SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL FOR GAO 24 106843: Strengthening Federal Government Coordination to Help Families with Disabilities Access Child Care

This supplement is a companion to GAO's report entitled Child Care Accessibility: Agencies Can Further Coordinate to Better Serve Families with Disabilities, GAO-24-106843. The purpose of this supplement is to provide an "Easy Read" version of the report. Easy Read is a way some groups make their written information easier to understand. For example, Easy Read documents use short sentences and plain language.

In this report, GAO found that children and parents with disabilities faced challenges finding and using child care. For example, some parents had to leave their jobs because they could not find full-time care for their child with disabilities. GAO also found that child care providers made changes to their spaces and programs to help meet the needs of families with disabilities, including adding one-on-one supports for children. However, providers said they faced challenges, as well, including not having enough money to make changes to their program. The Departments of Health and Human Services and Education have information that could help parents and child care providers address some challenges. GAO found that many parents and some child care providers we spoke with were unaware of this information, including Parent Training and Information Centers that provide support to parents of children with disabilities.

GAO made two recommendations in this report: one to the Department of Health and Human Services and one to the Department of Education to find more ways to work together to let people know about these centers and other information that could be helpful for families and child care providers. Both agencies agreed with these recommendations.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Curda at (202) 512-7215 or [email protected].