Abstract:

The Minnesota Department of Human Services funded development of two coaching networks: an Infant Toddler Specialist Network (ITSN) and a Health and Safety Pilot Project (HSPP). The evaluation plan covers evaluation activities that are being employed to determine the effectiveness of the Relationship-Based Professional Development, including the quality, usefulness, and relevance of the newly-developed Coaching models, training and technical assistance provision, community collaborations, and materials development for licensed childcare providers throughout Minnesota. The ITSN supports providers who want to enhance and improve their knowledge of and skills with providing high quality services for infants and toddlers. The goal of the HSPP is to develop an effective coaching model that will support licensed childcare providers in improving their knowledge of and practices with childcare health and safety information. This evaluation will aid in determining where there might be gaps in information and how to scale-up this information to different childcare providers throughout the state.

The evaluation of the ITSN and HSPP are both formative and summative and include a mixed-methods approach. Coaches and childcare providers complete pre- and post-surveys, as well as end-of-event surveys for all professional development activities. All coaches and a representative sample of providers are also interviewed at least once per project year. Additional data are collected via a Continuous Quality Improvement Plan, which contains data on goals, goal completion, resources used, and childcare knowledge competencies.

Year 1 data demonstrate that coaches have extensive knowledge of infant toddler and health and safety content. Coaches clearly want additional training on cultural responsiveness and trauma-informed care. Coaches perceive themselves as having either “developing” or “proficient” coaching skills, but also recognize the need to enhance specific coaching skills, such as active listening and cultural competency. Childcare providers in the ITSN typically request support in the area of social-emotional behavior, group entry, and biting. Providers in the HSPP typically request support with writing and implementing health and safety policies and developing emergency preparedness plans.

From interviews with coaches for both programs, the development of relationships was cited as the most important part of any coaching relationship. They reported that asking open-ended questions, actively listening, modeling appropriate behavior, and providing evidence-based research in a palatable and understandable way are the most effective coaching strategies in their arsenal. Future data will be collected from coaches, childcare providers, and administrative personnel to assess the fidelity of implementation of both projects.
There is little to no research on the effects of coaching within the childcare (center-based or family) community. In addition, there are very few states that have developed childcare coaching systems. The information gleaned from these evaluations are beneficial not only to the state of Minnesota and its childcare community (e.g., providers, coaches, community partners, etc.), but also to other states who may be considering the development of childcare coaching systems.

Keywords:

Child Care, Evaluation.