Minnesota and Maryland Reports on Child Care |
Sixty percent of American children who are not yet in kindergarten are enrolled in a child care or preschool program outside of the parental home. Many of these children experience multiple child care arrangements during these early formative years. It is important to understand the points at which providing information about child care quality and access to financial support can be most helpful to low-income families as they make decisions about child care arrangements. Three new briefs from Child Trends detail findings from studies in Minnesota and Maryland on child care arrangements among low-income parents.
Changes in Child Care Arrangements in Minnesota describes the changes in child care arrangements reported in a survey of low-income parents in Minnesota.More than half of children (52.2 percent) experienced a change in their primary child care provider over a six-month period.The study found that children most often transitioned from parental care to centers and once in center care, children remained in this type of care. Some of the transitions observed were related to age, and may be developmentally appropriate changes into a more formal group setting or an after-school program as children enter school. |
Subsidy Continuity in Maryland examines the amount of time children in Maryland participate continuously in the subsidy program. In the state, the average child received a subsidy for child care for seven straight months. The study also identified several key characteristics associated with the length of time a child continuously receives a subsidy.
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