gut reaction, that feeling that
they would take care of our children the way that we would.
Dedicated areas for the children (home provider) for learning
Mixed ages, genders – variety of kids
“Your children are being cared for by another individual, so you want to have them to
have the best care possible when you’re not there as the parent. So, you want to make
sure that your daycare providers have specialized training, have continuing education
requirements, meet the minimum regulations.”
Your child is only a child once, so if you can’t be home with them, how do you want them
to be
“So I think like basically you look for teaching, like how they teach your kid, the safety of
our kids, and we look for the way the staff is and how they treat your kids, and also their
availability and time and how much they can put into your child.”
Want to see a schedule “of learning”
“As soon as I walked in with my granddaughter, I was like this is it. She was completely
comfortable . I knew the staff was friendly, the place was clean, there are a lot of
teachers and a curriculum. It was perfect as soon as we walked in the door.”
“the atmosphere makes a big difference, the learning facility with their teacher and stuff”
“I am person who likes to research on their own, but because I have a special needs
child, they would need to have education, um a degree and a level of being able to deal
with children with disabilities that is important, because you would not know how to
handle her if you did not have special training (other parents, speaking in agreement).”
“small class size…. So she can get the proper attention she needs. “
How families talked about learning:
13 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
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“They do well. I want them to learn. I want them to read to them, and things like that.
Before, she did it out of her house, different setting…. She told me she would read to
him, but I know she didn’t do it every day. I think he is getting more education now.”
“Helps my son learn his birthdate, and his full name, and everybody else’s birthdays stuff
he didn’t know before he came here, I’m hoping that continues and he continues to learn
with the other kids.”
“Making sure they were in an environment where they would be socialized and learn
things that a stay-at-home parent might be able to teach their children—counting, ABC’s,
that sort of things. Because we both work full-time, sometimes that’s hard to do when
you’re not home 8-10 hours a day with them.”
“not just them playing all day”
“As Madison started growing and started learning more and then like it made me see just
how much they actually do. It’s not just like fun and play all the time, they actually learn.”
“They do activities”
The children learn more when closer to older kids – “when I came in to sit and talk to
Cindy and we were thinking about putting the preschool with the 2-3 year olds and its
nice because they usually do it out here and the little kids are in there but it’s still here
and they know what’s going on so they’re learning and they’re not realizing they are
learning anything which is nice so she comes home and says things that “oh where’d
you learn that”
“I didn’t really have daycare in mind, I had preschool in mind”
“And I come from a preschool background, so I’m looking for a lot of hands-on, some
technology, the program and curriculum itself—what they’re going to do with the kids,
that they’re not just gonna sit and have free play all day.”
“And the balance between fun activities and education. Like, am I paying for education,
or am I paying for him to have a play date for ¾ of the day?
“And they actually do like school learning and stuff where the other day care they did like
playtime learning, but it wasn’t actual teaching them. Since Kerry’s been here, April
makes a year. And now that girl knows colors, shapes, I can actually watch them and I
can see them actually teaching them things. The other was like a play daycare, this is
actually a learning child care. And to me learning was the second major thing like I could
take her anywhere to play all day, I could hire a friend to do that, but she needs that
learning experience, and I love it.”
My kids were home with me up until my daughter was 4 ½, and I said she needs to be
somewhere around other kids, not just me and her sister, and learn.
So we didn’t put her in daycare until about 3 ½ because she was starting to talk more
and I also felt the same way that you know I was teaching her at home but you know I’m
not a teacher so I didn’t feel I was doing a good enough job and she needed the
socialization with other kids in that group setting.
I did have care for her. I felt she needed to be in a learning facility and not just hanging
out with her cousins.
“The academic side of it - We wanted a place that was going to have a set curriculum
where she would be learning specific things every week.”
14 2014 Child Care Selection Family Focus Groups 
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“The education that my son has learned here …”
Learning through play but still having fun
“What he learns at home I expect him to try to learn a little bit here, too. This is where he
spends part of his day.”
“Actual teacher that is going to help your child learn…”
Other comments
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Most parents called family providers “in-house daycare”
“It’s expensive, you want great service for cheap- - I’d rather pay for good service”
“I knew to shop around for location or even the price. Because if you are paying for
quality, you are paying for quality.”
No one knows what’s best for our children but us… as parents, we have to be the last
ones to judge
Get more information to pediatricians on developmental milestones and tips for choosing
child care
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