Care Subsidy Use Research Articles

Dynamics of child care subsidy use and material hardship

Child care subsidies aim to promote economic stability and child development by reducing child care costs for low-income families. However, short and intermittent use of the subsidy program raises concerns about its potential interference with promoting the economic well-being of low-income parents. Limited research has explored the implication of subsidy instability on material hardship and the role of social support in this context. This study examines how different patterns of subsidy instability contribute to the risk of material hardship and whether informal social support buffers the negative association of subsidy instability with material hardship risk. Findings are based on a survey of child care subsidy participants who entered the program in 2011/2012 in Illinois and New York (n = 543). The survey was administered approximately 18 months after program entry. Descriptively, about two-thirds of subsidy participants (former and current) experienced some form of material hardship. Multivariate results find that compared to continuous subsidy spells, different patterns of subsidy instability are associated with an increased risk of material hardship. Social support mitigates material hardship risk, particularly for recipients who have recently left the subsidy program. Results suggest that policy efforts to improve subsidy stability would have positive implications for alleviating hardship. Recent policy changes designed to improve subsidy stability are discussed.

Child Care Subsidy Use and Children’s Outcomes in Middle School

This article examines associations between child care subsidy use in early childhood and children’s middle school outcomes. Using a unique database linking administrative records of child care subsidy receipt with parental earnings, social assistance data, and students’ public school outcomes, we generate quasi-experimental estimates of subsidy effects on children’s reading and math test scores and school absences in third through eighth grades. Findings suggest that subsidies are associated with reduced absenteeism in seventh and eighth grades and with increased reading and math scores in third grade, but only for the subset of children whose subsidies were used to attend licensed center- or home-based care. Results provide initial evidence for longer term impacts of the child care subsidy program on children’s school performance.

Patterns of child care subsidy use and stability of subsidized care arrangements: Evidence from Illinois and New York

Given the prevalence of short child care subsidy spells and program churning documented in prior studies, researchers and policymakers have been concerned about the implications of discontinuity in subsidy receipt for the stability of children's care arrangements. Yet little research has studied the stability of subsidized arrangements or how subsidy discontinuity relates to changes in subsidized providers. Using child care subsidy program administrative records from a cohort of children in four diverse sites across Illinois and New York states, this study examines patterns of subsidy use and stability of subsidized care arrangements, as well as the relationship between the two. Results suggest that the length of states' eligibility periods is related to the duration of subsidy spells; however, significant variation in patterns of subsidy use within states suggests that local level factors are also important. Results show that subsidy discontinuity is related to children experiencing more total changes in subsidized providers. Focusing on provider changes across spells, we also find that the timing of subsidy exits, the length of gaps in subsidy receipt, and within spell provider instability are each related to whether or not children re-enter the program with a different subsidized provider after a break in subsidy receipt. We discuss these findings' implications for understanding how new program requirements established in the 2014 reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant may matter for subsidy continuity and care stability.

Child care subsidies and employment outcomes of low-income families

This study examined the relationship between mothers' child care subsidy use and their earnings and labor force attachment. Using Wisconsin administrative data, this study examined 48months of subsidy use for mothers who became eligible for child care subsidies between March 2000 and February 2001 (n=8984). Comparing subsidy-eligible mothers who received subsidies and those who were eligible but did not, we estimated the likelihood of experiencing an increase (or decrease) in earnings and the likelihood of experiencing an increase (or decrease) in the number of quarters employed. We used multinomial regression models to estimate each economic outcome separately and used logistic regression models to estimate both of the outcomes together. In both separate and joint analyses of earnings and quarters employed, we found that subsidy receipt was associated with an increase in the probability of an increase in earnings and/or number of quarters employed and a decrease in the probability of a decrease in quarters employed. However, in general, these associations were only significant when mothers received a subsidy for 12months or more. These findings suggest the importance of identifying potential barriers to subsidy use, as stable receipt of subsidies may contribute to parents' economic well-being.

