Welfare families' use of early childhood care and education programs, and implications for their children's development

doi:10.1016/S0885-2006(99)80058-1

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Volume 13, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 535-563

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(99)80058-1 Get rights and content

Abstract

With recent legislation placing a strong emphasis on the transition of welfare mothers into the workforce, it becomes increasingly important to understand whether and how participation in early childhood care and education programs has implications for the development of children from welfare families. This study focused on a sample of 182 African-American families, all of whom had applied for or were receiving Aid to Families With Dependent Children, and each with a child of between 3 and 5 years of age. We first examined which of a wide range of background characteristics predicted participation in early childhood care and education programs. We then examined whether measures of the children's school readiness and social maturity were predicted by current participation in an early childhood program, above and beyond the background characteristics associated with the use of such a program. Our results indicate that participation in an early childhood program is associated with significantly higher scores on the measure of school readiness.

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Maternal psychological distress, quality of parenting, and cognitive stimulation in the home were not related to the type of child care used by low-income families. Although our findings mirror results from other studies that find no relationship between maternal psychological functioning and child care use (Yoshikawa, 2001; Zaslow et al., 1998), there is evidence suggesting that family processes are important correlates of child care (Fuller, Eggers-Piérola et al., 1996; Fuller, Holloway, & Liang, 1996). Given the limited amount of quantitative work in this area, future studies should continue investigating maternal functioning and family processes as potentially important determinants of child care use.
Conceptual models suggest that child, mother, family, and community factors are likely to affect families' choice of child care settings for their young children, yet little research has comprehensively tested such models among low-income families. This research assessed the type of early care experienced by low-income urban preschoolers (N = 802) in the Three-City Study. Results revealed that in comparison to White mothers, Latina mothers were less likely to use Head Start or center-based care. In comparison to mothers who did not work, mothers who worked full-time, part-time, or who had regular work schedules had a higher likelihood of relying on non-maternal early care. Type of care used also varied by geographic location, suggesting that care availability and accessibility have primary roles in low-income families' care options. Future research and policy suggestions are discussed in light of these results.
Early Head Start and African American families: Impacts and mechanisms of child outcomes
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Multiple longitudinal evaluations of early childhood programs initiated in the sixties and seventies, which served primarily African American children and families, have documented positive outcomes in young adulthood for program participants, specifically the Abecedarian, Perry Preschool, and Chicago Child-Parent Center projects (Campbell et al., 2002; Reynolds et al., 2002; Schweinhart et al., 1993). More recent research has also pointed to the benefits of early care and education for African American children, including reductions in obesity (Lumeng, Kaciroti, & Frisvold, 2010), improved school readiness (Burchinal et al., 1997; Zaslow, Oldham, Moore, & Magenheim, 1998), higher levels of cognitive skills (Burchinal & Cryer, 2003), and enhanced social-emotional functioning (Administration for Children and Families, 2010a; Burchinal & Cryer, 2003). Early childhood programs have also yielded benefits to parents.
Persistent disparities exist between African American children and their European American counterparts across developmental domains. Early childhood intervention may serve to promote more positive outcomes among African American children. The current study examined whether and how the Early Head Start (EHS) program benefited African American children at the end of the program, when they were 36 months of age, as well as the parenting these children experienced and how this affected their developmental outcomes. The data show a wide and strong pattern of impacts of EHS for African American children and families. Path analysis yielded findings that suggested a direct effect of EHS on specific child outcomes and parenting processes within this group of African American families. Parental supportiveness and cognitive stimulation emerged as important direct influences on African American children's outcomes and as pathways through which Early Head Start benefits these children. These findings are discussed in the context of early childhood intervention practice.
Child care subsidies and care arrangements of low-income parents
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She noted that mothers who are more educated may understand the benefits of high-quality programs on child development, have better means to afford high quality care, and therefore have a certain advantage when choosing a care arrangement (Greenberg, 2011). Examining predictors of welfare families' participation in early-childhood programs, Zaslow, Oldham, Moore, and Magenheim (1998) found that maternal employment, maternal education, and number of children in the family were important predictors of program participation. Their analyses showed that when the mother was employed, the child was ten times more likely to participate in an early childhood program.
While enrollment into early education programs has increased significantly in the past two decades, many low-income children still do not attend these programs due to lack of funding and access. This study uses data from the 2005 National Household Education Survey to examine the effects of child care subsidies on the enrollment of low-income children in early childhood education programs. Multinomial regression results show that families that receive child care subsidies are more likely to place their child in center-based preschool programs. The analyses also show that subsidy receipt increases the probability of using center care for low-income households. These findings indicate that policies aimed at increasing funding and availability of early education for low-income families can help close the gap in enrollment.
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Increasing numbers of low-income children are receiving regular nonparental care, yet knowledge is limited regarding whether child care settings meet the needs of low-income children and their parents. Using a sample of low-income, predominantly African-American and Hispanic children and families from low-income neighborhoods in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio (n = 238), the present study provides a descriptive view of the child care experiences of children (ages 2–5) and families. Results indicate that most children attend Head Start centers, other centers, or relative care, provided either within or outside of the child's home. Head Start programs were rated higher in overall developmental quality than all other types of care. Though unregulated home care settings scored lower on ratings of developmental quality, such settings appeared to be the types in which mothers felt most comfortable, and that best met family needs.
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ArticleWelfare families' use of early childhood care and education programs, and implications for their children's development

Abstract

Children and Youth Services Review

Achievement in the first 2 years of school: Patterns and processes

Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development

GAIN appraisal program III: Third report

Welfare realities

Difficult Life Circumstances Scale

Long-term effects of early childhood programs on cognitive and school outcomes

The Future of Children

Characteristics of children who are “behind” in school

Child day care and the employment of AFDC recipients with preschool children

Journal of Family and Economic Issues

Early indications of resilience and their relation to experiences in the home environments of low birth weight, premature children living in poverty

Child Development

Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives

Developmental Psychology

Type of day-care and preschool intellectual development in disadvantaged children

Child Development

Cooperative Preschool Inventory

Home observation for measurement of the environment

Day-care participation as a protective factor in the cognitive development of low-income children

Child Development

The new child care block grant: State funding choices and their implications

Parents' reports of children's academic progress and school adjustment in the National Household Education Survey

Lasting effects of early education: A report of the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies

Monographs of the Society of Research in Child Development

Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

Children of depressed parents: An integrative review

Psychological Bulletin

Economic deprivation and early childhood development

Child Development

Use of child care by families with differing cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds

Family selection of child-care centers: The influence of household support, ethnicity, and parental practices

Child Development

Child characteristics and the employment of mothers with young children: A longitudinal study

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

GAIN family life & child care study: Final report

Social and emotional competence in children of depressed mothers

Child Development

Supports, stressors, and depressive symptoms in low-income mothers of young children

American Journal of Public Health

The JOBS evaluation: Early lessons from seven sites

Article
Welfare families' use of early childhood care and education programs, and implications for their children's development