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Estimating The Impacts Of Legislation To Expand Affordable Quality Child Care And Early Education In Massachusetts: Initial Findings On Utilization, Employment, And Financial Assistance. Research Brief #1, Randy Albelda, Alan Clayton-Matthews, Anne Douglass, Christa Kelleher, Songtian Zeng, Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The UMass Boston Early Education CUSP is led by a multidisciplinary team that designed the simulator and uses it to produce current, relevant, accurate, and responsive estimates about the key impacts of proposed legislation to expand access to affordable, quality child care and early education. One of the simulator’s valuable features is that it can produce estimates for a range of policy parameters and provisions. The team will release additional briefs in the coming months to offer a more detailed look at the impacts outlined in this initial publication. Other planned briefs will examine key topics, such as impacts related …

Transforming Minnesota's Early Care And Education Infrastructure, Nicole Frethem

Student Scholarship

In 2021, the Minnesota legislature authorized the Great Start for All task force to present recommendations for how the state can provide “access to affordable, high-quality early care and education that enriches, nurtures, and supports children and their families,” to “all families” in Minnesota.

The early care and education landscape in Minnesota has experienced dramatic changes in programming and investments over the last twenty years. In the early 2000s, the state’s primary child care subsidy program, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), was moved from the Department of Children, Families and Learning to the Department of Human Services in an …

Advancing Gender Equity Through Legislation: Overview Of Select Laws Passed From 2014–2020, Maria J. D’Agostino, Nicole M. Elias

Publications and Research

Advancing Gender Equity through Legislation: A Compilation of Laws Passed from 2014 - 2020 aims to provide New York City residents with information about legislation passed under the de Blasio administration that aims to promote gender equity in the city.

Child Care Costs In The Mountain West, Saha Salahi, Kristian Thymianos, William E. Brown Jr., Caitlin J. Saladino

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines the cost of child care using data from the Care Index, a collaboration between New America, Care.com, and other organizations. Data for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are included in this document.

Covid–19 As A Catalyst For U.S. Child Care Policy Reform: Factsheet, Maria J. D’Agostino, Nicole M. Elias

Publications and Research

The burden of child care in the wake of widespread K-12 school closures has disproportionately harmed women, communities of color, and lower income families -- a clear indicator that now is the time to adopt a federally-subsidized childcare system in local communities that goes beyond public schools. Current proposals must address regulatory and financial challenges to child care centers and home-based providers, allow for local government involvement and discretion, and maintain flexibility for parents with non-traditional work schedules.

Covid-19: Working Parents And Child Care In The Mountain West, Olivia K. Cheche, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet synthesizes data on child-care dependent parents in various Mountain West metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). This synthesis is based on an original report by Brookings Research Analyst, Nicole Bateman, titled “Working parents are key to COVID-19 recovery.” Additionally, this fact sheet highlights other variables that include the race-ethnic breakdown, education attainment, and federal poverty breakdown for child-care dependent parents.

Workforce Well-Being: Personal And Workplace Contributions To Early Educators' Depression Across Settings, Amy M. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Alexandra Daro, Iheoma Iruka, Susan Sarver

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Building on research demonstrating the importance of teachers' well-being, this study examined personal and contextual factors related to early childhood educators' (n =1640) depressive symptoms across licensed child care homes, centers, and schools. Aspects of teachers' beliefs, economic status, and work-related stress were explored, and components of each emerged as significant in an OLS regression. After controlling for demographics and setting, teachers with more adult-centered beliefs, lower wages, multiple jobs, no health insurance, more workplace demands, and fewer work-related resources, had more depressive symptoms. Adult-centered beliefs were more closely associated with depression for teachers working in home-based settings compared …

Are Child Care Worker Wages Impacted By The Forces Of Supply And Demand? An Examination Of State-Level Data, Carolyn Arcand

Political Science

No abstract provided.

Research Brief On Eti Child Care Studies, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

Employment and Training Institute surveys of central city Milwaukee workers consistently identified two areas as barriers to employment: child care and transportation to jobs. The Institute studied child care issues in-depth over 20 years to assist Milwaukee County in effectively addressing employment needs of unemployed and underutilized workers.

