Browse the Collection
|
|
Produced by Research Connections
Peer Reviewed JournalCurrent Filters: Project Type:SCH [remove];
57 results found.|
Select Citation
|
Result | Resource Type |
|
|
|
|
Are Child Care Subsidies Cost-Effective? A study of the cost-effectiveness of child care subsidies along two dimensions: (1) a comparison of measures of cost-effectiveness to the alternative of an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); and (2) clarification of an optimal design strategy through the exploitation of the substantial cross-state policy innovation. The issue addressed is the extent to which these policies increase incentives for labor supply and human capital development, while reducing poverty and receipt of cash assistance. The study employs an empirical approach involving three broad steps: (1) modeling labor supply as a function of key budget constraint variables, including child care costs and the EITC, using a sample of single women; (2) modeling a number of indicators of educational attainment, in-school status, and job training enrollment as a function of child care costs and the EITC; and (3) conducting a welfare analysis on various components of states' CCDF comparisons in order to clarify an optimal design strategy. Data is drawn from multiple sources, primarily the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Asymmetric Information and the Child Care Market An assessment of whether publicly available information about quality influences parents' child care choices, with an investigation of what types of providers are likely to participate in evaluations to assess child care quality, and how the results of these evaluations can influence the market. The study expands the work of the Child Care Programs of Excellence (CCPOE) project, which was designed to: (1) recruit providers and assess their quality via on-site observations; (2) develop a quality rating report and disseminate it to parents; and (3) evaluate the impact of this information on parents' and providers' choices. Quantitative data analyses are used to answer the research questions. The policy implication for this work is the feasibility and benefit of educating parents about the importance of high quality child care. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Awareness, Accessibility, & Adequacy: Child Care Management among Low-Income, Urban Black Custodial Grandmothers An analysis of how low-income, urban black custodial grandmothers manage child care, using ethnographic research methods--including in-depth interviews with custodial grandmothers and child care agents over a twelve-month period and participant observation sessions in child care settings--to explore the following questions: (1) What do low-income, urban black custodial grandmothers do for child care when they are thrust into the role of parenting their grandchildren?; (2) What are the strategies they adopt for their grandchildren's care and development while they are serving as their primary and sole caretakers?; (3) How do different strategies affect the way children spend their time?; and (4) What comparisons can be made in the care offered children being cared for by their grandmothers that differ by the type of care arrangement grandmothers have with their grandchildren (e.g. private kinship care, legal guardianship, or kinship foster care) and/or the types of child care services and resources available in their neighborhoods? The goal of this project is to better understand individual family decisions within the context of their family forms and dynamics and the choices available at the state and community level. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Balancing Work and Family During Children's First Three Years A secondary analysis of data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care, consisting of two phases. Phase one explores the relationship between mothers' number of work hours and responsiveness to their children, and how this relationship is moderated by child care quality. Phase two examines how employed mothers balance work and family roles, and how the two are moderated by child care quality. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Caring for the Caregivers: Estimating the Causal Impact of Allowing Home-based Child Care Workers to Form Labor Unions on the Cost, Type, and Availability of Subsidized Child Care in Illinois This study investigates the impact of granting Illinois home-based child care providers the right to form a labor union on the per-child cost of subsidized child care for infants and toddlers, the type of child care (home-based vs. center-based) used by subsidy-receiving Illinois infants and toddlers, and the percentage of Illinois infants and toddlers who use child care subsidies. These analyses are conducted using a comparative case study method with social, economic, demographic, and housing data from the American Community Survey and records of the Child Care and Development Fund on United States infants and toddlers whose families received child care subsidies during the period from 2002-2008. Results are expected to reveal whether the unionization of Illinois home-based child care providers increased, via the collective bargaining process, the per-child amount of vouchers paid to providers; and the level of influence, if any, this action affords the unions to influence bureaucratic and regulatory processes encouraging subsidy-receiving families to choose home-based, as opposed to center-based, care for their young children. