1-176 - Child Care Instability: Experiences and Policy Solutions Aimed at Low-Income Families

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Child care instability—or changes to non-parental caregivers—may disrupt young children’s relationships with caregivers and create stress for children and parents. For low-income families in low-wage—and often unstable—jobs, care instability may be particularly prevalent and problematic. The four papers in this symposium further knowledge on low-income families’ experiences of care instability with a focus on policies that may prevent instability and its negative consequences.

The first paper uses mixed methods to describe low-income parents’ experiences of care instability. Results suggest parents’ reasons for changing care providers were varied, and reflected planned, desired changes in search of higher-quality care and sudden changes due to instability in other domains, like employment. The second paper identifies a potential negative outcome of care instability. Using nationally-representative, survey data, the authors find a positive association between care instability and increases in maternal depression, which is concentrated among mothers using three or more care arrangements.

The third and fourth papers examine policy solutions for reducing care instability by improving child care subsidy continuity: Paper 3 uses national administrative data and finds that longer subsidy recertification periods and more generous income eligibility thresholds and parent copayments predicted longer subsidy spells. Paper 4 comes to a similar conclusion using Massachusetts’ subsidy program administrative data; more “family friendly” program practices (e.g., less burdensome recertification requirements) predicted greater subsidy and care arrangement stability. Findings highlight subsidy program policies and practices that can prevent subsidy and care instability, and in turn, may promote parent and child wellbeing.

Sub Unit

• Social Policy

Chairs

• Alejandra Ros Pilarz, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Anna Johnson, Georgetown University

Individual Presentations

• Understanding Child Care Instability Among Low-Income Subsidized Families - Presenting Author: Alejandra Ros Pilarz, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Heather Sandstrom, Urban Institute; Julia R Henly, University of Chicago

• Child Care Instability and Maternal Depression: Exploring a New Policy Pathway for Supporting Family Wellbeing - Anna Johnson, Georgetown University; Presenting Author: Christina Padilla, Georgetown University

• Keeping Kids in Care: What Makes a Difference in State CCDF Policy? - Presenting Author: Jade Jenkins, UC Irvine; Tutrang Nguyen, UC Irvine

• Child Care Subsidy Eligibility Reassessment and Its Impact on the Stability of Child Care Subsidy Receipt and Care Arrangements - Presenting Author: Yoonsook Ha, Boston University; Pam Joshi, Brandeis University; Erin Hardy, Brandeis University; Kate Giapponi, Brandeis University