Child care is expensive, and many parents struggle to afford care; furthermore, even though child care costs are high, child care providers in the United States (US) are not making a living wage. Child care professionals (ages 0-5 in child care homes or centers) earn less income than…

This snapshot is the third in a series of reports that describe the demographic characteristics of the ECE workforce using the 2012 NSECE data. The first report provides a descriptive analysis of the professional characteristics and motivations of the center- and home-based ECE workforce. The…

Child care workers’ wages have been an issue that has plagued the early childhood education field for over five decades. Although research exists on child care workers’ low wages, turnover rates, and lack of benefits, the details of daily life experiences from child care worker perspectives are…

The core challenge our proposal seeks to address is how to ensure that every American family and child has access to high-quality, affordable early childhood care and education (ECE) services in a critical period of human development, breaking a shortage of investment in young children. America’…

The past decade has seen a dramatic growth of non-standard work schedules in the workforce, leading to increasing demand for non-standard hour child care during evenings, nights, and weekends. Low-income families, less-educated parents, and single parents with young children report greater…

Describing access across multiple dimensions provides decision makers with a deeper understanding of families’ ECE needs and emphasizes the need for multi-faceted policy solutions. Yet measuring and comparing access from different perspectives requires available data and a clear measurement…