Introduction
Improving the quality of child care and early education (CCEE) licensing data may help licensing staff learn more from their data, improve licensing practices and policies, and support families’ access to information about CCEE providers. This report shares considerations for improving the quality of licensing data, noting potential benefits of implementing the considerations. The considerations range in their ease of implementation. Some, like defining key terms, are relatively easy to implement. Licensing agencies and licensing data vary, so the issues we raise may not apply to all states and territories and the considerations may not be feasible for some.
Purpose
The purpose of this brief is to share considerations about improving the quality of CCEE licensing data that could improve its usefulness for licensing staff, families seeking CCEE, and researchers.
Key Findings and Highlights
The brief offers nine considerations for improving the quality of CCEE licensing data:
- Clearly indicate whether each provider in the data system is licensed.
- Define key terms.
- In the data dictionary, document the source, quality, and limitations of each data element.
- Work with users (e.g., researchers, families) to ensure that public documents about licensing data are clear and include the information they need.
- Document in the licensing dataset which licensing regulations were checked during an inspection and whether each of the checked regulations was met.
- Include the type of inspection visit (e.g., annual, follow-up) in the dataset.
- Implement strategies to minimize the chance of errors in the data. Note that some of these strategies, like training, are relatively easy to implement, while others, such as creating or updating an electronic data system are likely expensive and time-consuming.
- Include data elements to identify subgroups of interest or link to existing data that would allow for subgroup analysis of licensed providers.
- If licensing agencies monitor regulations or standards outside of CCEE licensing, consider noting in the dataset which regulations or standards are associated with which program type (e.g., licensing, QRIS, pre-K).
Citation
Maxwell, K., Early, D., Miranda, B., Johnson, N., & Lin, Y. (2024). Improving the quality of licensing data. OPRE Report #2024-123. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- Administrative data:
- “Information programs collect about individual children, families, and staff to deliver program services and meet program, funding, or legal requirements. Generally, programs collect administrative data to determine child/family eligibility for services, monitor staff workload, document services provided, or examine progress children are making” (King et al., 2016, p.2).
- Child care and early education:
- Caregiving and educational services for children from birth to age 13. CCEE includes center- and home-based settings for infants, toddlers, preschool- and school-aged children. CCEE refers to services for a larger age group than early care and education (ECE), which consists of services provided only for young children (birth to age 5 who are not yet in kindergarten). ECE programs are included within the definition of CCEE.
- Dataset:
- A collection of separate pieces of information or data (e.g., pieces of information about each licensed CCEE provider).
- Data dictionary:
- A document containing descriptions of the data elements or variables in a data set (adapted from Gould et al., 2014).
- Inspection:
- A visit to assess if a CCEE provider is meeting licensing regulations.
- Licensing regulations:
- “Requirements that providers must meet to legally operate child care services in a state or locality, including registration requirements established under state, local, or Tribal law” (Child Care & Early Education Research Connections, n.d. -a). (Child Care & Early Education Research Connections uses this definition for “licensing or regulatory requirements.”)