Welfare-To-Work Reform And Intergenerational Support: Grandmothers' Response To The 1996 Prwora, Ho, Christine

Research Collection School Of Economics

The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA; Pub. L. 104-193) in the United States aimed at encouraging work among low-income mothers with children below age 18. In this study, the author used a sample of 2,843 intergenerational family observations from the Health and Retirement Study to estimate the effects of the reform on single grandmothers who are related to those mothers. The results suggest that the reform decreased time transfers but increased money transfers from grandmothers. The results are consistent with an intergenerational family support network where higher child care subsidies motivated the family to shift away …

The Performance Puzzle: Understanding The Factors Influencing Alternative Dimensions And Views Of Performance, Anna A. Amirkhanyan, Hyun Joon Kim, Kristina T. Lambright

Public Administration Faculty Scholarship

There is a large literature on the determinants of organizational performance, and its multidimensional nature is well recognized. However, little research has examined how different organizational and environmental factors influence different stakeholders’ performance assessments of the same service. We address this gap by comparing the factors influencing performance evaluations by different constituencies of child care centers in Ohio. We operationalize performance using (1) regulatory violations documented during state licensing inspections, (2) satisfaction with the center’s quality reported by center directors, (3) satisfaction with the center’s quality reported by teachers, and (4) satisfaction with care quality reported by parents. Our findings …

Paths To Quality: A Child Care Quality Rating System For Indiana. What Is It's Scientific Basis?, James Elicker

Center for Families Publications

Paths to QUALITY is Indiana’s new statewide child care quality rating system (QRS), first implemented in 2008. The main components of most state QRS programs are: 1) a set of quality standards that apply to home-based and center-based child care; 2) a process for objectively assessing child care quality and maintaining accountability; 3) a system of training and technical assistance to help child care providers improve quality; 4) incentives to encourage providers to reach higher levels of quality; and 5) public information to inform parents about what the QRS is and how to use it when they make child care …

The Role Of Transportation In Selected Syracuse Child Care Centers, Syracuse University. Maxwell School. Community Benchmarks Program

Community Benchmarks Program

This study examines the role of transportation for families with children enrolled in child care in Syracuse, New York. The focus of this report is 10 child care centers registered with Child Care Solutions of Onondaga County. The 10 centers were selected because 80% of the children enrolled are part of the federal free or reduced price lunch program. Child Care Solutions wanted to focus on this population because it has particular concern about enrollment in centers serving low-income children. One large inner-city center closed last spring due to lack of enrollment, a second came close to closing, and there …

Policies And Practices Affecting Aboriginal Fathers’ Involvement With Their Children, Jessica Ball, Ron George

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Child Care Selected By Families In The Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

As part of its technical assistance work for Milwaukee County, the Employment and Training Institute examines the participation in the child care subsidy program (Wisconsin Shares) by type of care used, the age of children in care, and residence of the family. In Milwaukee County, families may choose among six types of child care: group care centers licensed by the state to serve 9 or more children; family centers licensed by the state to serve 4-8 children; regular and provisionally certified family care certified by Milwaukee County to care for children in their home; school-age programs operated by Milwaukee Public …

Single Mothers Working At Night: Standard Work, Child Care Subsidies, And Implications For Welfare Reform, Erdal Tekin

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper estimates the effect of child care subsidies on the standard work decision of single mothers and examines whether this effect differs between welfare recipients and nonrecipients. The analysis uses data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. Results suggest that child care subsidy receipt is associated with a 6.9 percentage point increase in the probability of single mothers' working at standard jobs. When the effect of subsidy receipt is allowed to differ between welfare recipients and nonrecipients, results indicate that welfare recipients who are offered a child care subsidy are 14 percentage points more likely to work …

Analysis Of Child Care Survey And Vendor Participation Patterns In The Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program Operating In Se Wisconsin, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

At the request of Milwaukee County, the Employment and Training Institute conducted an analysis of the annual child care surveys of rates and analysis of Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program participation patterns in Southeastern Wisconsin. The analysis was conducted for administrative purposes to help improve the accuracy of the survey for rate setting purposes.

“Head Start Works Because We Do”: Head Start Programs, Community Action Agencies, And The Struggle Over Unionization, Eloise Pasachoff

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In the summer of 2002, the city of Boston watched a fierce battle unfold between low-wage workers who provide child care and the social service agencies that employ them. Boston requires its city contractors to pay more than twice the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour to their employees, according to the terms of the city's "living wage" ordinance. The social service agencies, which receive government subsidies to run their child care programs, claimed that they could not afford to pay this rate. These agencies mounted an intense legal and political campaign, arguing that they would be forced to …

The Child Care Costs Of Engaging The Welfare Population In Work: The Milwaukee Experience, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

Beginning in 1996 Wisconsin initiated a strict work test program in Milwaukee County for public assistance, which was designed to engage the AFDC population, including mothers with very young children, in employment or work-related activities. The initiative required substantial day care capacity building in the City of Milwaukee and made use of record levels of federal and state appropriations for child care subsidies. Wisconsin has now had over five years of experience requiring work activities for mothers of preschoolers and utilizing federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) monies for child care support …

Child Care For The Working Poor: The Milwaukee Experience, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

In Wisconsin the state government administers the child care subsidy program and allocates federal funds earmarked to improve the quality and availability of child care services. The county government is charged with determining eligibility of families for the subsidy program, conducting local private market child care rate surveys, and administering payments to providers. Portions of this research study were conducted to assist Milwaukee County in administering the subsidy program and to provide data on rate increases and vendor charges. The Milwaukee experience offers an important urban case study in the implementation of policies now guiding child care support under the …

