Learning, Compliance, and Psychological Costs of Changes to Michigan’s Child Development and Care Scholarship Payment and CoPayment Structure
Making each state’s child care assistance program successful requires coordination among many individuals who have different functions: state administrators, eligibility specialists (i.e., caseworkers), and program beneficiaries, which includes both families and child care providers. In Michigan, the child care assistance program funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is known as the Child Development and Care (CDC) Scholarship program. By paying attention to administrative burden, state administrators can make the CDC Scholarship program easier for eligibility specialists, families, and providers to navigate, thereby increasing access to high quality child care for eligible families.
Administrative burden takes different forms for different groups. It may appear as psychological, learning, or compliance costs. Lessening the burden across these dimensions can improve program functionality and user satisfaction.
In an ongoing study, the research team at Public Policy Associates (PPA) is examining how administrative burden is experienced by eligibility specialists, providers, and families who participate in the CDC Scholarship program. This report (linked below) summarizes recent findings about these groups’ perceptions of administrative burden and the level of complexity of the program’s written materials. The team assessed the degree of administrative burden through interviews, panels, surveys, and document analysis.
