Child Care Expenses Research Articles

Ina- Manggagawa- Mag-aaral: The Lived Experiences, Challenges, Coping and Aspirations of Working- Student- Mothers

Many individuals are pursuing graduate degrees while working and raising children. The aim of this study is to explore the lived experiences, challenges, coping, and aspirations of working-student- mothers who fulfill employment, academic, and family obligations. The mother's educational and work efforts provide the necessary information, needed skills, and a desirable attitude for a family's general well-being. The study intends explicitly to 1. explore the experiences and challenges faced by working student mothers. 2. Investigate their coping strategies and aspirations for managing different roles. 3. understand their current living situation. The participants consisted of twelve (12) mothers who had a minimum of two dependents, were enrolled in a master's degree program, and were employed in an organization. Participants were administered a brief demographic questionnaire and engaged in a semi-structured interview. This study utilized interpretative phenomenology analysis. The latest findings emphasize that participants shared their experience of navigating the complexities of managing coursework, jobs, and caregiving responsibilities, which led to feeling overwhelmed. The stress factor was primarily attributed to low income and inadequate childcare expenses. However, they employed effective coping strategies using work-life balance, such as social support and time management. Pursuing a master's degree encompassed the opportunity to enhance their abilities and expand their knowledge and earning potential. The study revealed that they exhibited strong motivation and perseverance, with solid career aspirations driving their academic and professional pursuits, benefiting themselves and their families.

Food Insecurity Among Community College Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: The purpose of this paper was to examine variables associated with food insecurity among community college caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We used data from a multi-institutional survey of 15,051 caregivers enrolled at 130 community colleges in 42 states in fall 2020. We used a logistic regression to examine whether demographic, academic, caregiving-related, financial, or COVID-19-related variables were associated with caregivers’ food insecurity. Results: Over half (52%) of community college caregivers experienced food insecurity. Transgender caregivers, first-generation caregivers, and caregivers who were divorced or single, had multiple disabilities, were previously in foster care, and had a family that experienced trouble making ends meet growing up had significantly ( p < .05) higher probabilities of experiencing food insecurity. Community college caregivers who used childcare and those with at least one child up to 12 years old also had increased probabilities of experiencing food insecurity. Moreover, caregivers who felt childcare was not affordable and believed that they did not earn enough money to make employment worthwhile after paying for childcare expenses had higher probabilities of experiencing food insecurity, as did those who experienced housing insecurity and used Pell grants, student loans, and support from friends or family to pay for college. Losing a job, experiencing cuts to work hours or wages, employment as a frontline worker, and contracting COVID were associated with higher probabilities of food insecurity. Contributions: Community college caregivers experienced high rates of food insecurity during the pandemic and some caregivers were at greater risk of exacerbated probabilities of food insecurity. We advocate for targeted interventions, wraparound services, and increased advocacy for legislation to support student caregivers.

Non-bank credit and food hardship: The association between payday loans, pawn loans, rent-to-own contracts and food hardship in households with children

Low- and moderate-income (LMI) households with children are at-risk for food hardship and may rely on short-term credit to meet their food needs. This research examines how the use of three types of non-bank credit – payday loans, pawn loans, and rent-to-own transactions – is associated with food insecurity, food insufficiency, and food inadequacy using households matched between the Current Population Survey’s Food Security Supplement and the Unbanked and Underbanked Supplement. It finds a strong association between the use of any non-bank credit and food hardship. Payday loan and pawn loan use, particularly for households that use these products more frequently, have a larger association with food hardship than use of rent-to-own transactions. When examining the self-reported reasons for using non-bank credit, households that use non-bank credit to pay for basic living expenses rather than for specific expenses, such as a repairs or childcare expenses, have a stronger association with food hardship. However, biprobit estimates are imprecise and do not establish a causal link between use of non-bank credit and food hardship. Policy should promote affordable credit, expand assistance to purchase food, and assist households in acquiring savings to address the food hardship experienced by households using AFS credit.

