The Impact of Child Care Subsidies on Single Mothers’ Work Effort

Abstract

AbstractAccess to affordable child care is a formidable barrier to employment for many families. Following passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, funding for child care assistance increased dramatically. Using data from the National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF), the impact of child care subsidies on single mother’s work effort is evaluated. The results indicate that not only are women more likely to be employed when they receive child care subsidies, they are also more likely to be employed full time. Single mothers who reported receiving assistance with child care worked, on average, 9.4 hours more per week than mother’s who did not receive help. While growth in funding for child care has slowed in recent years, findings like the ones presented here highlight the importance of affordable child care in the employment decisions of mothers with young children.