Abstract
At a time when the majority of families who raise children with disabilities rely on nonparental childcare, it is crucial to examine their childcare options. This study is based on in-depth interviews with 18 parents and 4 childcare providers, who provided at least 20 hours of care for children with disabilities aged 2 through 6 years. Grounded dimensional analysis was used to guide data collection and analysis. While one group of families cycled through multiple childcare placements, another group of families developed a successful childcare placement the first time. The authors found that these 2 groups were further distinguished by how they searched for care and partnered with providers. The first group sought providers who would provide specialized care for their child. The second group additionally emphasized the need to find a provider who would cooperatively partner with them to care for their child. Two important outcomes of building cooperative partnerships among the second group of parents were as follows: (1) parents and providers began building partnerships early on and (2) parents and providers were willing to raise and cooperatively solve problems, which further strengthened the childcare partnerships. Time, adult support, and economic stability proved to be crucial resources for families to engage in building successful cooperative childcare partnerships. Recommendations for facilitating such partnerships are outlined.