Effect of universal child care subsidy on child-rearing costs by mothers’ working status in South Korea

This study aims to investigate the effects of universal child care and early education subsidy on child-rearing cost burdens, and examine the extent to which this association differs depending on mothers’ working status in South Korea. Using the Korea Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) and a fixed effects panel model, we found that child care and early education subsidy usage is associated with a reduction of total child-rearing costs, but not much out-of-pocket child care expenses. Furthermore, the introduction of universal child care and early education subsidy is likely to benefit households with part-time working mothers in terms of reducing total child-rearing cost burden, but it increased out-of-pocket child care cost in households where mothers were not working. The child care and early education subsidy achieved the aim of reducing household financial burden associated with parenthood, and enabling parents to combine their paid work with parenthood—in particular for mothers with part-time jobs. However, full-time working mothers are limited in enjoying the benefits of the subsidy. Our findings regarding South Korea’s child care and early education system provide important insights for emerging and developing economies that are increasingly showing an interest in instituting new child care and early education systems.

Socio-Legal Empowerment for Working Women in Bangladesh

Abstract: Violence against working women strikes at the heart of economic empowerment programs—the very programs that are intended to empower them. If economic empowerment is defined as women's control over their income, violence as patriarchal deterrence prevents those women from controlling the money that they have worked so hard to earn. Therefore, women who earn are not inevitably empowered through their participation in the labor force. We argue that economic empowerment cannot be defined in terms of women's labor force participation alone. Gender-based violence sustains patriarchy. As part of the development of sociolegal empowerment theory, we introduce patriarchal deterrence as a new concept, which goes in tandem with patriarchal backlash theory, further clarifying analyses of low female labor force participation. As patriarchal backlash, violence punishes women who have joined the workforce; as patriarchal deterrence, it deters women from even starting to work. Arguing that income generation is insufficient, we present a theory of socio-legal empowerment as a necessary corollary of economic empowerment, which integrates concepts of legal empowerment and social accountability. Our theory has four components, which can be applied to assess a justice system. First is societal embeddedness, which measures how context-specific it is. For example, in Muslim countries, informal justice systems, which utilize feminist interpretations of Islam, are more embedded in local values and therefore more effective. By analyzing feminist interpretations of Islam as an imperative measure of effective justice systems for Muslim communities, we challenge Orientalist binaries of Islam versus women's rights. Second is social accountability, which assesses whether its verdicts and processes have social sanction. Third is its gender transformativeness, or social change potential, which addresses its capacity to build awareness. Fourth is its costs not only in terms of legal expenses but also of physical proximity which eliminates childcare expenses. In sum, we illustrate that earning income, though necessary, is insufficient for women's economic empowerment. Through the analysis of the NGO-ReformedShalish (informal justice system) in Bangladesh, we illustrate how socio-legal empowerment, in theory and practice, is also needed to empower working women.

The politics of disaggregated family policy: The role of party ideology and women's political representation in governments

AbstractAlthough affluent democracies experienced family policy expansion, there are remarkable country differences. Whilst some countries focus on policies supporting the male breadwinner model such as family allowances, others prioritise gender equality supporting public childcare. We explain this variation by arguing for governments as key actors in parliamentary democracies and test two sets of explanations: party ideology and women's representation. Our error correction models covering 16 affluent parliamentary democracies between 1991 and 2015 reveal that non‐left rather than left parties matter for family policy. Secular centre and Christian‐Democratic parties promote father‐specific leave, whilst secular right parties reduce spending on childcare and family allowances as well as father‐specific leave. The share of female ministers is associated with higher childcare expenses, and instead of women's share, the gender of the family affairs minister affects father‐specific leave expansions.

Gestational diabetes mellitus care re‐imagined – A cost‐minimisation analysis: Cost savings from a tertiary hospital, using a novel, digital‐based gestational diabetes management model

Diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a pregnancy has a significant impact on health service resources and represents a substantial financial and time impost on women. To describe a cost-minimisation analysis conducted following the demonstration of clinically equivalent care of women using a novel, digital model for GDM management, compared with conventional care. A pre-implementation model of care was compared with the post-implementation model of care which included systematic development and delivery of education videos, use of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 'M♡THer' smart phone app/portal and a dramatically reduced schedule of visits. The Mater Mothers' Hospital Brisbane cares for approximately 1200 women with GDM per annum, on which the cost estimates were based. Service costs were estimated using the resource method, where resource volumes and costs were gathered from experts within the health service. Patient costs were estimated using results from a short survey completed by a cohort of the study population. Health service costs showed a modest saving of AU$17 441.78 (US$12 158.92) in the intervention group over a 12-month period. Cost savings for the woman were estimated at $566.56 (US$394.96) per patient after accounting for lost wages, childcare expenses, and travel expenses avoided. This reduction led to an overall saving of $679 872 (US$473 948.82) for the cohort of 1200 women, primarily due to the reduction in face-to-face visits. Re-imagining GDM patient care by introducing a novel, digital-based GDM model of care has substantial positive cost implications for patients.

