ACCESS TO EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION (ECE) FOR DISADVANTAGED FAMILIES

Child Trends, Inc., Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The project will address three objectives: (1) to provide descriptive information comparing the ECE experiences of subsidy-eligible and ineligible children, (2) to analyze the impact of various subsidy policies and practices on the percent of children served, by state, and (3) to assess which subsidy policies and practices improve disadvantaged families' access to ECE. This study will address these objectives by answering a series of related research questions: (1) What are the child care preferences and choices of subsidy-eligible families (and do they differ by families' language or racial/ethnic status or the child's age)? Do subsidy-eligible families experience poorer access to child care, compared to ineligible families?; (2) How are copayment policies, reimbursement rates, eligibility thresholds, and lengths of eligibility periods associated with percent of eligible children who are served (and are certain policies associated with increased subsidy receipt for eligible non-English-speaking families, racial/ethnic minorities, and infants/toddlers)?; and (3) Are copayment policies, reimbursement rates, eligibility thresholds, and redetermination lengths associated with greater access and use of high-quality child care (and do certain policies facilitate access and use of high-quality ECE for non-English-speaking families, racial/ethnic minorities, and infants/toddlers)?; Among all subsidy-eligible families, how are these subsidy policies associated with access and use of high-quality care (and do certain subsidy policies facilitate access and use of high-quality ECE for non-English-speaking families and racial/ethnic minorities)? These research questions will be addressed by linking data from two sources: the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) and the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) Policies Database. Data will be analyzed using rigorous analytical techniques - primarily, regression models, in addition to descriptive statistics. These models will allow us to look at subsidy-eligible children as a whole, as well as by race/ethnicity and age group served (i.e., infant and toddlers).Findings from this work will be disseminated to state CCDF administrators, federal CCDF policymakers, ECE researchers, and the broader early childhood research and policy fields. Dissemination will take place through presentations at conferences, as well as the production of a research paper and policy brief.