CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL POLICY The Challenges of Change Learning from the Child Care and Early Education Experiences of Immigrant Families by Hannah Matthews and Deeana Jang MAY 2007 Center for Law and Social Policy The Challenges of Change Learning from the Child Care and Early Education Experiences of Immigrant Families by Hannah Matthews and Deeana Jang MAY 2007 CLASP’s Breaking Down Barriers study is intended to promote understanding of the barriers that impede immigrant families’ access to high-quality child care and early education and to identify solutions for how these barriers might be remedied. The Challenges of Change is one piece of CLASP’s work on immigrant families and child care and early education. CLASP will continue to work in this area to ensure that child care and early education programs are responsive to the needs of diverse immigrant groups. Please see CLASP’s Web site (http://www.clasp.org) for additional research in this area. Acknowledgements Primary support for the research and analysis reflected in this report was generously provided by the Foundation for Child Development, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Additional support was provided by The George Gund Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and The Moriah Fund. Many individuals contributed to this study. First and foremost, we want to thank the many administrators, researchers, providers, advocates, and parents who so willingly gave of their time to talk with us. Their experiences are the essence of this study, and this report would not exist without their generosity. We are extremely grateful to our CLASP colleagues—Danielle Ewen, Director of Child Care and Early Education; Rachel Schumacher, Senior Fellow; Katie Hamm, Policy Analyst; and Aaron Nelson, Research Assistant—for their invaluable guidance, expertise, and support. Patrice Johnson and Abigail Bucuvalas also provided research assistance. Thanks also to Steve Thorngate, Communications and Publications Coordinator for CLASP, for his editing support. We want to thank the members of our Advisory Committee, a group of very busy individuals committed to improving the lives of young children of immigrants. Special thanks to Joan Lombardi of The Children’s Project for her vision and dedication to young children and immigrant families. (See Appendix 5 for a list of Advisory Committee members.) We are grateful to the following individuals, who assisted us with arranging site visits: Lelav Amedi, Refugee Family Services; Alejandro Aviles, Legal Aid of Arkansas; Marliene Bastien, Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc. (FANM Haitian Women of Miami); Danielle Butler, Early Care and Education Council of Boulder County; Hedy Chang, Advisory Committee member; Irma Colon, Asociación Profesional de Cuidado Infantil Domiciliario; Araceli DeAngelo, Choices for Children; Susan Downs-Karkos, Colorado Trust; Yvonne Gonzalez Duncan, Good Beginnings Never End; Mary Anne Foo, Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance; Miryam Granthon, Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Chris Griffin, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Adam Gurvitch, New York Immigration Coalition; Sybil Hampton, The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation; Eve Hershcopf, Child Care Law Center; Wayne Ho, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families; Richard Hobbs, Office of Human Relations, County of Santa Clara; Nancy Kolben, Child Care, Inc.; Julie Kohler and Bronwyn Mills, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Philip Kretsedemas, University of Massachusetts; Betty Lam, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services; Roberta Malavenda, SPARK Georgia; Meera Mani, The Clayton Foundation; Marsha Moore and Mark Waits, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning; Élida Pérez-Knapp, University of Georgia; Pilar Torres, Centro Familia; Nancy vonBargen and Ed Long, Smart Start Oklahoma; and Connie Whitfield, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. We also appreciate the many individuals and organizations that provided us with information and data essential for this project. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Refugee Family Services, and Smart Start Oklahoma provided us with invaluably rich information from the perspectives of diverse immigrant families, which greatly informed our findings. Donald J. Hernandez at the University at Albany, State University of New York provided analyses of local and state Census data relevant to young children in immigrant families. We greatly appreciate the insights of our reviewers: Charu al-Sahli, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center; Lelav Amedi, Refugee Family Services; Melinda Belcher, Child Care Resource Center; Tanya Broder, National Immigration Law Center; Danielle Butler, Early Care and Education Council of Boulder County; Miriam Calderón, National Council of La Raza; Gina Adams and Randy Capps, Urban Institute; Hedy Chang, consultant; Annette Chin, Foundation for Child Development; Ivory Conley, Economic Opportunity Agency of Washington County; Jerlean Daniel, National Association for the Education of Young Children; Araceli DeAngelo, Choices for Children; Yvonne Gonzalez Duncan, Good Beginnings Never End; Milina Jovanovic, Office of Human Relations, County of Santa Clara; Keila Garcia, Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral Association; Richard Garcia, Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition; Mark Greenberg, CLASP’s Director of Policy; Donald J. Hernandez, University at Albany, State University of New York; Luis Hernandez, Western Kentucky University; Eve Hershcopf, Child Care Law Center; Nancy Kolben, Child Care, Inc.; Philip Kretsedemas, University of Massachusetts; Vanessa Leung, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families; Joan Lombardi, The Children’s Project; Ed Long, Smart Start Oklahoma; Michael Lopez, National Center for Latino Child and Family Research; Roberta Malavenda, SPARK Georgia; Paul Miller, Kidango; Laurie Olsen, California Tomorrow; Nisha Patel, Washington Area Women’s Foundation; Nina Sazer O’Donnell, United Way; Thomas Schultz, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Helene Stebbins, HMS Policy Research; Ruby Takanishi, Foundation for Child Development; Pilar Torres, Centro Familia; Kirsten Downing Trefflich, Cambodian Association of America; Vicki Turetsky, Senior Staff Attorney at CLASP; and Cecilia Zalkind, Association for Children of New Jersey. Many thanks to those who provided us with wonderful photographs of young children of immigrants: Cambodian Association of America, Centro Familia, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Good Beginnings Never End, Kidango, Latino Community Development Agency, and Smart Start Oklahoma. While the authors are grateful for all assistance and funding related to this report, the authors alone are responsible for its content. © Copyright 2007. Center for Law and Social Policy. List of Acronyms CARES Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards CCDBG Child Care and Development Block Grant CCR&R Child Care Resource and Referral Agency CDA Child Development Associate CLASP Center for Law and Social Policy ECE Early Childhood Education ELL English Language Learner ESL English as a Second Language FIAC Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center GED General Equivalency Diploma HHS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HIPPY Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters IHE Institutions of Higher Education LEP Limited English Proficient PRUCOL Permanently Residing Under Color of Law PRWORA Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 QRS Quality Rating System SCHIP State Children’s Health Insurance Program SSI Supplemental Security Income SSN Social Security Number TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families VPK Florida Voluntary Pre-kindergarten Table of Contents Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................9 PART I. Study Overview and Policy Context ..............................................................13 1. Study Overview.........................................................................................................15 Purpose and Underlying Principles......................................................................15 Methodology .....................................................................................................16 Disclaimers .........................................................................................................23 2. Background on Immigration, Child Care and Early Education Policy and Funding.....25 The Immigration Context....................................................................................25 The Policy Context..............................................................................................28 PART II. The Participation of Young Children of Immigrants in Child Care and Early Education .....................................................................................................39 3. Examining Participation............................................................................................41 The Child Care and Early Education Arrangements of Young Children of Immigrants.....................................................................................................41