Uptake of formal childcare among second generation and native mothers in Belgium: can increasing local childcare availability narrow migrant-native gaps?

Research indicates that the uptake of formal childcare for children under age 3 is lower among migrant origin parents than among native parents in most European countries, and that these differentials extend to the second generation. Despite considerable investments in formal childcare availability in many European countries, it remains unclear whether and to what extent expanding local childcare availability effectively diminishes migrant-native uptake differentials due to the lack of longitudinal research. Therefore, this study assesses for Belgium to what extent expansions in childcare availability within municipalities in the period 2010–2014 has increased the uptake of formal childcare for children under age 3 among households where the mother has a second generation Southern European, Maghreb or Turkish background, versus no migration background. We use longitudinal census and register data for Belgium that were linked to longitudinal tax return data on childcare expenses and municipality-level data on childcare availability for children aged 0–3. Our results show that Southern European and Turkish origin mothers become more likely to use formal childcare when childcare places become more widely available within their municipalities, but also that the uptake gap with native mothers persists, since there is no differential effect of increasing local childcare availability. Since local childcare expansions entail a slightly stronger increase in formal childcare uptake among Maghreb origin mothers compared to native mothers, this results in slightly decreasing migrant-native uptake gaps, although considerable uptake gaps remain. To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study addressing the relationship between local childcare availability and uptake differentials by migration background. This study can inspire avenues for follow-up research which could provide additional insight into the possible mechanisms behind the varying effects of increasing local childcare availability by migration background and the persisting migrant-native uptake gaps.

The educational gradient in formal childcare use – the role of employment opportunities and (in)formal childcare availability

ABSTRACT This paper investigates three potential mechanisms of educational differentials in formal childcare uptake in Belgium, a country characterised by high availability, but also pronounced gradients in childcare uptake. We investigate whether and to what extent educational differentials can be accounted for by (i) differences in employment opportunities of mothers with different educational backgrounds, (ii) variation in local childcare availability which may entail different access, or (iii) differential availability of grandparents as an alternative source of affordable and flexible care. We use data from the 2011 Belgian census, which provides us with information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the entire population legally residing in Belgium. The census was linked to tax register data which gives insight into the uptake of formal childcare as childcare expenses are tax-deductible, as well as municipality-level data on childcare availability. Using logistic regression analysis, we investigate the uptake of formal childcare among two-parent families with one child younger than 2.5 years old. Results indicate that educational gradients are mainly due to differences in employment opportunities rather than differential availability of formal childcare at the local level or informal childcare availability.

Does Part-Time Mothering Help Get a Job? The Role of Shared Custody in Women’s Employment

Though child shared physical custody arrangements after divorce are much more frequent and parents who use it more diverse in many European countries, little is known about their economic consequences for parents. By relaxing family time constraints, does shared custody help divorced mothers return to or stay on work more easily? Since lone mothers are one of the least-employed groups, and they face high unemployment rates, the type of child custody arrangement adopted after divorce is of particular interest for their employability. This article analyses to what extent the type of child custody arrangement affects mothers’ labour market patterns after divorce.Using a large sample of divorcees from an exhaustive French administrative income tax database, and taking advantage of the huge territorial discrepancies observed in the proportion of shared custody, we correct for the possible endogeneity of shared custody. Results show that not repartnered mothers with shared custody arrangements are 24 percentage points more likely to work one year after divorce compared to those having sole custody, while no significant effect is found for repartnered mothers. Among lone mothers, we also highlight huge heterogeneous effects: larger positive effects are observed for previously inactive women, for those belonging to the lowest income quintiles before divorce, for those with a young child, and for those who have three or more children. Thus, shared physical custody arrangements may reduce work–family conflict by diminishing childcare expenses and enlarge the possibilities to find a suitable job because of more relaxed time constraints for lone mothers.

