Child Care Services Association (CCSA) recognizes that in order to improve a child care system, comprehensive accurate data which identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the child care system must first be collected. Therefore, CCSA's research department conducts a broad array of studies to address issues related to child care. In addition to county and statewide workforce assessments, CCSA has conducted research and produced reports profiling such topics as child care system issues, subsidy, careers in early childhood, child care fees and after school care. These studies provide important information to policy makers in our state government and in local communities.

Who's Caring for Our Babies? A Profile of Early Care and Education for Children Birth to Three in North Carolina
With so much national and state attention focused on school readiness and on helping four year olds come to school better prepared, it is important to assess what is happening for our very youngest citizens. This study is designed to give people an understanding of the quality, supply and accessibility of infant and toddler care in North Carolina.

Reports

	Infant and Toddler State Report - Executive Summary (1.7 meg PDF file | Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - Download Now)
	Infant and Toddler State Report - Full Report (124 kb PDF file | Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - Download Now)

2003 North Carolina Child Care Workforce Study
As part of the North Carolina Needs and Resources Assessment, a statewide survey of the child care workforce was conducted in 2003. The workforce study provides comprehensive data on child care providers and on the facilities in which they work. This report includes a summary of the workforce survey results in North Carolina and a comparison of 2003 data to similar data collected in 2001. Survey response rates were 78% of center directors (n = 2,203 director surveys collected), 52% of teachers (n = 13,120 teacher surveys collected) and 78% of family child care providers (n = 2,337 family child care provider surveys collected).

Reports

	Working in Child Care in North Carolina: The North Carolina Child Care Workforce Survey 2003 (PDF file | Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - Download Now)
	2003 Workforce Survey: Full Reports by County
	North Carolina Workforce Fact Sheets by County

North Carolina Early Childhood Systems Study
Child Care Services Association partnered with national researchers and experts in the North Carolina early care and education system to conduct the 2005 North Carolina Early Childhood Systems Study. We hope that the findings of the study will help you better understand the early care and education system that provides opportunities for children, families, businesses and our economy.

Most studies review each piece of the early care and education system individually to determine if that particular piece of the system is working as intended. This study, however, focused on the system as a whole, by asking such questions as: How are the various pieces of the system working together? Where are there strengths? Where are there gaps?

Although the study shows that we have come a long way in building our early care and education system in North Carolina, we do still have gaps that impede our ability to maximize the potential of our youngest citizens and to fully utilize this system for economic development.

NC Early Childhood Systems Study (PDF files | Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - Download Now)