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Care and Community Services: Characteristics of Service Use and Effects on Parenting The study aims to improve the field's understanding of the features of child care services that are most critical to support children's development and identify family-level processes that might be influenced by child care. Specific research questions are: (1) What characteristics of parents predict usage of supports and services offered through the child care center and the community?; (2) What types of services and supports do parents use?; (3) Do the services and supports provided or referred to parents from the child care or preschool setting positively affect the home environment and parenting practices? To address these questions three national data sets (Head Start Impact Study, National Evaluation of Early Head Start, and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development) are being analyzed. The results of the study can further inform the field of the parental characteristics related to service take-up and whether the services have a positive effect on the home, in addition to providing practitioners and policymakers with evidence to design early child care and education programs that improve the environments and relationships vital for children's academic and social development. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Care Arrangements Among Low-Income Families: A Qualitative Approach An analysis of child care arrangements among urban low-income families, using qualitative research methods--including interviews with mothers over a twelve month period, and observations in child care settings--to explore the following questions: (1) What are the strategies working families in low income urban communities adopt for their young children's care and development?; (2) How do different strategies affect the way children spend their time during early childhood?; and (3) What comparisons, if any, can be made in the care offered families with young children in American inner-city communities that differ by racial and ethnic composition, and/or the types of services available in those neighborhoods? The goal is to better understand individual family decisions within the context of the choices available at the community level. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Care Decision-making, Subsidy Use, and the Development of Economic Self-sufficiency among Immigrant Parents of Young Children Children of immigrants are the fastest growing segment of children in the U.S. with one quarter of children under age 18 having at least one foreign born parent (Hernandez, 2009). In addition, nearly 60%; of children of immigrants were enrolled in some form of ECCE in the year before Kindergarten (Magnuson, Lahaie, & Waldfogel, 2006). Still, we have limited understanding of immigrant families' experiences with the U.S. ECCE system. Consequently, the primary goal of this study was to provide insight into the experiences of low-income immigrant families as they navigated the early childhood care and education (ECCE) system. Specifically, African and Latino immigrants' child care decision-making experiences, their knowledge and use of child care subsidies, as well as families' strategies to achieve economic self-sufficiency were examined. The research questions were: (1) how do low-income immigrant mothers of preschool age children learn to navigate the U.S. ECCE system? Specifically, how do immigrant mothers select ECCE for their children and what factors shape this decision-making process; and (2) how do low-income immigrant families utilize ECCE, child care subsidies and other governmental supports to promote their economic self-sufficiency and support their parenting? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Care during the First Year of School: How Extent, Type, and Quality Relate to Child Well-Being A systematic examination of the links between extent, type, and quality of child care and children's social-emotional and cognitive well-being, using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K). The sample for this study includes approximately 14,000 kindergarteners in the ECLS-K. The research explores the full range of child care options (formal and informal), focusing on sub-groups of children including low-income and subsidy-eligible. This study informs Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) policy regarding school-age child care, including how to design subsidy programs and cost effective quality enhancement strategies that best support school-age child well-being. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Care Effects in Context: Quality, Stability, and Multiplicity in Nonmaternal Child Care Arrangements from 3 to 6 Years of Age An assessment of the frequency with which low-income preschoolers (ages 3-6) experience unstable and multiple concurrent child care arrangements, and an examination of the effects of quality, stability, and multiplicity on children's social-emotional adjustment and school readiness. The study uses data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, and aims to help policymakers understand how child care experiences affect the social-emotional adjustment and school readiness of children living in poverty. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child-Care Selection from Birth to Age Three: The Influence of Family Economy, Demographics, and Parenting Beliefs A study of the influence of family socioeconomic status, parental beliefs, and differences between single and two parent families on child care selection. The study identifies the timing and sequence of care over children's first three years of life, and examines the following issues: (1) whether and when children enter care of different types (e.g., relative care vs. family day care) and intensity (e.g., part- versus full-time); (2) the sequence of arrangements over the first three years; (3) how time-variant (e.g., income, parenting beliefs) and time-invariant (e.g., ethnicity) family characteristics affect child care decisions; and (4) whether these effects vary by child age. