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in New Jersey: Findings from Focus Groups with Providers  \nA UTHORED BY  \nLiana Lin and Lillian McFarland  \nHeldrich Center for Workforce Development  \nOctober 2025  \nT A B L E O F C O N T E N T S  \nIntroduction ...................................................................................................... 4  \nMethods ............................................................................................................ 4  \nChild Care Workforce Study........................................................................................................... 4  \nPost-Survey Focus Groups ............................................................................................................. 5  \nFindings ............................................................................................................ 6  \nFamily Child Care Providers .......................................................................................................... 6  \nMotivations ................................................................................................................................ 6  \nBarriers and Challenges ............................................................................................................ 8  \nRecommendations..................................................................................................................... 10  \nLicensed Child Care Center Staff—Assistant Teachers ................................................................ 12  \nMotivations ................................................................................................................................ 13  \nWorkforce Dynamics ................................................................................................................. 14  \nBarriers and Challenges ............................................................................................................ 15  \nRecommendations..................................................................................................................... 17  \nDiscussion ........................................................................................................ 18  \nConclusion ........................................................................................................ 20  \nNext Steps ......................................................................................................... 21  \nAppendix A: Family Child Care Focus Group Protocol .............................................. 22  \nAppendix B: Assistant Teacher Focus Group Protocol.............................................. 24  \nTHE CHILD CARE WORKFORCE IN NEW JERSEY: FINDINGS FROM FOCUS GROUPS WITH PROVIDERS 3  \nThe Child Care Workforce in New Jersey: Findings from Focus Groups with Providers  \nA UTHORED BY  \nLiana Lin and Lillian McFarland  \nI N T R O D U C T I O N  \nThe John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is part of a multi-center collaborative project focused on child care in New Jersey and is working with the Center for Women and Work and the National Institute for Early Education Research with support and collaboration from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. Through this work, the Heldrich Center is conducting an evaluation of the child care workforce through a multi-modal research approach. This report shares findings from the Heldrich Center’s post-survey focus groups of family child care (FCC) providers and licensed center staff in New Jersey.  \nM E T H O D S  \n▲ Child Care Workforce Study  \nFor the Heldrich Center’s evaluation of the child care workforce in New Jersey, the research team is employing a mixed-methods approach, comprising three primary data collection endeavors designed to complement each other. First, the Heldrich Center conducted six focus groups to ca","cbCaieStRxHMsPEW","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieStRxHMsPEW","pdf",367241,26,"English","# Introduction\n# Methods\n## Child Care Workforce Study\n## Post-Survey Focus Groups\n# Findings\n## Family Child Care Providers\n## Licensed Child Care Center Staff—Assistant Teachers\n# Discussion\n# Conclusion\n# Next Steps\n# Appendix A: Family Child Care Focus Group Protocol\n# Appendix B: Assistant Teacher Focus Group Protocol","[{\"question\":\"What sources of evidence does the report use to study New Jersey’s child care workforce?\",\"answer\":\"It uses focus groups, two surveys fielded in 2024, and follow-up focus groups in late 2024 and early 2025, complemented by quantitative analyses of administrative data from New Jersey’s Statewide Data System.\"},{\"question\":\"Which groups participated in the post-survey focus groups?\",\"answer\":\"Post-survey focus groups included family child care (FCC) providers and assistant teachers working in licensed child care centers, conducted virtually in 2024–2025.\"},{\"question\":\"How do the surveys and focus groups relate in the overall study design?\",\"answer\":\"Survey findings informed the development of additional focus groups, which were used to clarify and expand upon survey results and engage more deeply with respondents.\"}]","The Child Care Workforce in New Jersey - Findings from Focus Groups with Providers | PDF",1792054058,66]