Examining Impacts of Preschool Expansion on Infant-Toddler Child Care Access

• In Event: Infant-Toddler Child Care Amidst Changing Policy Landscapes: Family Preferences, Preschool Expansion, and Provider Perspectives

Abstract

New Jersey has one of the highest rates of child care use for infants and toddlers in the U.S. (Barnett, 2020). NJ has also been providing high-quality, full-day pre-k to 3- and 4-year-olds in the poorest 31 districts since 1998 due to the Abbott court decisions (Frede & Barnett, 2011). Since 2017, NJ has expanded access to pre-k to more children throughout the state with a goal of universal pre-k for 3- and 4-year-olds. Currently, NJ serves 22% of 3-year-olds and 33% of 4-year-olds in state-funded pre-k in more than 300 of 570 districts. Like many states, as pre-k in NJ expands, there are questions about how it affects supply of and demand for child care, especially for infants and toddlers.

The present research focuses on the impact of preschool expansion on the supply of infant and toddler child care using quantitative and qualitative approaches. We use an amalgamation of state data including licensed child care centers and district preschool funding and enrollment between 2008 and 2024. We explore child care closures over time in relation to the introduction of Preschool Expansion Aid (PEA) funding to each school districts and explore the rate of child care closures (and openings) in districts with and without PEA funding. To examine this impact, we utilize two analytical approaches including survival analyses and differences-in-differences (DiD). The survival analysis models the relationship between  characteristics of child care centers and the school districts they reside in (e.g., preschool slots and expansion), that are associated with an increased likelihood of child care closure. The DiD analyses asks if the introduction of PEA funding led to changes in infant and toddler care access across the state by comparing districts with and without PEA funding before and after the introduction of PEA. We use a Cox’s proportional hazard test to evaluate the relationship between the participation of the school district in which a child care provider resides in state pre-k and child care closures and to evaluate the effect of covariates. In preliminary results, we find district participation in state pre-k as an independent risk factor for the incidence of closures of programs licensed to serve infant and toddlers.

To complement the quantitative analyses, the qualitative component seeks to understand director’s perspectives of how preschool expansion efforts impact child care programs with attention to their ability to provide infant and toddler care. We conducted 30 interviews with directors from centers that have closed in districts with and without state pre-k funding. Participants represent a diverse group of former center directors throughout the state interviewed using a semi-structured protocol. We coded transcripts and identified themes to answer questions about why centers are closing, and identify which of those factors,  can be mitigated as the state moves toward universal pre-k.

Taken together, the present research will reveal trends in child care availability as preschool expands in NJ and inform future preschool expansion and child care policies in ways to help stabilize child care for infants and toddlers.

Authors

• Jennifer K Duer, National Institute for Early Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Allison H. Friedman-Krauss, National Institute for Early Education Research
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Milagros Nores, National Institute for Early Education Research
  Non-Presenting Co-Author