Subsidized child care, maternal employment and access to quality, affordable child care
Subsidized child care, maternal employment and access to quality, affordable child care
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DOI：
10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.07.008
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发表时间：
2013-12-01
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Roberts, Joanne
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Marshall, Nancy L.;Robeson, Wendy Wagner;Roberts, Joanne
为了检验州儿童保育补贴政策是否可以将增加产妇就业和增加低收入家庭儿童获得优质儿童保育的机会这两个目标联合收割机结合起来，我们研究了一个州的综合政策，通过对665个随机选择的家庭进行横断面调查，这些家庭使用中心，Head Start，家庭儿童保育院，公立学校学前班或非正式护理，包括儿童保育补贴等待名单上的家庭样本。我们发现，在马萨诸塞州，接受儿童保育补贴的家庭报告说，与没有接受补贴的类似家庭相比，他们更容易获得儿童保育、更负担得起的儿童保育和更高质量的儿童保育。没有获得补贴的低收入家庭有时可以通过“先声夺人”方案和公立幼儿园获得负担得起的高质量儿童保育，但是，当他们必须支付保育费用时，他们支付的收入比例远远高于接受补贴的家庭。我们还发现，补贴等待名单上的家庭处于特别不利的地位。等待名单上的家庭支付保育费用的困难最大，获得的机会最少，儿童保育质量最差。虽然儿童保育补贴政策使领取补贴的家庭受益，但系统外的家庭仍然难以找到和负担儿童保育费用。(C)2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
To examine whether state child care subsidy policies can combine goals of increasing maternal employment and increasing access to quality child care for children in low-income families, we studied one state's comprehensive policy, through a cross-sectional survey of 665 randomly selected families using centers, Head Starts, family child care homes, public school preschools or informal care, including a sample of families on the waitlist for child care subsidies. We found that, in Massachusetts, families receiving child care subsidies report greater access to child care, more affordable child care, and higher quality child care, than do similar families not receiving subsidies. Lower-income families not receiving subsidies can sometimes access affordable, quality child care through Head Start programs and public preschools, but, when they have to pay for care, they pay a significantly greater proportion of their income than do families receiving subsidies. We also found that families on the subsidy waitlist are at a particular disadvantage. Waitlist families have the greatest difficulty paying for care, the least access, and the poorest quality child care. While the child care subsidy policies benefited those families receiving subsidies, families outside the system still struggled to find and afford child care. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.