Child Care Subsidy Use and Child Care Quality in Low-Wealth, Rural Communities

Child care subsidy programs serve to reduce the number of families for whom child care is a barrier to work. Child care is essential to economic self-sufficiency, and it can also support child development, particularly for low-income children. However, most research has an urban focus so little is known about rural settings where formal programs are limited and of lower quality. In this paper we examine the subsidy use of rural families, the care arrangements they make, and the quality of care received. We utilized data collected between 2004 and 2007 from the Family Life Project, a representative, longitudinal study of non-metro families in low-wealth counties (n = 1,292), oversampled for low-income and African-American families. Families who used subsidies were more likely to select center-based care, typically of higher quality. Further, these families were also more likely to receive higher quality care, regardless of the type chosen, even after accounting for a host of family and community factors. Findings suggest that subsidy programs have successfully moved low-income children into higher quality care beneficial for development. These findings point to the need to maintain subsidy programs and encourage eligible families to take advantage of such resources.

The relationship between child care subsidies and children's cognitive development

Child care subsidies help low-income families pay for child care while parents work or study. Few studies have examined the effects of child care subsidy use on child development, and no studies have done so controlling for prior cognitive skills. We use rich, longitudinal data from the ECLS-B data set to estimate the relationship between child care subsidy use and school readiness, using value-added regression models as well as parametric and non-parametric models with propensity score matching. Compared to a diverse group of subsidy non-recipients in various types of non-parental care as well as parental care only, we find that child care subsidy use during preschool is negatively associated with children's math skills at kindergarten entry. However, sensitivity analysis suggests that these findings could be easily overturned if unobserved factors affect selection into subsidy receipt.

Child care assistance for families involved in the child welfare system: Predicting child care subsidy use and stability

Abstract Early child care and education programs have the potential to play a supportive role in the lives of vulnerable children and families involved in the child welfare system. Child care subsidies can help low-income families to access these programs. The current study examines the use and stability of child care subsidies among children from families involved in the child welfare system. Administrative data were obtained from the Oregon Department of Human Services through two linked datasets: Child Welfare Services and Employment Related Day Care (Oregon's child care subsidy program). Results indicate that children placed out of their biological homes through child welfare services, and those with more instability in child welfare placements, are less likely to receive subsidized child care than those protected in their homes. Findings further suggest that children involved in child welfare services have even less stability in child care subsidy use than other children from low-income families, evidenced by shorter durations of subsidy use. These findings provide a platform for future research in this area, and have implications for the well-being of children and families involved in child welfare services, whose lives involve a host of challenges, risks, and instabilities.

The impact of child care subsidy use on child care quality

In 2008, the federal government allotted $7 billion in child care subsidies to low-income families through the state-administered Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), now the government's largest child care program (US DHHS, 2008). Although subsidies reduce costs for families and facilitate parental employment, it is unclear how they impact the quality of care families purchase. This study investigates the impact of government subsidization on parents' selection of child care quality using multivariate regression and propensity score matching approaches to account for differential selection into subsidy receipt and care arrangements. Data were drawn from the Child Care Supplement to the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (CCS-FFCWS), conducted in 2002 and 2003 in 14 of the 20 FFCWS cities when focal children were 3 years old (N = 456). Our results indicate that families who used subsidies chose higher quality care than comparable mothers who did not use subsidies, but only because subsidy recipients were more likely to use center-based care. Subgroup analyses revealed that families using subsidies purchased higher-quality home-based care but lower-quality center-based care than comparable non-recipients. Findings suggest that child care subsidies may serve as more than a work support for low-income families by enhancing the quality of nonmaternal care children experience but that this effect is largely attributable to recipients' using formal child care arrangements (versus kith and kin care) more often than non-recipients.

