Elusive public support for us child care policy

ABSTRACT

Most U.S. parents are in the paid labor force (US Department of Labor Statistics. (2014). Women in the labor force: A databook. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/cps/women-in-the-labor-force-a-databook-2014.pdf). Using a purposive non-probability sample (N = 415) of primarily upper-middle class, married White Democratic women, this study explores support for government regulation, funding, and provision of child care and the factors and context that may shape their beliefs. Although some respondents held reservations about government involvement, over 80% indicated that government should play a role in regulating care for children in all age categories (0–3, 4–5, and 6–12). Eighty-nine percent supported some form of government financial support for child care, and 58% and 61% saw a role for provision of child care for children age 0–5 and 6–12, respectively. Both regression analyses and qualitative responses indicated that support for a government role in child care was influenced by parents’ own difficulties finding affordable and sufficiently comprehensive care, and the number of children they had. We provide recommendations for how best to target these groups of parents to support child care advocacy campaigns, tapping into their own struggles as a source of empathy for others as well as an impetus to shift toward a more universal notion of government support for child care.

ABSTRACTO

Mayoría de los padres en los Estados Unidos está en la fuerza de trabajo remunerado (US Department of Labor Statistics. (2014). Women in the labor force: A databook. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/cps/women-in-the-labor-force-a-databook-2014.pdf). Utilizando una muestra de no probabilístico intencional (N = 415) de principalmente mujeres blancas, casadas, democráticas y de clase media-alta, este estudio explora apoyo para regulación del gobierno, la financiación y la provisión de cuidado infantil y los factores y el contexto que forma sus creencias. Aunque algunos entrevistados sostuvo reservas sobre la participación del gobierno, más del 80% indicaron que el gobierno debe desempeñar un papel en la regulación del cuidado para los niños en todas las categorías de edad (0–3, 4–5, 6–12). Ochenta y nueve porcentaje admite algún tipo de apoyo financiero del gobierno para el cuidado infantil, y 58% y 61% vio un papel para la provisión de cuidado infantil para niños de edad 0–5 y 6–12, respectivamente. Análisis de regresión y respuestas cualitativas indican que apoyo a un papel del gobierno en cuidado de niños fue influenciado por dificultades propias de los padres para encontrar asequibles y atención lo suficientemente amplia y el número de niños que habían. Ofrecemos recomendaciones sobre cómo mejor enfocar a estos grupos de padres para apoyar campañas de promoción de cuidado de niños, aprovechando sus propias luchas como fuente de empatía por otros, así como un impulso para cambiar de puesto hacia una noción más universal de apoyo del gobierno para el cuidado infantil.

KEYWORDS:

• Child care policy
• child care advocacy
• child care subsidy
• parental leave
• role of government

PALABRAS CLAVES:

• Política de cuidado de niños
• el permiso parental
• subsidio de cuidado infantil
• apoyo del cuidado de niños
• papel del gobierno

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Corey Shdaimah, LL.M., PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work. Her work explores the mismatch of policies and needs on the ground in areas as diverse as prostitution, child welfare, and access to justice. Together with collaborator Elizabeth Palley, her research in the area of child care policy has examined US federal legislative record, and the strategies, goals, and tradeoffs of key social movement actors on the national stage. Their most recent project will explore the impact of new policies on the work of child care providers in a wide variety of settings.

Elizabeth Palley, JD, MSW, PhD, is a Professor of Social Work at the Adelphi University School of Social Work. She has published widely in the fields of child care and disability policy. She and Dr. Shdaimah are the co-authors of In Our Hands: The Struggle for U.S. Child Care Policy,which was published by NYU in 2014.

Notes

1. We divided our analysis into these age categories based on differences in public policies: infant/toddler care; pre-kindergarten/kindergarten; and school-age. Care and education for children ages 0–3 requires higher teacher–student ratios and, except in some instances where parents are income-eligible, is not publically funded (Shulman & Blank, 2015). In recent years, there has been an expansion of public funded pre-kindergarten, mostly for children ages 4 and up (NWLC, 2013). However, in most states attendance in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten is optional and publically funded programs may not be available for a full day. As if 2015, most states require children age 6 and up[1] are required to attend school and publically funded education for a large portion of the day (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.).

2. Most questions were answered by over 405 out of the 416 respondents. Where answers were missing, not all reported figures add up to the full 416 respondents.

3. Seventeen referenced the need to change government policies in ways that did not implicate actual government provision or regulation of care but through other policy changes. Twelve called for maternity and/or paternity leaves or a stipend for parents providing care. Five explicitly called for tax credits or incentives to parents and one suggested providing incentives to businesses to facilitate child care.

4. Moral Mondays, like the Occupy Movement, targets a variety of issues that vary with location and comprises a very diverse constituency. These include public education, taxes, environment, and cuts to social programs, areas where government has been criticized for prioritizing concerns of businesses and wealthy Americans.