Chapter 
                Four

              

            

          		
        

      

      
 
        

          
 
             
             
              
Nourishing 
                the Program through Research 

            		
          

          
 
             
             
              
1997-1999 
                 

            		
          

        

        
For STCC research is a necessary and strategic 
          activity. Research findings enrich and inform the quality and operation 
          of the STCC service and its overall viability. Since 1995, STCC has 
          sponsored a number of research initiatives: "Partners Towards Balance", 
          Labour Management Partnerships Project, funded by HRDC (1996); the Emergency 
          Child Care Research Project funded by Child Care Visions, HRDC (1996-1999); 
          and the STCC Strategic Initiatives Project, funded by the J.W. 
          McConnell Family Foundation (1997-1999). 

        
Through research, STCC has been able to 
          thoroughly investigate the emergency child care service and the consortium 
          model. Research has nourished STCC's understanding of operations and 
          long-term viability. Key findings are fed back into the STCC program 
          to improve service and operations. Research initiatives have also enabled 
          STCC to spread the word about its innovative service model to communities 
          and research forums.

        
"Partners Towards Balance", 
          Labour Management Partnerships Project (LMPP), HRDC, 1996

          STCC received one-year funding from the federal Labour-Management Partnerships 
          Project to investigate the participation of labour and management in 
          the establishment and operation of the NCR-ECCC and to examine the role 
          of specific organization's workplace committees, which deal with work/life 
          services such as emergency child care.

        
The Emergency Child Care Research Project, 
          Child Care Visions, HRDC 1996-1999 

          In 1996, STCC was granted two years of funding from HRDC 
          to lead an innovative, greenfields study of emergency child care. The 
          research investigated the impact of emergency child care on individuals, 
          their families and organizations; included a comprehensive service evaluation 
          of STCC and a review of comparable emergency child care services in 
          the U.S.; and, investigated the features and best practices of consortium 
          models involved in the development and delivery of dependant care services.

        
The research produced very interesting 
          findings on the impact of emergency child care on individuals and organizations. 
          When compared to people without access to the service, the 800 families 
          with access to STCC surveyed reported: fewer days of absence from work 
          due to child care problems; a significant decrease in tension caused 
          by conflicting responsibilities at home and work; significant increase 
          in job satisfaction; marked decrease in stress; improved relationship 
          between parents; and increased level of commitment to the job.

        
The research also established the business 
          case for emergency child care services; provided a close, detailed look 
          at the STCC service; identified informative, best practices and experiences 
          of American emergency child care services, and; confirmed consortium 
          models as a viable means of service delivery.

        
Another salient finding related to the 
          long-term viability of emergency child care services-the research found 
          that all of the U.S. emergency child care services that had been operational 
          for a minimum of five years were integrated into a larger service organization; 
          that no stand-alone emergency child care service had been sustainable 
          over the long term. 

        
Acting on the research, the STCC Board 
          decided in the fall, 1999 to re-locate the service from an independent, 
          one-service agency into the large, multi-service child care and family-support 
          agency, Andrew Fleck Child Care 
          Services as of November 01, 1999. STCC now operates as a program 
          of AFCCS under the umbrella of Family Support Services. This has resulted 
          in savings in administrative costs and closer contacts with the wider 
          child care community.

        
The Emergency Child Care Research Project 
          produced a detailed research report, Emergency 
          Child Care in Canada: Impact, Practice and Innovation - A Canadian Story, 
          and three overview summaries customized for the labour, business 
          and public sectors.

        
STCC Strategic Initiatives Project, 
          J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, 
          1997-1999 

          In June 1997, Short Term Child Care 
          (STCC) was granted funding from the J.W. 
          McConnell Family Foundation as one of the foundation's "peace 
          of mind" 

          work-life initiatives. The focus of the two-year Strategic Initiatives 
          Project was the investigation and possible activation of areas strategic 
          to the Short Term Child Care Program's 
          continuing viability and growth. 

        
Those areas identified as crucial to STCC's 
          long-term viability and service quality were: 

        

        
    
          
  •  the potential expansion of STCC to 
            include elder care as a work/life service;
    • 
          
  • caregiver recruitment, retention and 
            training; 
    
          
    • 
          
  • increasing service accessibility.
    • 
        

        
The J.W. 
          McConnell Family Foundation grant enabled STCC to look at conducting 
          a market research study of elder care and assess the feasibility of 
          introducing an elder care service component into STCC. In addition STCC 
          commissioned a detailed analysis of its pricing schedule and options 
          and a report on the issue of accessibility. The Foundation's funding 
          also provided STCC with a caregiver recruitment, retention and training 
          report and analysis, including an annual recruitment plan and a number 
          of operational and promotional tools and resources to recruit and retain 
          caregivers.

        
Lastly, the Strategic Initiatives Project 
          grant enabled the development of this document so that the STCC story 
          could be heard by other organizations and communities.