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Title: Comparing Potential Demand for Nontraditional-Hour Child Care and Planned Policies across States
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2021
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Abstract: Understanding the potential child care needs for parents who work early in the morning, evenings, nights, and weekends has become a growing concern for policymakers trying to make child care more accessible. Families working these nontraditional (NTH) schedules-defined here as anytime outside of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays-can face extra challenges finding child care, and the types of care they use are less supported by public funds (Adams et al. 2021a-c; Sandstrom 2018). Using data from the 2015-19 American Community Survey and 2016 Survey of Income and Program Participation, we estimated the potential demand for child care during these nontraditional hours (NTH). 1 Although parents of all types and income levels work NTH schedules, these schedules are much more common 2 among families who have faced structural barriers to employment, education, and good wages (Adams et al. 2021a-c). Research shows that people with lower incomes, who are Black and Latino, who have lower levels of education, and who are single parents face structural barriers to employment, education, and access to services. The pandemic has underscored these difficulties. It has deepened the child care crisis and heightened the nation's understanding of how race impacts families' risk and opportunities. In most states, children in families that have historically experienced these structural barriers are more likely to have NTH-working parents. Understanding which families are working NTH schedules allows policymakers to develop and implement policies that are equitable and meet different groups' needs.
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Authors: Schilder, Diane; Willenborg, Peter; Lou, Cary; Knowles, Sarah; Jaramillo, Juanita
Publisher: Urban Institute
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Family and Marriage
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