For the data corner in this quarter’s newsletter, we share early findings from the first few months of data collected from the Thriving Providers Project (TPP) replication sites in New York City and Philadelphia, which were added in 2024. First, to provide some context, the 36 TPP participants in our evaluation sample in Philadelphia identify as majority Black (86%), female (100%), and have English as a preferred language (100%). In New York City, the 37 evaluation participants are 87% Hispanic/Latinx, 13% Black, 100% female, with 64% listing Spanish as their preferred language.
When we take a look at these early data, we’re finding that
- Direct Cash Transfers (DCTs) arrive reliably and feel effortless, according to TPP evaluation participants. Across New York City and Philadelphia, an average of 96% of evaluation participants agreed or strongly agreed that they found the application to sign up for the direct cash transfer program to be simple and easy. On average, 96% of evaluation participants felt confident that the DCT would arrive consistently and that the process of receiving the DCT felt effortless. These encouraging results provide proof of concept for the reliability and feasibility of this method for cash distribution.
- Many TPP evaluation participants reported experiences of material hardship. Our survey seeks to understand the extent to which child care providers face challenges paying for basic necessities and how TPP might help. The following quotes from New York City evaluation participants provide an example of this material hardship.
“I was having a hard time – struggling – paying bills.”
“From September to March, my enrollment numbers are decreased and it is difficult to make ends meet with monthly expenses.“
Promisingly, in New York City, we saw a small reduction in the average number of material hardships reported after receiving the DCT. Similarly, in Philadelphia, it was encouraging to see some small decreases in material hardship over the first three months of TPP as highlighted in the quotes below:
“I was able to get groceries.”
“I am able to pay for monthly expenses & household bills.”
- TPP evaluation participants have used the DCTs to pay off debt and weather financial stressors, as shown by these quotes:
“Emergency leak in the home, I was able to have it repaired without the wait of the next period.” -Philadelphia home-based provider
“The direct cash transfer has helped pay for unexpected expenses that I had such [as] insurance renewals.” -New York City home-based provider
- TPP evaluation participants also reported that the DCTs help them manage income fluctuations, as shown in Figure 1. These preliminary findings will be exciting to continue to watch over time.
Figure 1. New York City evaluation participants who agree that DCTs help manage income fluctuations
- Encouragingly, TPP evaluation participants reported feeling optimistic after receiving DCTs. Before DCTs, some TPP evaluation participants felt uncertain about their future in child care; however many evaluation participants in both Philadelphia (78%) and New York City (73%) reported that DCTs allowed them to stay in the field, as the following quote from a Philadelphia provider shows:
“Had I not received that money, I would have questioned whether I should continue in [child care] …”
The next steps for the evaluation team are to monitor these initial trends over time. Our monthly surveys give us rich data to understand how evaluation participants experience the DCTs over the course of the entire 18 months of TPP. Stay tuned for more updates in the future!
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