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Care Subsidies and Entry to Employment Following Childbirth A study of the relationship between child care subsidies and the length of time between the birth of a child and the mother's entry to employment, particularly among lower-skilled women, who typically spend a larger proportion of their earnings on child care than do women with higher skills and education. The study is based on The Fragile Families and Well-Being Study (a nationally representative data set), and a unique data set of local policy indicators, and tests the hypothesis that child care subsidies cause new mothers to enter the labor force more expeditiously by: (1) reducing the cost of employment relative to earnings; and (2) facilitating stable child care arrangements. It predicts that the receipt of subsidies and the timing of entry to paid employment will vary with child care policies, after controlling for individual and family characteristics that influence the benefits and costs of subsidy use, and of paid employment relative to home production (i.e. caregiving) work. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Care Subsidies and the Work Effort of Single Mothers Post-welfare reform has introduced a new set of policy questions around child care subsidy receipt. The present study addresses policy relevant questions that seek to better articulate the relationships between single mothers' decisions about work, child care and subsidy access. In addition, the study explores the relative importance of process and structural measures of child care quality in supporting children's development. Sample: Unmarried mothers with at least one child under age 13. Measures: Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) Program Records; National Survey of America's Families (NSAF); Early Childhood Longitudinal Study birth cohort (ECLS-B). |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Care Subsidies: Who Uses Them and What Do They Buy Low-Income Families and Children? This study uses data from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) to: (1) determine whether eligible recipients of child care subsidies differ from the eligible non-recipients of child care subsidies on child and family characteristics and parental preferences for child care; (2) examine whether subsidy receipt in preschool leads parents to purchase higher-quality child care than they could have afforded without the subsidy; and (3) test whether subsidy receipt in preschool is associated with better school readiness in kindergarten. Expanding on prior work, this study identifies eligible non-recipients of child care subsidies who resemble subsidy recipients not only on observable demographic characteristics but also on variables that are harder to measure, like parental preferences for specific features of child care. Subsidy recipients are compared to eligible non-recipients on family and child characteristics and parental preference variables. Then, a propensity score matching technique is used to estimate the causal effect of subsidy use in preschool on the quality of preschool care children experience. Finally, state-fixed effects regressions with a lagged dependent variable are employed to test whether subsidy use in preschool is associated with children’s school readiness in kindergarten. If such an association exists, the possibility that preschool child care quality mediates this link is explored. In all analyses, children who receive subsidies are compared to children who are eligible for subsidies but who instead use either Head Start, or public pre-kindergarten, or unsubsidized care. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Child Development at the Intersection of Early Care and Education and Child Welfare Extensive literature supports the notion that young children involved in the child welfare system exhibit a myriad of developmental needs, including developmental delays, and physical and mental health issues. Ample research also demonstrates the potential of high quality early care and education (ECE) programs to improve the wellbeing of other groups of similarly at-risk children. It follows that stable, developmentally appropriate ECE may also have the potential to improve developmental outcomes for children involved in Child Welfare. Yet children involved in this system may also have unique experiences that affect both their use of ECE and its potential impacts. Despite these traditions of research, there is a dearth of research at the critical nexus of these early childhood systems. This study represents the launch of a new program of inquiry aimed at addressing this gap in by providing detailed data about the ECE arrangements experienced by young foster children, factors that predict differing patterns of ECE use within this population, and the developmental outcomes of ECE use. Specifically, it draws upon one national and two state level datasets to address four research objectives: (1) Provide descriptive data on the ECE experiences of young foster children (timing, amount, type) and uncover any differences in patterns of ECE exposure by child or foster parent demographics; (2) Examine the contribution of foster parents' work status, access to public ECE supports, and preferences to patterns of ECE reliance; (3) Explore associations between patterns of ECE use and developmental outcomes for foster children; and (4) Examine all of these questions for the large subpopulation of foster children who also have special needs. