Evaluating Child Care Recovery Post-Disaster
Highlights
- SCUS wanted to evaluate its disaster response programming for children.
- Abt surveyed participating child care providers in Texas and Florida.
- We provided findings to inform the future of SCUS’ Child Care Recovery program.
In the aftermath of disasters, children benefit from returning to normal routines. Save the Children, U.S. Programs (SCUS) offers direct resources and supports that enable child care centers to reopen, providing children with safe, familiar environments. Following hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017, SCUS worked with local child care resource and referral agencies to assess the impacts to child care services and offer grants and in-kind supports to help centers reopen. In 2018, SCUS wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts.
From 2018 to 2019, Abt surveyed participating child care providers in Texas and Florida, interviewed select child care providers and child care resource and referral partner staff, and reviewed available program records and documents. Abt used the data collected to generate descriptive statistics and identify common themes and threads related to the perceptions and experiences of the child care providers and partners involved.
Abt’s team prepared a final report that highlighted findings from the evaluation. The results were used to help SCUS improve its Child Care Recovery Program and further inform the development of additional tools that can help child care organizations respond to future disasters.