Critical to this question is determining a date span for a time period of interest during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, March 11th, 2020, could be used as the start date, as this is when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic[1]. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration on May 11th, 2023[2]. One option is to use this date to mark the end of the pandemic. Other options could include using the dates when a state implemented lock downs or quarantines for infected individuals and when quarantine or mask mandates were lifted or other relevant policies were enacted in the state.
Identify CCEE Program Sites that Received COVID-19 Stabilization Grants during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The data element Use of stabilization grant indicates if and how a provider used their COVID-19 stabilization grant. The option set for this data element includes fields such as “Personnel Costs”, “Rent/Mortgage/Utilities”, and “Personal protective equipment”, among others. Each option includes a dollar amount value. If a provider did not use stabilization funds for Personnel Costs, then the value for that Personnel Costs option is “0”. Using this data element, analyses can investigate what types of programs received stabilization funds as well as what expenditure categories are most common among providers in different CCEE settings. The Date of Award data element captures the date when a stabilization grant was received. Filter data to only include Date of Award values that fall between the state defined pandemic duration dates. Similarly, the post-award numbers can be defined as the total capacity and calculated total enrollment reported most recently
Calculate Enrollment and Enrollment Capacity for CCEE Program Sites
To answer this question, obtain the enrollment values of programs before and after they were awarded a stabilization grant. For ease of calculations, start by summing the values in the Site Level data elements Under 1 Year, 1 Year Old, 2 Years Old, 3 Years Old, 4 Years Old and 5 Years and Older to find the total enrollment number. To obtain the enrollment capacity for programs, use the value provided in the total licensed or identified capacity category of the Licensed Capacity data element.
Calculate Changes in Enrollment and Enrollment Capacity for CCEE Program Sites
Subtract the pre-award capacity and enrollment from the post-award capacity and enrollment to find the change. A positive number indicates there was a net gain in capacity and/or enrollment and a negative number indicates a net loss in the capacity and/or enrollment of a program. The amount of change (positive or negative) for all programs can be summed together to determine system wide net gain or loss for all programs that received stabilization grants. Early Childhood Setting and/or Early Childhood Program Type Offered can also be included in the analysis to examine any differences in gains or losses across settings or program types. Note that multiple stabilization grants may have been received by the same provider on different dates. In this case, the Date of Award data element can be used to identify if the provider’s enrollment and capacity information should be included in calculations, but participation in stabilization grant should only be counted once. Pre-award enrollment and capacity in this case, should be prior to receipt of the first stabilization grant received.