Increasing Child Care Rates And The Rate Setting Process Under The Wisconsin Shares Program, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

The Wisconsin Shares program provides financial payments to child care vendors serving lower-income families in the state. The subsidy program was created in 1995 to aid eligible families needing child care help in order to work. This technical assistance paper was requested by Milwaukee County to examine the increases in child care rates and costs of the subsidy program. The report explores the rate structures used to pay providers for subsidized child care from 1995 to 2002 and reviews five years of administrative data files on child care subsidy payments to help identify policy and administrative issues relating to operation …

Longitudinal Analysis Of The Milwaukee County Child Care Subsidy Program: 1996-2001, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

Milwaukee County requested that the Employment and Training Institute for administrative purposes report on patterns of use for families participating in child care subsidy programs to assist the county in its long-term efforts to build an effective child care delivery system for employed families. Expenditures and participation levels are detailed by a variety of demographic characteristics including age and number of children, income levels, transportation status, type of care, length of time during which subsidized care is provided, and public assistance participation status.

Findings From The National Survey Of America's Families For Milwaukee County Families With Preschool Children, 1997 And 1999, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

This technical assistance paper was prepared at the request of Milwaukee County to use the NSAF survey to help estimate the number of families needing Wisconsin child care subsidies for low-income families and to analyze the type of care selected by working parents in Milwaukee County. The National Survey of America’s Families, conducted in 1997 and in 1999, provides a unique opportunity to examine the child care arrangements and employment patterns of Milwaukee County mothers with preschool children. The survey instrument was designed to be representative for the nation as a whole and for 13 states, including Wisconsin. Milwaukee County …

Nsaf Findings On Preschool Children, Mothers' Employment Status And Child Care Choices, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

Data from the 1997 and 1999 National Survey of America's Families on the employment patterns and child care choices of mothers with preschool children (under age 5) were analyzed for families with low-income (at less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level), mid-range income (at 150-299 percent of poverty), and upper-range income (at 300 percent or more of poverty).

Nonstandard Work And Child Care Choices Of Married Mothers, Jean Kimmel, Lisa M. Powell

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The focus of this paper is to examine the interplay between nonstandard employment and child care choice decisions of married mothers with young children. We draw on the 1992/93 Survey of Income and Program Participation to estimate two related econometric models of child care choice that include the choice among center, sitter, relative and parental care. First, controlling for the potential endogeneity of the nonstandard work decision, we find that being a nonstandard worker significantly reduces the likelihood of using formal modes of child care such as center and sitter care. In our second model, where we jointly estimate the …

The Child Care Problem For Low-Income Working Families, Jean Kimmel

Reports

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Child Care Costs On The Labor Force Participation And Welfare Recipiency Of Single Mothers: Implications For Welfare Reform, Rachel Connelly, Jean Kimmel

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper considers the effect of child care costs on two labor market outcomes for single mothers - whether to participate in the labor market and whether to receive welfare. Hourly child care expenditures are estimated for all women in the sample (using data drawn from the 1992 and 1993 panels of the SIPP), whether or not they are currently using nonmaternal child care. These expenditures are then included as an independent variable predicting the probability of welfare recipiency and the probability of labor force participation. Results show a substantial positive effect of child care costs on welfare recipiency, with …

Purchasing Power Profile: Cesar E. Chavez And National, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn, Frank Stetzer

ETI Publications

To help identify the economic assets of central city neighborhoods and to further employment opportunities for city residents the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute prepared state-of-the-art purchasing power estimates of consumer expenditures and retail sales leakage/surplus by neighborhood. The ETI drill downs were designed to help determine the diversity of the workforce and to further economic development for underserved communities and for neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of color. This presentation describes the purchasing power assets within three miles of S. Cesar E. Chavez Drive and W. National Avenue on Milwaukee’s near south side.

Marital Status And Full-Time/Part-Time Work Status In Child Care Choices, Rachel Connelly, Jean Kimmel

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Using recent SIPP data, we estimate two econometric models to study the differences in the effect of child care costs on employment status and differences in the mode of child care used controlling for employment status. For both married and single women, full-time employment is more elastic with respect to changes in the price of child care than part-time employment and employment elasticities are larger for single than married mothers. In the model of child care modal choice, we find that an increased probability of full-time employment is associated with an increase in the use of center care and a …

Impact Of Welfare Reform On Child Care Subsidies In Milwaukee County: 1996-1999, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

As part of its "W-2" ("Wisconsin Works") legislated changes in the state welfare system, the State of Wisconsin made a substantial commitment to provide day care support for low-income employed families, using federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) and child care block grant funds. This report on day care usage was developed to assist Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin in their long-term efforts to build an effective day care payment delivery system for employed families. The analysis examines the utilization of child care subsidies for "W-2" and low-income families in Milwaukee County from January 1996 through February …