Page 12 - Strengthening California’s Emergency Child Care Bridge Program

Strengthening California’s Emergency Child Care Bridge
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It’s taken of a lot of the financial hardship of being a foster parent, just by paying for child care. That’s a big stress relief to not have to worry about because I do work. I’m a nurse so I may not have been able to take the kids if I had to pay for the child care on my own.
– San Bernardino Caregiver
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70% of surveyed caregivers reported reduced emotional stress from participating in the Bridge Program From the year 2 interviews, caregivers mentioned that having access to child care provided them a support system and allowed them to work with peace of mind knowing that their child was in a safe and stable environment
Caregivers Felt their Children Were in Quality Care
Overall, caregivers had positive things to say about the well-being of their foster children resulting from participating in the Bridge Program Out of 52 caregiver interviews, none stated any negative impact of Bridge Program on their foster children All of the caregivers noticed improvements in their foster children since participating in the Bridge Program Results from the survey indicated that:
• 94% were satisfied with the quality of their child care
• 94% agreed the provider supported the needs of their child
• 90% agreed the provider kept them informed about their child’s development
Across both study years, caregivers attributed improvements in their child’s behavior to the child attending quality, consistent child care Caregivers mentioned that the quality of child care helped their foster child progress socially, cognitively, and physically in their development Caregivers noticed that their children enjoyed interacting and socializing with their peers in child care or school When asked about whether they noticed the child’s reactions and feeling when being taken to and brought back home from child care, caregivers mentioned seeing positive reactions from their children Children were happy to go to child care and multiple caregivers mentioned the children built a strong bond with the child care provider
12 | 2022