Page 4 - Strengthening California’s Emergency Child Care Bridge Program

Strengthening California’s Emergency Child Care Bridge
Additionally, caregivers felt their children were in quality child care while in the Bridge Program
• 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
One of the main findings from interviews with Bridge administrators was that a strong working relationship and consistent communication between partner agencies were both necessary
to the successful implementation of the Bridge Program across all counties At least 75% of counties stated that collaboration, networking, and establishing a working relationship
with a partner agency was necessary to maintain a communicative and quality relationship while implementing the Bridge Program When asked about challenges, two-thirds of county administrators and staf had concerns that the current funds were insuficient to meet the needs of all of their eligible families Program administrators and staf proposed numerous funding- related recommendations to increase access to the Bridge Program Specifically, administrators and staf voiced support for increasing flexibility or earmarking additional funds to facilitate out-of-county placements and to provide care to children that are reunified with their biological parent
Despite the dificulties associated with implementing a statewide program of this magnitude, the strong partnerships between Child Welfare and Resource &Referral Networks across the state has helped to make the Bridge program a success Thousands of children and families in the foster care system have benefited from access to quality child care provided by the Bridge Program In order to continue the success of this program and ensure that California’s most vulnerable children have access to quality child care, a few recommendations that were voiced by study participants should be considered:
• Keep implementation process changes made in response to the pandemic to maintain accessibility and increase convenience for foster families
• Extend the length of the Bridge voucher and have it follow the child after reunification or adoption
• Increase funding to allow for expanded eligibility and out-of-county placements
This study will include additional analysis, still on-going, related to the Trauma-Informed Care training and coaching components of the program A final report that includes an analysis of all funded components of the Bridge program will be available in the summer of 2022
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