3-236 - Child Care Access and Quality: Findings from the National Survey of Early Care and Education

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The proposed symposium aims to share new findings from the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) regarding child care access and quality. The NSECE is a nationally-representative set of surveys conducted in 2012 that provide a portrait of available early care and education in all types of settings across the United States and the care preferences and experiences of US households. The proposed panel will present four complementary papers that make unique use of these rich survey data to address timely policy questions.

The first paper will describe how child care options have changed since passage of the Child Care and Development Block Grant in 1990 using two nationally representative studies from 1990 and the 2012 NSECE. The second paper further explores data from the NSECE center-based provider survey and home-based provider survey to examine the quality of care of programs serving subsidized children and whether more generous subsidy reimbursement rates and provider-friendly payment practices are linked to higher quality care.

The third and fourth papers turn the focus to the NSECE household survey to examine parental choice and access. The third paper examines variation in states’ subsidy policies and how certain packages of subsidy policies are associated with a greater uptake of subsidies among potential beneficiaries. The final paper focuses specifically on the preferences and care choices of low-income immigrant and limited English proficient families—a growing subpopulation historically under-represented in center-based care and the child care subsidy program.

Sub Unit

• Social Policy

Chair

• Heather Sandstrom, Urban Institute

Individual Presentations

• The Changing Landscape of Publicly-Funded Center-Based Child Care: 1990 and 2012 - Presenting Author: Sara Anderson, West Virginia University; Rupa Datta, NORC; Ellen Kisker, Twin Peaks Partners; Deborah Phillips, Georgetown University

• Are Higher Subsidy Payment Rates and Provider-Friendly Payment Policies Associated with Child Care Quality? - Presenting Author: Erica Greenberg, Urban Institute; Teresa Derrick-Mills, Urban Institute; Julia Isaacs, Urban Institute; Kathryn Stevens, Urban Institute; Molly Michie, Urban Institute

• Using the NSECE to Understand Access to Early Care and Education for Disadvantaged Families - Presenting Author: Rebecca Madill, Child Trends; Van-Kim Lin, Child Trends; Sarah Friese, Child Trends

• How Parental Preferences and Subsidy Receipt Shape Immigrant Families’ Child Care Choices - Presenting Author: Heather Sandstrom, Urban Institute; Julia Gelatt, Urban Institute