The United States has faced a significant shortage of infant and toddler childcare seats, with demand exceeding available spaces (Jessen-Howard, 2020). Infant and Toddler childcare has been critical in early childhood education, as it offers a safe and stable environment for children and families while fostering parental involvement and building social networks (Reid, 2021). In Hawaii, only 9.2% of infants and toddlers received early childhood care (DeBaryshe, 2023). To address this shortage, the Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five developed innovative strategies. This presentation highlights two sites, each enrolling up to 10 infants and toddlers from low-income and disadvantaged families. Key successes included achieving full enrollment and expanding access for families previously ineligible for subsidies. At both sites, the programs were able to sustain and provide opportunities for children to receive care, social interactions, and support from the community. Challenges encountered involved workforce shortages, licensing complexities, and addressing parental anxiety and trauma. Strategies for overcoming these included strong partnerships with local organizations and flexible staffing incentives such as sign-on bonuses and covering certification costs. The study also examined support for children with disabilities, highlighting the Individualized Family Support Plan process. The findings highlighted an opportunity to strengthen the early intervention system by making it more centralized and transparent, which could help families and providers more easily access resources. Recommendations included offering technical assistance to smaller organizations navigating grants and strengthening collaboration between early care programs and the Early Intervention Section to enhance service coordination and outreach.

Authors:
Nicole Schlaack, University of Hawaii, United States
Manca Sustarsic, University of Hawaii, United States
Lorraine Kouao, University of Hawaii, United States
Benji Whitenack, University of Hawaii, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Sustarsic is an Evaluation Specialist at the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manca-sustarsic-04b544111/

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Manca-Sustarsic?ev=hdr_xprf

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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