Supporting young children with disabilities during the COVID19 pandemic: Evidence from caregivers in Virginia

The READ ME file describes the data source and analysis file for producing the tables and figures in Supporting young children with disabilities during the COVID19 pandemic: Evidence from caregivers in Virginia<br><br>Abstract:<br>Early care and education (ECE) experiences shape children’s developmental trajectories, particularly for children who have or may have disabilities. However, caregivers of children with disabilities have faced considerable challenges finding care for their children, which have increased during the COVID19 pandemic. Using survey data from nearly 3,000 caregivers of preschool age children in Virginia collected in December 2020-January 2021, we find that caregivers of children with disabilities were less likely to find ECE programs that met their needs, more likely to experience high-levels of stress, and more likely to be concerned about their child’s development than were caregivers of children without disabilities. Concerns about child development were particularly pronounced among caregivers of children with disabilities in remote/hybrid instructional settings. Our findings suggest a disproportionate impact of ECE disruption on caregivers of children with disabilities and the need for targeted supports for these families moving forward.