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Church-sponsored child care: Association of regulatory level with quality for young children The specific aims of this dissertation research are to on explore the quality of church-sponsored center-based child care as observed in three levels of state child care regulation. The first objective is to determine if and how global child care quality and teacher-child interactions vary in infant classrooms and preschool classrooms across three groups of differently-regulated church-sponsored centers. The second objective is to determine if the structural characteristics of group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of state regulation and child care quality. The results will support the CCDF goals of understanding variations in child care quality provided to children from low income families, and the effects of government regulation on quality, and will inform policy makers as they consider future support and regulation of child care quality. Research questions include: (1) Does overall child care quality and teacher-child interaction differ in infant classrooms and preschool classrooms across the three groups of differently regulated centers?; (2) Do group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of regulation and global quality scores?; and (3) Do group size, adult-child ratio, caregiver education level, and caregiver age mediate the relationship between level of regulation and teacher-child interaction? |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Comparative Analysis of Subsidized and Non-Subsidized Relative Child Care in Kansas An assessment of the quality of care in subsidized relative care settings, conducted for the purpose of informing policymakers regarding the efficacy of this investment. The objectives are two-fold: (1) to assess and compare quality of care observed in both subsidized and non-subsidized relative child care settings; and (2) to conduct a needs assessment of subsidized relative child care providers from which governmental agencies can facilitate support mechanisms or quality initiatives meeting the specific and unique needs of these providers. The study gathers quantitative data from sample pools of 30 subsidized and 30 non-subsidized relative child care providers from select Kansas counties, using the Child Care Assessment Tool for Relatives (CCAT-R) to measure the quality in relative care environments. Complementary qualitative data is gathered from focus group interviews of subsidized and non-subsidized child care providers. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Comparing Web-Based to In-Person Training to Deliver a Nutrition and Physical Activity Intervention in Child Care A comparative study of different types of training components of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care project (NAP SACC) in terms of their overall effectiveness at preparing Child Health Care Consultants (CCHCs) to deliver the NAP SACC intervention. NAP SACC is an intervention for child care centers and family child care homes aimed at improving nutrition and physical activity policies and practices, including the nutritional quality of food served, the amount and quality of physical activity, staff-child interactions, and center nutrition and physical activity policy, through self-assessment and targeted technical assistance. With the help of a trained CCHC, centers complete a self-assessment instrument at pre and post-intervention to evaluate center nutrition and physical activity policies and practices in fifteen areas. This study gathers a sample of twenty CCHCs who volunteer to bring NAP SACC to their counties, randomly assigns them to one of two training methods--web-based and in-person group, and evaluates them on their overall nutrition and physical activity knowledge and their ability to provide technical assistance to centers. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
The Constraints of Choice: The Role of Race/Ethnicity, Class, and Community Context in Child Care Decisions An examination of the role of contextual variables in mothers' child care choices, through an identification of how child care decisions are shaped by race/ethnicity, class, and community contexts, using quantitative data from the Philadelphia Survey of Child Care and Work, and from the City of Philadelphia. The study investigates the following questions: (1) How does the neighborhood supply of licensed child care affect the use of formal or informal child care?; (2) How do child care decisions vary by racial/ethnic and socioeconomic class characteristics?; (3) How do household demographics and work characteristics influence mothers' use of formal or informal child care?; (4) How does a mother's social networks and other resources affect her use of formal or informal care?; (5) What are the consequences of using formal or informal care?; and (6) How do the previous issues vary by neighborhood/community context? The policy implication of this study is the importance of how communities act as a medium through which the supply of, and access to, child care can be measured |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
The Effects of Child Care Disruptions on Working Parents: An Experience Sampling Approach An examination of the interaction between child care and parent workplace stress. The study follows ethnically and socioeconomically diverse parents, and randomly samples their behaviors and attitudes to measure the effects of child care disruptions as they occur. Hypotheses include: (1) Parents using workplace-site child care experience fewer negative consequences as a result of child care; (2) Women are more likely to experience the effects of child care problems spilling over and affecting outcomes at work than are men; and (3) Low-income families experience more negative outcomes as a result of child care problems. