Child care decision making: Understanding priorities and processes used by low income families in Minnesota

CITATION

Forry, N., Isner, T.K., Danieri, M.P. and Tout, K. (2014) Child care decision making: Understanding priorities and processes used by low income families in Minnesota. Early Education and Development, 25(7), 995-1015

For library access / research help in a similar topic: anyangoceline19@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Research Findings: Few studies have described parents’ child care decision-making process, yet
understanding how parents make child care choices is fundamental to developing effective services
to promote the selection of high-quality care. This study used latent profile analysis to distinguish
subgroups of low-income parents identified as having commonalities in the number of options,
duration, and sources of information sought as part of their child care decision-making process.
Study participants included 260 parents who participated in the baseline wave of the Minnesota
Child Care Choices study, a longitudinal phone survey of welfare applicants. Two subgroups of
parents were identified. The majority of parents (82%) made choices within 2 weeks and considered
on average 2 arrangements. Fewer than half of these parents considered information from experts,
public lists, or family members=friends when making a child care choice. The remaining 18% of
the sample took on average 11 weeks to make a child care choice, considered on average 3 options,
and relied more heavily on information from experts and family members=friends. Practice or
Policy: Findings from this study have implications for the marketing of resource and referral
counseling services, Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, and consumer education aimed at
facilitating the selection of high-quality care.


REFERENCES
Adams, G., Tout, K., & Zaslow, M. (2007). Early care and education for children in low-income families: Patterns of
use, quality, and potential policy implications. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411482_early_care.pdf

Anderson, S., Ramsburg, D. M., & Scott, J. (2005). Illinois study of license-exempt child care: Final report.
Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Barbarin, O. A., McCandies, T., Early, D., Clifford, R. M., Bryant, D., & Burchinal, M. (2006). Quality of prekindergarten:
What families are looking for in public sponsored programs. Early Education & Development, 17,
619–642.

Bauer, D. J., & Curran, P. J. (2004). The integration of continuous and discrete latent variable models: Potential problems
and promising opportunities. Psychological Methods, 9, 3–29.

Brandon, P., & Hofferth, S. (2003). Determinants of out-of-school child care arrangements among children in
single-mother and two-parent families. Social Science Research, 32, 129–147.

Buriel, R., & Hurtado-Ortiz, M. T. (2000). Child care practices and preferences of native- and foreign-born Latina
mothers and Euro American mothers. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 22, 314–331.

Chase, R., & Valorose, J. (2010). Child care use in Minnesota: Report of the 2009 statewide household child care survey.
St. Paul, MN: Wilder Research.

Chaudry, A. (2004). Putting children first: How low-wage working mothers manage child care. New York, NY: Russell
Sage Foundation.

Chaudry, A., Henly, J., & Meyers, M. (2010). Conceptual frameworks for child care decision-making. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning,
Research, and Evaluation.

Cochi Ficano, C. K. (2006). Child-care market mechanisms: Does policy affect the quantity of care? Social Service
Review, 80, 453–484.

Connelly, R., & Kimmel, J. (2003). Marital status and full-time=part-time work status in child care choices. Applied
Economics, 35, 761–777.

Early, D. M., & Burchinal, M. R. (2001). Early childhood care: Relations with family characteristics and preferred care
characteristics. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16, 475–497.

Ehrle, J., Adams, G., & Tout, K. (2001). Who’s caring for our youngest children? Child care patterns of infants and
toddlers. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Elicker, J., Langill, C., Ruprecht, K., Lewsader, J., & Anderson, T. (2011). Evaluation of ‘‘Paths to QUALITY,’’
Indiana’s child care quality rating and improvement system: Final report. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University,
Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

Gennetian, L. (2010, October). What behavioral economics can contribute to child care policy, practice and research.
Paper presented at the Child Care Policy and Research Consortium Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Gordon, R. A., & Chase-Lansdale, L. (2001). Availability of child care in the United States: A description and analysis of
data sources. Demography, 38, 299–316.

Gordon, R. A., & Ho¨gna¨s, R. S. (2006). The best laid plans: Expectations, preferences, and stability of child-care
arrangements. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 373–393.

Han, W.-J. (2004). Nonstandard work schedules and child care decisions: Evidence from the NICHD Study of Early
Child Care. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19, 231–256.

Harrison, L., & Ungerer, J. A. (2000). Child care predictors of infant-mother attachment security at age 12 months. Early
Child Development and Care, 137, 31–46.

Helburn, S., & Bergmann, B. R. (2002). America’s childcare problem: The way out. New York, NY: Palgrave Press.

Henly, J. R., & Lyons, S. (2000). The negotiation of child care and employment demands along low-income parents.
Journal of Social Issues, 56, 683–706.

Hirshberg, D., Huang, D. S.-C., & Fuller, B. (2005). Which low-income parents select child-care? Family demand and
neighborhood organizations. Children and Youth Services Review, 27, 1119–1148.

Hofferth, S., Brayfield, A. A., Deich, S. G., & Holcomb, P. A. (1991). National child care survey, 1990: Parent study.
Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Hofferth, S. L., & Wissoker, D. A. (1992). Price, quality, and income in child care choice. Journal of Human Resources,
37, 70–74.

Huston, A. C., Chang, Y. E., & Gennetian, L. (2002). Family and individual predictors of child care use by low-income
families in different policy contexts. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17, 441–469.

Johansen, A. S., Leibowitz, A., & Waite, L. J. (1996). The importance of child-care characteristics to choice of care.
Journal of Marriage and Family, 58, 759–772.

Kim, J., & Fram, M. S. (2009). Profiles of choice: Parents’ patterns of priority in child care decision-making. Early
Childhood Research Quarterly, 24, 77–91.

