PIPages
Labs

Daniela Rosner

University of Washington, WA·Computer Science

Millions of parents depend on in-home childcare workers. Some workers come to families' homes, and others care for children in their own homes.

Fields

Computer Science

Social Science

Engineering

Topics

childcare workers

in-home childcare

future of work

Grants
1 known grant, through Dec 2026

What they work on

  1. Study how hiring platforms, parents' decisions and smart home cameras affect in-home childcare workers' hiring, privacy and independence, through forums and directed research groups with workers, families and placement services.
  2. Design and evaluate matching platforms and algorithms that pair childcare workers with families to meet both parties' needs while avoiding errors common in hiring algorithms.
  3. Develop virtual reality and virtual agent training that helps childcare workers prepare for rare or difficult childcare situations and conversations with families and others.
  4. Build and evaluate systems that connect childcare workers with each other for emotional, informational and business support and for organizing to improve working conditions.

More about the research

These workers face hard conditions in their work environments, training, support and pay. A growing set of technologies may make these problems worse. Examples include home cameras, other smart home devices and gig-style platforms that match workers with families for short jobs. This project asks what risks and opportunities these technologies create. It also aims to design new technologies that benefit workers, parents, children and society.

Why it matters

The project could give in-home childcare workers fairer hiring tools, better training for difficult situations and support networks. It could also help clarify how cameras and gig platforms affect their privacy and independence. Parents and children could gain better-matched, better-supported caregivers. Platform designers could gain evidence on making matching algorithms that avoid common hiring errors.

Known grants

From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.

FW-HTF-R: The Future of Equitable Childcare Worker Technologies

NSF · Jan 2023 – Dec 2026

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The school

University of Washington: 81 labs on PI Pages, $1.7B a year on research, 694 research doctorates a year.

More about University of Washington

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