Childcare Type and Quality Among Subsidy Recipients With and Without Special Needs

Abstract

Low-income children, particularly those with special needs, may have limited access to high quality early care experiences. Child care subsidies are intended to increase families' access to quality care, but little is known about subsidy use by children with special needs. Using a nationally representative sample of 4,000 young children who participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort, we examined the types and quality of childcare received by children with and without special needs who came from subsidy eligible families. We also investigated the extent to which subsidy use and child and family sociodemographic characteristics predicted care type and quality among young children with special needs who used childcare subsidies at nine months, two years, and four years. Findings indicated that subsidies increased the use of non-parental care, mainly center-based care, as well as home-based care to a lesser extent among children with special needs relative to peers without special needs and relative to peers with special needs who did not use subsidies. However, use of subsidy did not consistently result in families with children with special needs accessing higher quality care. Sociodemographic characteristics of children, families and their context were differentially predictive of type and quality care. We discuss implications for practice and policy to foster quality early care and education of young children with special needs who are receiving subsidies.

Finding the On Ramp: Accessing Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education in an Urban Setting

“…Regionally, the cost of full-time center-based care for two children is the highest single household expense in the Mid-Atlantic region (Childcare Aware, 2019). As a result, families with limited financial resources, including those who are eligible for child care subsidies, frequently use relative care as an affordable alternative (Laughlin, 2013; Sullivan et al, 2018). In minoritized communities, families also have significantly fewer high-quality arrangements to choose from (Shuey & Leventhal, 2018).…”

Did State Pre-Kindergarten Programs Affect the Head Start Enrollment of Children with Disabilities? A Quasi-Experimental Analysis

“…Overall, parents of children with disabilities who are economically disadvantaged are challenged to find care that can accommodate the needs of the child and the family (Chaudry et al, 2011;Knoche et al, 2006;Sullivan et al, 2018). When looking for child care, parents emphasize the warmth of the environment, availability and quality of specialized services and staff, and "convenience factors" such as length of service and proximity (Chaudry et al, 2011).…”

¿Contribuyen los subsidios estatales al desarrollo cognitivo temprano? La Asignación Universal por Hijo en el contexto argentino

“…Esto podría deberse a que los infantes que recibieron ayudas económicas por parte del estado acudían a centros de educación de menor calidad, tenían una tasa más baja de interacciones con sus cuidadores y además se encontraban en ambientes de menor estimulación derivado de los entornos socioeconómicos de riesgo (Herbst & Tekin, 2010;. Cabe aclarar que los subsidios relacionados con centros de cuidado infantil brindan la posibilidad a los progenitores de poder enviar a sus hijos a centros educativos infantiles con mayores niveles de calidad educativa, lo que incrementa la probabilidad de movilidad social, aumentando también las habilidades de comprensión lectora y matemáticas de sus hijos, durante los años del colegio primario (De Marco, Vernon-Feagans, & Family Life Project Key Investigators, 2015;Felfe, Nollenberger, & Rodríguez-Planas, 2015;Sullivan, Farnsworth, & Susman-Stillman, 2018). Por otro lado, logra que los padres sostengan sus jornadas laborales de forma estable.…”