Table 2.
Respondents’ perceptions of general priorities and activities that could best help 2-1-1 callers with children. Participants (N = 471) were asked to rank their top three general priorities from six major categories. For each general priority, participants who selected it then chose the three activities they thought would be most helpful for callers with children, rated the availability of resources to support those activities, and rated their comfort discussing the topic with 2-1-1 callers.
| Chosen a priority | Adequate resources | Comfortable with topic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % (n) | % (n/number responding) |
% (n/number responding) |
|
| Parenting (n = 345) | 73% (345) | ||
| Coping with stress and negative feelings | 60% (207) | 51% (106/206) | 89% (184/206) |
| Managing child behavior | 57% (197) | 44% (86/196) | 82% (159/195) |
| Getting help with serious child problems | 49% (168) | 39% (65/168) | 84% (141/167) |
| Developing stronger parent-child relationship | 42% (144) | 44% (62/142) | 85% (120/141) |
| Establishing rules & routines | 28% (97) | 28% (27/96) | 74% (70/94) |
| Family planning | 27% (94) | 54% (51/94) | 71% (66/93) |
| Being a good role model | 25% (85) | 19% (16/85) | 58% (47/81) |
| Getting mentoring from other parents | 10% (34) | 35% (12/34) | 88% (30/34) |
| Child Health and Health Care (n = 325) | 69% (325) | ||
| Getting health insurance for child (Medicaid/S-CHIP) | 77% (249) | 74% (184/248) | 96% (234/245) |
| Completing regular well-child checks | 59% (192) | 64% (123/191) | 92% (175/191) |
| Finding a good doctor for family or child | 58% (187) | 51% (96/187) | 92% (172/186) |
| Managing chronic conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes) | 30% (97) | 44% (42/96) | 89% (83/93) |
| Reducing or preventing child obesity | 22% (73) | 27% (20/73) | 74% (54/73) |
| Preventing cavities with dental sealants | 14% (47) | 44% (20/46) | 84% (38/45) |
| Having smoke-free home rules | 11% (35) | 17% (6/35) | 59% (19/32) |
| Deciding between breastfeeding or bottle | 2% (5) | 40% (2/5) | 40% (2/5) |
| Child Care (n = 317) | 67% (317) | ||
| Finding high-quality, affordable early child care | 85% (270) | 35% (95/270) | 90% (239/267) |
| Finding after-school care/supervision | 62% (198) | 39% (77/198) | 90% (173/193) |
| Finding summer care for school-age children | 51% (163) | 37% (61/163) | 94% (150/160) |
| Finding child care for child w/special needs | 37% (118) | 29% (34/118) | 80% (94/117) |
| Finding emergency child care | 26% (83) | 12% (10/83) | 83% (69/83) |
| Taking advantage of child care tax credits | 9% (27) | 46% (12/26) | 88% (23/26) |
| Child Development and Learning (n = 230) | 49% (230) | ||
| Checking if a child meets developmental milestones | 49% (112) | 63% (71/112) | 88% (98/111) |
| Finding special services for school-age children | 46% (105) | 43% (45/105) | 88% (92/104) |
| Reading with a child regularly | 42% (96) | 43% (41/96) | 77% (72/94) |
| Preparing a child for Kindergarten | 40% (91) | 54% (49/91) | 88% (78/89) |
| Finding and choosing pre-Kindergarten programs | 36% (82) | 59% (48/82) | 91% (74/81) |
| Helping infants/toddlers develop language | 35% (81) | 47% (38/81) | 79% (62/78) |
| Getting information about schools | 26% (60) | 63% (38/60) | 88% (53/60) |
| Setting rules and routines for homework | 25% (57) | 28% (16/57) | 77% (43/56) |
| Home and Child Safety (n = 97) | 21% (97) | ||
| Dealing with violence in the home | 65% (63) | 34% (19/56) | 89% (49/55) |
| Making the home safe for children | 60% (58) | 43% (23/54) | 83% (44/53) |
| Finding child safety equipment (e.g. car seats) | 43% (42) | 30% (12/40) | 95% (37/39) |
| Having a working phone for emergencies | 24% (23) | 52% (11/21) | 100% (20/20) |
| Having a working smoke/carbon monoxide detector | 19% (18) | 56% (10/18) | 89% (16/18) |
| Knowing first aid and having a first aid kit | 18% (17) | 53% (8/15) | 86% (12/14) |
| Planning for emergencies (e.g. fires, tornadoes) | 16% (16) | 44% (7/16) | 94% (15/16) |
| Having home rules for guns and gun safety | 12% (12) | 18% (2/11) | 64% (7/11) |
| Enrichment Activities (n = 93) | 20% (93) | ||
| Finding summer classes, camps, and programs | 62% (58) | 53% (30/57) | 93% (52/56) |
| Attending community arts, music, & cultural events | 49% (46) | 48% (22/46) | 86% (38/44) |
| Setting goals for the future | 44% (41) | 24% (10/41) | 78% (32/41) |
| Engaging in music, dance, theatre, art, cooking | 43% (40) | 38% (15/39) | 89% (34/38) |
| Exploring science and nature activities | 32% (30) | 41% (12/29) | 72% (21/29) |
| Visiting the library | 32% (30) | 90% (27/30) | 97% (28/29) |
| Working on special projects | 15% (14) | 21% (3/14) | 86% (12/14) |
| Exploring museums | 9% (8) | 63% (5/8) | 50% (4/8) |
Note: Variability in denominators in the second and third columns reflects a small amount of missing data due to participants’ skipping questions. Comfort raising the topics with callers was measured as percentage of respondents who said they were “comfortable” or “very comfortable” with a topic.