Facts In Action

A recent longitudinal study, Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study examines the consequences of welfare reform on families in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio. Researchers examined the types of child care that low-income children are in and how the settings meet the preferences and needs of parents and children.

The study found that child care settings only meet some of the diverse needs of low-income preschool children and their families, and low-income families face challenges associated with finding quality child care regardless of whether or not they receive welfare benefits. There is no significant relationship between a family's welfare status and their child's child care setting, as well as no apparent differences on measures of quality, maternal satisfaction, mother-provider communication, or flexibility between low-income mothers on welfare and those not on welfare. The study found that formal child care centers and informal unregulated home care arrangements are the most popular choices for low-income families. While child care centers tend to provide higher-quality care experiences, unregulated home environments provide the flexibility and accessibility some families needed.

The report's findings support a variety of policy recommendations about child care for low-income families. First, there is a need to improve flexibility and accessibility of care for low-income families. Second, efforts need to be made to improve the quality of unregulated care environments, including an increase in resources and training for home care providers. Finally, too many low-income children are receiving care that is inadequate for meeting their developmental needs, suggesting the need to provide low-income parents information about quality care to help them become more knowledgeable consumers of child care.

Source:
Child Care in the Era of Welfare Reform: Quality, Choices, and Preferences, Policy Brief 01-4, R.L. Coley, P.L. Chase-Lansdale, and C.P. Li-Grining, Welfare, Children & Families: A Three City Study, 2001.

For more information:
contact the Welfare, Children, and Families Study, John Hopkins University, 3003 N. Charles Street/Annex, Suite 300, Baltimore, MD 21218-3855.

Facts in Action, April, 2002