National Study of Child Care for Low-Income Families. Care in the Home: A Description of Family Child Care and the Experiences of the Families and Children Who Use It. Volume II. Measures Used in the Study

摘要

The National Study of Child Care for Low-Income Families was a seven-year research effort conducted in 17 states and 25 communities within those states. The study was designed to provide federal, state and local policy makers with information on the effects of federal, state and local policies and programs on child care at the community level, and on the employment and child care decisions of low-income families. It also provides insights into the characteristics and functioning of family child care, a type of care frequently used by low-income families, and the experiences of parents and their children with this form of care. Abt Associates Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University's Joseph Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, conducted the study under contract to the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department in Health and Human Services. The study was initiated in the wake of sweeping welfare reform legislation enacted in 1996. It looked at how states and communities implement policies and programs to meet the child care needs of families moving from welfare to work, as well as those of other low-income parents; how these policies change over time; and how these policies, as well as other factors, affect the type, amount, and cost of care in communities. In addition, the study investigated the factors that shape the child care decisions of low-income families, and the role that child care subsidies play in those decisions.