SUPPORTING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES: STATE VARIATIONS IN CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES AND TANF POLICIES AND CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENTAL ECOLOGIES

Ohio State University, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

The project will examine contextual pathways that link state-level policy decisions to the development of low-income children. The first goal of the project focuses on understanding how variations in both child care subsidy and TANF policies influence the likelihood that an eligible family will receive benefits. This study selected policy characteristics that are likely to matter to low-income families and also malleable and of interest to policymakers at state- and local-levels. The goal of the second aim is to understand how receipt of the benefits influences low-income children's development; through its influence on the proximal contexts they experience-namely, their child care setting and their family environment. Lastly, this study will explore across these two aims to provide a better understanding of how variations in state policies alter the potential associations between benefit receipt, children's developmental contexts, and ultimately, their developmental outcomes in both the short- and long-term. A primary strength of this project lies in the use of two national datasets of young children-the Fragile Families Child and Well-Being Study (FFCW), which follows a sample of primarily low-income children from urban areas from birth to age 9 and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), which follows a nationally representative sample of children from birth to age 5. Both datasets provide information that will allow us to link them to their states' policy characteristics. This study will use advanced statistical modeling, with careful attention paid to both eligibility criteria and potential selection bias, to address the three aims. Through understanding the complex pathways through which these policies and benefits can improve or hinder optimal child development and family functioning, policymakers will be better able to make decisions about future policies, reforms to current policies, and changes to the implementation of current policies. Ultimately, low-income children and families will benefit from the findings of this research, as it will provide new insights that can be used to improve policies aimed at reducing poverty and its harmful consequences.