Child care subsidies post TANF: Child care subsidy use by African American, White and Hispanic TANF-leavers

With welfare reform, appropriations for child care subsidies have increased with the goal of increasing the employability of welfare leavers while promoting children's access to quality, affordable child care. Yet, not all low-income eligible families use child care subsidies. Understanding which low-income families use child care subsidies and which do not will provide initial insights into the nature and effectiveness of the child care subsidy system. Does the child care subsidy program equally serve families from diverse cultural backgrounds? What family and demographic factors are associated with child care subsidy use? We compared child care subsidy experiences of equal numbers of African American, White, and Hispanic TANF-leavers in five counties in and around Philadelphia. Fifty-five percent of African American TANF-leavers, 43% of White TANF users, and 45% of Hispanic TANF users were not eligible for subsidies because they were not employed upon leaving welfare. Of those families eligible for child care subsidies, 78% of the eligible African American TANF-leavers, but only 49% of the White, and 45% of the Hispanic TANF users used subsidies. Similarly, 85% of the subsidy-eligible African American families used child care, but only 70% of the white and 67% of the Hispanic subsidy-eligible families used child care. Thus, African American families were more likely than other families to be eligible for subsidies, to use them when eligible, and to use child care when eligible. While race/ethnicity was the primary predictor of subsidy usage, an additional predictor for all families of not using subsidies was having economic support from relatives and friends. For African Americans, prior use of public subsidies and for Whites, the absence of mental health problems also predicted subsidy usage.

Why Do They Leave? Child Care Subsidy Use in Oregon

This study fills an important gap about child care subsidy participation by exploring why parents leave the subsidy program in Oregon. Descriptive analyses using administrative data showed unexpectedly high levels of employment stability and low levels of family mobility. Many families appeared to remain eligible after exit based on earnings and participation in other means-tested assistance programs. Estimates from a Cox regression model showed that subsidy policies were associated with exits. Being in the last month of an eligibility period increased the likelihood of exiting the subsidy program by two to three times. This result suggests that lengthening eligibility period could increase the stability of subsidy usage and possibly subsidized child care arrangements.

The Difficulty of Obtaining a Child Care Subsidy: Implications for Policy and Practice

Single mothers leaving welfare face a web of obstacles in accessing child care subsidies. This paper develops a model of child care selection and subsidy use among welfare leavers. Findings suggest that the level of trust between parents and child care providers and the availability of information about facilities were important decision-making criteria. Efforts to work with this population need to address their lack of information about subsidies to increase the range of child care alternatives and quality and also to promote trusting relationships between social workers and welfare leavers. Specific recommendations include combining ongoing case management with education about child care alternatives and subsidies. However, child care information services should be separated from subsidies to promote trust in relationships with clients.

Child Care Subsidies and Employment Behavior Among Very‐Low‐Income Populations in Three States

AbstractUsing merged administrative data from welfare reform evaluations in three states, we estimate the effects of child care subsidy use on the length of time it takes for a welfare applicant to move into substantial employment. Findings show that the use of a child care subsidy during an unemployed or marginally employed spell of welfare receipt is associated with between a 0.6 and 1.7 quarter (or 11% to 34%) reduction in the time to substantial employment in two of the three state samples. The positive influence of subsidy use on transitions to substantial employment is strongest for those welfare applicants with the lowest earnings who are mixing welfare and work prior to subsidy receipt.

‘You have to push it—who's gonna raise your kids?’: situating child care and child care subsidy use in the daily routines of lower income families

We use qualitative and quantitative data from a multi-year study of low-income families included in New Hope, an experimental anti-poverty intervention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to understand why low-income families’ use of program-based child care as well as subsidies offered to pay for such care is often low and/or episodic. Ethnographic analyses from 38 families in experimental and control groups suggest that child care choices and subsidy use must fit into the family daily routines and with the beliefs people have about child care. Both ecocultural theory and parents’ own reports of child care decisions suggest four themes accounting for child care choice: material and social resources; conflicts in the family; values and beliefs about parenting and child development; and predictability and stability of child care. Child care subsidy programs can be more effective if they offer greater flexibility and a range of options that better fit into the varied daily routines of the low-income families they are intended to serve.

The Dynamics of Child Care Subsidy use by Rural Families in Oregon

The Dynamics of Child Care Subsidy use by Rural Families in Oregon