Paying for Childcare to Work? Evaluating the Role of Policy in Affordable Care and Child Poverty

Unless parents have a family member at home who can provide care, most will need childcare to work and achieve career mobility. Existing policies to help families with child-care costs in the United States include means-tested subsidies and nonrefundable tax credits. Many low-income families are eligible for the means-tested benefits, yet receipt rates are low. These families are generally excluded from the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) because it is nonrefundable. We analyze two approaches to reduce child-care expenses for low-income working families: (1) making the CDCTC fully refundable and increasing its generosity and (2) providing subsidies to ensure families spend no more than the Department of Health and Human Services affordability guidelines suggest. We evaluate how much such policies would alleviate child poverty through reducing child-care costs and through increasing earnings by enabling parents to work more.

Boosting Health through the Tax Code: 2021 Tax Credit Reforms.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) applauded Congress in March of this year when they successfully passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 American Rescue Plan to address public health and economic impacts of the pandemic. In their press release, national leadership pointed to tax credit provisions that are expected to drastically cut poverty and in turn “push against racial inequities” (NASW, 2021). The United States has a long history of using the tax code to advance social welfare; tax credit programs for earned income, child allowance, and child care expenses serve as economic security programs that have been associated with improved health outcomes (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019; Simon, McInerney, & Goodell, 2018). In this column, I briefly revisit the history of this practice in the United States and describe the most recent expansions in terms designed to help social workers spread...

TAX POLICY TRENDS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA’S PROPOSED CHILDCARE REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT

On Aug. 15, 2021, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau had his request to dissolve Parliament approved, triggering Canada’s 44th federal election. On Aug. 16, 2021, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) released their full platform. In that election platform, the CPC promise to convert the Childcare Expense Deduction (CCED) into a refundable tax credit (CPC 2021, 23). In releasing that platform, the CPC have also publicly stated that they would cancel the existing signed childcare agreements that expand childcare supply and limit childcare fees (Tasker 2021). This note examines the proposed benefit schedule of the refundable tax credit and what it would mean for childcare affordability.

Pandemic Action Plan Policy and Regulatory Summary Telehealth Policy and Regulatory Considerations During a Pandemic.

Reports, studies, and surveys have demonstrated telehealth provides opportunities to make health care more efficient, better coordinated, convenient, and affordable. Telehealth can also help address health income and access disparities in underserved communities by removing location and transportation barriers, unproductive time away from work, childcare expenses, and so on. Despite evidence showing high-quality outcomes, satisfaction, and success rates (e.g., 95% patient satisfaction rate and 84% success rate in which patients were able to completely resolve their medical concerns during a telehealth visit), nationwide adoption of telehealth has been quite low due to policy and regulatory barriers, constraints, and complexities.

COVID-19 and Childcare Expense Deductions: Revisiting the Decision in Lodge

COVID-19 and Childcare Expense Deductions: Revisiting the Decision in Lodge

Kindergarten for Free?! Empirical Evidence on the Utilization of Income Tax Deductions for Child Care Expenses

AbstractIn most developed countries there exist ample possibilities for individuals to minimize their personal income tax burden by means of tax deductions. The associated revenue losses for the government have been estimated for a variety of tax deductions. However, relatively little is known about the share of eligible taxpayers who actually use these deductions, and, more specifically, about what determines utilization. The present paper tries to shed some light on this question in the context of the tax deductibility of expenses for child care in Germany. Using survey data on actual child care expenses and official tax-return data on deductions for child-care expenses, we derive utilization rates. We also analyze the determinants of utilization among those who filed a tax-return, using a subsample of the tax-return data. Our estimation results show that (potential) tax breaks from utilization are significantly positively correlated with the probability of utilization. Other kinds of deductions are also highly significant, suggesting that knowledge of tax statutes as well as opportunity costs matter. Moreover, we simulate the effects of a policy reform that enhances the generosity of deductions on the utilization rate. Such a reform would substantially increase utilization. Our results indicate that responses in utilization are more important than potential responses in labor supply. (JEL codes: D14, H24, H43).

Uptake of the child care expense deduction: exploring factors associated with the use of the child care expense deduction among families with a child under 12\xa0years

The Canadian government implemented the child care expense deduction in 1972, a policy initiative intended to offset the financial cost of child care for eligible families. Although the deduction has now been in place for almost 50 years, and almost half of all families with a child aged 0–14 years use child care (Sinha, 2014), little research has examined the factors associated with claiming the child care expense deduction. The current study examined the uptake and usage of the child care expense deduction among families with at least one child under the age of 12 in 2011. Furthermore, the family demographic and work characteristics of families who have at least one child under the age of 12 in the household were explored in terms of the characteristics associated with a higher likelihood of claiming the child care expense deduction.

