A Study on Parents’ Needs for Local Government Childcare Support Services to Promote Work-family Balance

This study aimed to identify the practical needs of parents raising young children for work-family balance and to provide foundational data for local government childcare support services. Eleven parents from City C were selected through convenience, purposive, and snowball sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using open and in-depth coding. Findings showed parents’ needs fell into three categories: psychological and relational support, practical childcare assistance, and community-based support. Key demands included parental counseling, marital support, child play mentoring, customized information, childcare-friendly community resource restructuring, and improved local administration. The need for local-specific spaces and programs such as kids cafe, shared childcare items, and professional guide training was also highlighted. The study proposed an integrated management hub to improve budget and personnel efficiency. These findings provide empirical evidence for demand-driven local childcare policies.