Early childhood education and care policies and children's care arrangements from 1991--2005: Evidence from the National Household Education Survey

In anticipation of increased demand for early childhood education and care programs created by welfare reform policies, policy makers substantially increased funding for early childhood education and care assistance during the 1990s. Policies such as means-tested child care subsidies, prekindergarten initiatives, and compensatory preschool education, can affect the range of options parents face in arranging early childhood education and care programs for their children. Under the best of scenarios, such policies would increase the enrollment of low-income children into more formal care settings such as center-based care.;This study analyzes data on early childhood education and care enrollment from the National Household Education Surveys of 1991, 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2005. The results indicate that increased public funding of early childhood education and care programs did increase the likelihood that low-income children attend more formal care arrangements and for more hours. Given the high cost of early childhood education and care programs which contributes to continued significant disparities in access and quality in the type of care received, this study suggests that increased public funding may help lessen these disparities. If so, such funding would help close the gap in enrollment between these children and their more affluent counterparts and might also help more low-income children prepare for school.