GSS 2011 Linked with TIFF: Exploring the Cost of Child Care in Canada and the Use of the Child Care Expense Deduction

Affordability of child care is fundamental to parents’, in particular, women’s decision to work. However, information on the cost of care in Canada is limited. The purpose of the current study was to examine the feasibility of using linked survey and administrative data to compare and contrast parent-reported child care costs based on two different sources of data. The linked file brings together data from the 2011 General Social Survey (GSS) and the annual tax files (TIFF) for the corresponding year (2010). Descriptive analyses were conducted to examine the socio-demographic and employment characteristics of respondents who reported using child care, and child care costs were compared. In 2011, parents who reported currently paying for child care (GSS) spent almost $6700 per year ($7,500 for children age 5 and under). According to the tax files, individuals claimed just over $3900 per year ($4,700). Approximately one in four individuals who reported child care costs on the GSS did not report any amount on their tax file; about four in ten who claimed child care on the tax file did not report any cost on the survey. Multivariate analyses suggested that individuals with a lower education, lower income, with Indigenous identity, and who were self-employed were less likely to make a tax claim despite reporting child care expenses on the GSS. Further examination of child care costs by province and by type of care are necessary, as is research to determine the most accurate way to measure and report child care costs.

The Effects of Child Care Subsidies on Paid Child Care Participation and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Child and Dependent Care Credit

The Child and Dependent Care Credit (CDCC), a tax credit based on taxpayers’ income and child care expenses, reduces families’ child care costs. The nonrefundable federal CDCC is available to working families with children younger than 13 years old in all states, and nearly half of states supplement the federal credit with their own child care credits. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act expanded the federal CDCC in 2003, which led to differential increases in CDCC generosity across states and family sizes. I document CDCC eligibility and expenditures over time and across income and demographic groups. Using data from the March Current Population Survey, I find that a 10 percent increase in CDCC benefits increases annual paid child care participation by 4–5 percent among households with children younger than 13 years old. I also find that CDCC benefits increase labor supply among married mothers. Increases in labor supply among married mothers with very young children suggest that CDCC benefits may generate long-run earnings gains.

Optional Web-Based Videoconferencing Added to Office-Based Care for Women Receiving Psychotherapy During the Postpartum Period: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundDepression and anxiety during the postpartum period are common, with psychotherapy often being the preferred method of treatment. However, psychological, physical, and social barriers prevent women from receiving appropriate and timely psychotherapy. The option of receiving psychotherapy through videoconferencing (VC) during the postpartum period presents an opportunity for more accessible and flexible care.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of optional VC added to usual office-based psychotherapy, with a psychotherapist during the postpartum period.MethodsWe conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial with 1:1 randomization to office-based care (treatment as usual; TAU) or office-based care with the option of VC (treatment as usual plus videoconferencing; TAU-VC) for psychotherapy during the postpartum period. We assessed the ability to recruit and retain postpartum women into the study from an urban perinatal mental health program offering postpartum psychotherapy, and we evaluated the uptake, acceptability, and satisfaction with VC as an addition to in-person psychotherapy. We also compared therapy attendance using therapist logs and symptoms between treatment groups. Symptoms were assessed at baseline and 3 months postrandomization with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item, and Parental Stress Scale. Furthermore, 3-month scores were compared between groups with intention-to-treat linear mixed-effects models controlling for baseline score.ResultsWe enrolled 38 participants into the study, with 19 participants in each treatment group. Attendance data were available for all participants, with follow-up symptom measures available for 25 out of 38 participants (66%). Among the 19 TAU-VC participants, 14 participants (74%) utilized VC at least once. Most participants were highly satisfied with the VC option, and they reported average savings of Can $26 and 2.5 hours in travel and childcare expenses and time per appointment. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups for psychotherapy attendance or symptoms.ConclusionsThe option of VC appears to be an acceptable method of receiving psychotherapy for postpartum women, with benefits described in costs and time savings. On the basis of this small pilot sample, there were no significant differences in outcomes between office-based care with or without the option of VC. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of such a program in an urban center, which suggests that a larger study would be beneficial to provide evidence that is more conclusive.