This Appendix provides a detailed summary of the methods used to collect and analyze a variety of data for the 2019 Maryland Child Care Policy Research Partnership. All data collection tools were designed collaboratively by members of the research team[1] representing a cross-cutting, mixed methods perspective. The team worked to ensure that different data collection activities would complement one another and fully answer focal research questions.

We completed the following data collection activities:

• Parent survey #1 (open to any parent in Maryland; September–November 2020)*
• Former family child care (FCC) provider survey (May–June 2021)*
• Current provider survey (June–July 2021)*
• FCC support professionals interviews (e.g., Maryland State Department of Education Quality Assurance & Licensing Specialists; June–September 2021)
• Former family child care provider interviews (July–September 2021)*
• Current child care provider interviews (September 2021–January 2022)*
• Parent survey #2 (open only to targeted sample of MD scholarship recipients; November 2021–January 2022)*
• Parent focus groups (with urban & non-urban parents of children enrolled in low and high quality rated providers; April–May 2022)*
• Analyses of Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) administrative data to explore changes in the experiences of families and providers who use a scholarship following the implementation of four scholarship-related policies.

* Offered in both English and Spanish

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Footnote

[1] See the project webpage for a list of team members: https://www.childtrends.org/project/maryland-child-care-policy-research-partnership-grant