Child care subsidies are recognized as an imperative resource for supporting parental employment and children’s development. However, research shows that a substantial proportion of subsidy-receiving families experience a high level of instability in subsidy-receipt and care arrangements. Concerned with adverse consequences of instability on low-income families, policymakers seek ways to improve the subsidy program. Broadly, stability in subsidy-receipt and care arrangements can be derived from family-related (employment or residential change), provider-related, and system-related (subsidy rules, administrative practices) factors. Evidence is still limited on what and how much of each aspect affects high instability among low-income working families. This panel takes a rare opportunity to discuss findings and perspectives from three projects that examine diverse aspects of instability and its relation to subsidy and care instability. To fully understand dynamics between family, system, and other contextual factors, researchers on this panel utilize mixed-methods approaches with rich datasets and examine various sources of instability that families experience and its association with instability in subsidy-receipt and care arrangement. Based on findings, the panel will discuss policy implications on what types of policy interventions have promise for improving the child care subsidy program. Three papers from researchers with diverse backgrounds are included in the panel. The first paper examines reasons for subsidy exit and factors associated with the continuity or loss of child care arrangements following a subsidy exit. Using survey and interview data on selected families who used subsidies in Illinois and New York, researchers find employment characteristics, provider instability, and system-related factors as main reasons for subsidy exit; and job situations, provider generosity, and family resources as key reasons for losing or maintaining a care arrangement after subsidy loss. The second paper considers how the subsidy eligibility reassessment process affects the continuous receipt of subsidies and care stability by assessing recent changes in the eligibility reassessment process in Massachusetts. Initial qualitative findings show variation in notification process, locations, available hours, and technology used for reassessment across different CCR&R offices and providers. Administrative data are used for multivariate analysis to examine the extent to which the reassessment process affects subsidy and care stability and factors associated with it. The third paper considers child care instability in both subsidized and non-subsidized care arrangements for children who received subsidies. Employing longitudinal survey and matched administrative data, this paper provides a unique exploration of the stability of child care arrangements to assess whether subsidized arrangements contribute to overall instability or frequent disruptions of care arrangements.