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Examining the Effects of Subsidy Eligibility on Parent Employment, Child Care Arrangements and Children’s Development Federal law limits eligibility of child care subsidy receipt to a maximum of 85% of a state's median income, but states may choose to set thresholds below this level. As a result, there is a substantial amount of variation in the thresholds states set and variation within states over time. This variation in eligibility is used in the present study to predict changes in parent employment, child care arrangements and child outcomes. Specifically, this project examines the impact of eligibility for child care subsidies, as determined by state income eligibility thresholds, on parents' labor force participation and child care choices. In addition, the study investigates whether the change in child care and parent employment experiences by eligible families has subsequent effects on child behavior and school readiness. Measures include: Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) State Plans; National Household Education Survey (NHES); National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Exit and Voice: Labor Turnover in Child Care Centers An inquiry into the relationship between working conditions and teacher turnover in child care programs. Using a new survey and data set designed by the researcher of programs in Massachusetts, factors are examined that might be related to lower turnover. The study employs economist Albert Hirschman's theory of exit, voice and loyalty--an economic theory that predicts lower turnover at programs where workers feel they have a say, or a voice, in the operation and organization of their work lives--to see if "voice" alternatives to quitting are an effective method of reducing exits. In different institutional settings, including unionization and regional unemployment, "voice" alternatives studied include: working relationships and practices between management and labor; identified paths for promotion and compensation; and processes for making decisions and addressing grievances. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Exploring the Potential of State-level Consolidated Governance for Bringing Coherence to Early Childhood Education Systems The purpose of this research is to explore the decisions states make about the form and function of governance, the ways governance has impacted the Early Childhood Education (ECE) system, and opportunities and limits of governance for bringing coherence to the complex and fragmented ECE system. Of the states that have consolidated governance for ECE, this study focuses on three: Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Delaware. The research is being conducted using a phased approach to data collection and analysis. Each research question, designed to test the hypotheses regarding the importance of governance to improving the field of ECE, is addressed in each phase of data collection. This study can, by exploring the form and function of state-level governance, help bring much-needed definitional clarity to a term and a concept that has been defined as many things over the past decade. It can also articulate the potential benefits accorded to a state ECE system via governance, as well as make explicit the limits of governance on system development. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Falling Through the Cracks: Child Care Decision-Making Among the Working Poor The purpose of this project was to understand how different factors influence working poor parent's decision making and perceptions regarding their child care arrangements. Parents in a central Missouri community completed a survey which allowed them to assess their work flexibility, affordability concerns, experiences with child care subsidy and other types of child care financial assistance, caregiver flexibility, social support, and transportation barriers. These factors served as independent variables for the study. The survey also measured parental satisfaction, continuity of child care and how important quality and logistical concerns were in ideal and real child care decision making. Families in Missouri face one of the lowest subsidy eligibility cutoff points (127% of the federal poverty level [FPL]).Very few eligible families receive subsidies. Yet there has been an excess of funding in the subsidy system. Missouri stakeholders expressed a need to understand better why working poor parents choose certain types of child care and how they feel about the arrangements they obtain. Although much research has identified micro-level variables such as parent education and demographic characteristics that influence choice, less is known about how the broader context of family life shape parental decision-making and perceptions about child care. The Research question is: How do the following meso- and macro-level context conditions influence working poor parents: (1) Child care selection criteria; (2) Satisfaction with child care; and (3) Continuity of child care |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
|
|
|
Goodness of Fit in Child Care: Examining the Contributions of Child and Caregiver Characteristics to Stress Reactivity Previous work has repeatedly shown that full-day child care is associated with increased physiological stress for many young children. Efforts to understand this phenomenon have demonstrated that quality of caregiving is important for predicting the proportion of children who exhibit a rising pattern of the stress-sensitive hormone cortisol across the day at child care. Understanding which children find child care particularly stressful and what caregiving behaviors are most important for buffering them from stress is badly needed. The present study specifically examines whether: (1) child temperament and attachment to parents predict cortisol reactivity across the day at child care; (2) secure attachment to child care providers buffers children against the stress reactivity; and (3) child care providers are able to buffer stress reactivity in a structured one-on-one interaction. Sample: 15 Head Start classrooms, 15 non-Head Start and non-university affiliated classrooms, 170 families, with oversample of 50 Mexican-origin families. Measures: Cortisol samples collected from children's saliva across the day, Attachment Q-set, Semi-structured Interaction, Measures of Sensitive and Intrusiveness, Child Behavioral Questionnaire/ Child Behavior Checklist, Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale- Revised, Parent Survey, Center Director Survey. |
Administration for Children and Families/OPRE Projects
|
|
Select Citation
|
