RAPID Survey Project

We're no longer posting on this account! Follow our home base at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood for RAPID Survey Project news and updates.

To understand family economic well-being, we asked California parents with young children about experiences of material hardship. In our September 2024 analysis, 35% of California families with infants and toddlers report difficulty affording at least one area of basic need.

More than two in three (68%) California parents of infants and toddlers report feeling moderate-to-extreme stress about paying for basic needs. This high rate of hardship is concerning, as parents’ economic stress can interfere with the ability to provide responsive caregiving during a critical period of bonding and child and family development.

Read the fact sheet: https://stanford.io/41DLEvR

RAPID partners with cities, counties, and states across the U.S. to listen to parents and caregivers with children under age 6. Their voices and experiences provide snapshots of what life is like for those raising young children in communities across the country and help to spot national trends.

In 2024, we partnered with The Connecticut Project and community-based organizations in the state to hear directly from Connecticut families of all races, ethnicities, and income levels. The data show that one in four Connecticut families say child care is unaffordable.

This fact sheet represents survey data from parents of children under age 6 across all eight Connecticut counties, who told us about their experiences with child care access and affordability:
https://rapidsurveyproject.com/our-research/connecticut-survey

The RAPID Survey: An Innovative Tool for Elevating Parent and Provider Voices in Early Childhood The RAPID Survey: An Innovative Tool for Elevating Parent and Provider Voices in Early Childhood Philip A. Fisher, PhD; Sihong Liu, PhD; Cristi Carman, MPH; & Joan Lombardi, PhDStanford Center on Early Childhood, Stanford UniversityDecember 2024Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, RAPID subsequently e...

Extreme weather events are becoming more commonplace, raising concerns among parents of young children and child care providers. Facing these issues is the first step to addressing them, writes RAPID senior advisor Joan Lombardi, PhD, in this new guest commentary.

https://stanford.io/3Dbzq3n

Children are sensitive to the health impacts of extreme weather, and many caregivers of young children report experiencing extreme weather events. RAPID asks parents and child care providers about extreme weather to better understand the environments in which young children are developing and the experiences of the important adults in their lives.

Throughout 2022, RAPID listened to families with young children to better understand their experiences with extreme weather, and found that 78% of parents report being worried about extreme weather. These data highlight the impact of extreme weather events on caregivers and young children and how the environments in which families live are impacting children.

This fact sheet builds on these findings using August 2024 RAPID national survey data from parents of children under age 6 and child care providers. We asked caregivers about their experiences with extreme weather events and the impacts of these events on their own health and the health of the children in their care.

https://stanford.io/4fbQ9AA

We’re moving to a new account—Come follow us! 🎉

Hi friends,

We have some exciting news! The RAPID Survey Project is joining social media forces with our home base at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. Our hope is this change makes it easier for you to find all the latest research and insights to continue supporting families and caregivers of young children.

What does this mean for you?
Starting in January 2025, we’ll no longer be posting on this page. All our social media updates will be shared exclusively through the Stanford Center on Early Childhood:

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RAPID team

Utility companies have significantly increased rates over the past decade, and in May 2024, California lawmakers approved a flat increase in energy costs for all households that takes effect next year.

RAPID asked California families with young children about their experiences of material hardship. We use data collected in April 2024 and August 2024 to better understand the hardship families are facing amid the backdrop of this statewide increase in utility costs.

In August 2024, just three months after the new flat increase in utilities was approved, the majority of California parents (68%) report experiencing material hardship in at least one area of basic need. Of the California parents experiencing material hardship, more than a third (37%) specifically face difficulty paying for utilities, nearly double the percentage (19%) that RAPID reported just one year prior in July 2023.

As California families receive utility bills that start to include the new flat increase, RAPID will continue to ask about their ability to meet basic needs, including affording utilities.

Read more: https://rapidsurveyproject.com/our-research/utility-costs-rise-leaving-california-parents-of-young-children-in-a-tough-spot

"Nearly half of California’s parents with children younger than 6 are experiencing material hardship, according to the RAPID Survey Project at Stanford’s Center on Early Childhood. These parents have difficulty paying for basic needs such as food, housing and medical care. Intuitively, Stanford’s research also finds that when caregivers can’t meet their family’s basic needs, their emotional distress increases. And when their emotional distress increases, so does the emotional distress of children.

But the good news is that help helps. Stanford’s research found that government financial relief during the pandemic reduced emotional distress for young families because they could afford essentials and pay their bills."

OPINION: Parents are stressed and overwhelmed. They need help

Families with young children in Harris County, Texas, are struggling to meet basic needs — RAPID Survey In response to the pandemic, Congress temporarily paused federal student loan and interest payments in March 2020, providing relief to millions of student loan borrowers, including child care providers. On August 30, 2023, the debt relief plan ended, and student loan p