Kisker, E. E., & Silverberg, M. (1991). Child care utilization by disadvantaged teenage mothers. Journal of Social Issues,
47, 159–177.

Laughlin, L. L. (2006). Understanding the social and spatial neighborhood context for working mothers: An examination
of child care services and outcomes (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.

Layzer, J. I., & Goodson, B. D. (2006). National Study of Child Care for Low-Income Families: A description of family
child care and the experiences of the families and children who use it: Wave 1 report. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.

Layzer, J. I., & Goodson, B. D. (2007). National Study of Child Care for Low-Income Families: A description of family
child care and the experiences of the families and children who use it: Final report. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.

Layzer, J. I., Goodson, B. D., & Brown-Lyons, M. (2007). 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 that use it: Final
report. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates.

Leslie, L., Ettenson, R., & Cumsille, P. (2000). Selecting a child care center: What really matters to parents? Child and
Youth Care Forum, 29, 299–322.

Liang, X., Fuller, B., & Singer, J. D. (2000). Ethnic differences in child care selection: The influence of family structure,
parental practices, and home language. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15, 357–384.

Lubke, G., & Muthe´n, B. (2007). Performance of factor mixture models as a function of model size, covariate effects, and
class-specific parameters. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 26–47.

Meyers, M. K., & Jordan, L. P. (2006). Choice and accommodation in parental child care decisions. Journal of the
Community Development Society, 37, 53–70.

Muthe´n, L. K., & Muthe´n, B. (2006). Mplus user’s guide (Version 4). Los Angeles, CA: Authors.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. (1998). Early child care and
self-control, compliance and problem behavior at twenty-four and thirty-six months. Child Development, 69, 1145–1170.

Nelson, D. B., McMahon, K., Joffe, M., & Brensinger, C. (2003). The effect of depressive symptoms and optimism on
the risk of spontaneous abortion. Journal of Women’s Health, 12, 569–576.

O’Neill, G. E., & O’Connell, M. (2001). State estimates of child care establishments: 1977–1997. Washington, DC: U.S.
Census Bureau.

Peyton, V., Jacobs, A. C., O’Brien, M., & Roy, C. (2001). Reasons for choosing child care: Associations with family
factors, quality and satisfaction. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16, 191–208.

Powell, L. M. (2002). Joint labor supply and childcare choice decisions of married mothers. Journal of Human
Resources, 37, 106–128.

Public Policy Forum. (2008, April). Parents pleased with child care options and quality (Research Brief Vol. 96, No. 4).
Milwaukee, WI: Author.

Pungello, E. P., & Kurtz-Costes, B. (1999). Why and how working women choose child care: A review with a focus on
infancy. Developmental Review, 19, 31–96.

Queralt, M., & Witte, A. (1998). Influences on neighborhood supply of child care in Massachusetts. Social Service
Review, 74, 588–619.
Riley, L. A., & Glass, J. L. (2002). You can’t always get what you want: Infant care preferences and use among
employed mothers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 2–15.

Rose, K. K., & Elicker, J. (2008). Parental decision making about child care. Journal of Family Issues, 29, 1161–1184.

Rosenzweig, J. M., Brennan, E. M., Huffstutter, K., & Bradley, J. R. (2008). Child care and employed parents of children
with emotional or behavioral disorders. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 16, 78–89.

Rural Policy Research Institute. (1999). Rural America and welfare reform: An overview assessment. Columbia, MO:.

Shlay, A. B., Tran, H., Weinraub, M., & Harmon, M. (2005). Teasing apart the child care conundrum: A factorial survey
analysis of perceptions of child care quality, fair market price and willingness to pay by low-income, African
American parents. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20, 393–416.

Shlay, A. B., Weinraub, M., & Harmon, M. (2007). Racial and ethnic differences in welfare leavers’ child care
preferences: A factorial survey analysis. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University.

Starr, R., Tout, K., Albertson-Junkans, L., Moodie, S., Rothenberg, L., & Soli, M. (2012). Findings from the Kentucky
early care and education and school-age care household survey, Evaluation Brief #8. Washington, DC: Child
Trends.

Tout, K., Starr, R., Isner, T., Cleveland, J., Albertson-Junkans, L., & Soli, M. (2011). Evaluation of Parent Aware:
Minnesota’s quality rating system pilot: Final evaluation report. Minneapolis, MN: Child Trends.

Tout, K., Starr, R., Soli, M., Moodie, S., Kirby, G., & Boller, K. (2010). Compendium of quality rating systems and
evaluations. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and
Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2004). Measuring rurality: Rural-urban continuum codes. Retrieved from http://
www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx

Uttal, L. (1999). Using kin for child care: Embedment in the socioeconomic networks of extended families. Journal of
Marriage and Family, 61, 845–857.

Walker, S. K., & Reschke, K. L. (2004). Child care use by low-income families in rural areas: A contemporary look at the
influence of women’s work and partner availability. Journal of Children and Poverty, 10, 149–167.

Weber, R. (2009, October). Outside forces affecting child care markets: Insights into market dynamics. Presented at the
Child Care Policy Research Consortium Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Weber, R., & Davis, E. E. (2009, October). Identifying thin child care markets: A conceptual and empirical approach to
describing communities with atypical forces on child care supply and demand. Presented at the annual research
conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Washington, DC.

Wolfe, B. L., & Scrivner, S. (2004). Child care use and parental desire to switch care type among low-income population.
Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 25, 139–162.

Wright, A., & Dechausay, N. (2012, October). Application of behavioral economics to child care. Paper presented at the
Child Care Policy Research Consortium, Washington, DC.