When can citizen agents influence policy? A time-series regression analysis of advocacy groups' efforts to increase United States federal monetary support of child care, 1964 to 2001

This dissertation provides a quantitative investigation over time of factors that influence U.S. federal monetary support of child care, an understudied issue in sociology that has strong potential for enhancing progression toward gender equality in citizenship and protecting the interests of our youngest citizens. I employ a theoretical model incorporating the view that citizen agents are able, in the existence of certain political and cultural opportunity structures, to influence child care monetary policymaking. Considering opposition as well as advocacy, I examine multiple and interactive factors leading to fluctuations in funding. I find that citizen agency, political opportunity structure, and cultural opportunity structure all influence, to various degrees, the likelihood of annual augmentations of child care funding. Specifically, I find that when individuals organize to promote the interests of women and children, these organized actors have a clear effect in increasing federal funding for child care. Their effectiveness is conditioned by political and cultural opportunity structures. Key elements of a political opportunity structure favorable for augmented funding are Democratic partisanship and liberal ideology of policymakers. Cultural opportunity is also influential for increasing funding. Gendered opportunity for agency, brought about by evolving views about women's appropriate social roles, spurs political decision-makers to support child care policy, particularly as growing numbers of white women engage in paid labor. I further find that explanatory factors can combine to affect fluctuations in federal funding for child care, and that factors appearing to have no effect may instead be working in combination with other factors to enhance spending. Findings highlight that the effects of proponents and opponents alike must be considered, especially in light of their respective opportunity structures. Finally, I find there is flux over time in the effectiveness of some determinants of increased child care funding.