The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children is calling on parents who have children under the age of five to participate in their annual poll to find out about their child care arrangements. Heather Cope oversees research at LPIC and she says the input parents and guardians give is critical to understanding the needs of Louisiana families.
“And that includes understanding what they’re having to pay, how easy it is for them to find child care and what they’re looking for when they’re looking for child care,” Cope said.
Cope says they added questions to this year’s survey to find out if parents are satisfied with the care their child is receiving or if they wish they had better options.
“Are they able to utilize the type of care that they would prefer, or are they using the care that’s just sort of the only option that’s available to them or what they can afford?” Cope asked.
Cope says the answers to this survey are shared with policymakers that include the governor, state lawmakers and department of education.
“We use this information to help make the case for why increased funding is needed; and that’s often very compelling for policymakers, because they see parents are really in need of additional support and resources,” Cope explained.
Cope says the answers from this survey have led to the state providing more financial resources so more parents can pay for child care. The survey is open until November 11th, and it can be found policyinstituteLA.org.
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