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Choice of Care Among Low-Income Working Families: A Study of Latino Families in the New South
Castro, Dina C., 2007
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge about child care needs and utilization among Latino low-income working families living in North Carolina, one of the states in the South with the fastest Latino population growth in the last two decades. The majority of Latinos in the South are recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America, whose child care needs and preferences may be somewhat different from those of Latinos in states with long-standing Latino populations. Furthermore, the rapid growth of the Latino population in this part of the country is posing challenges to a child care system that is trying to meet the needs of a group that may not only have different cultural and linguistic characteristics, but also may be unfamiliar with child care options available. The research questions are: (1) How are family characteristics associated with Latino low-income parents' choice of care for their preschool age children?; (2) How are program characteristics associated with Latino low-income parents' choice of non-parental care?; and (3) What are Latino parents' views about the characteristics of quality care? And to what extent do the type and quality of child care used by Latino families meet their child care needs?

Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects