Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Panel: Innovations in Data and Measurement: Economic and Employment Characteristics of Hispanic Families

(Social Equity)

Roughly, one in four children is in the U.S is Hispanic. On average, Hispanic children are economically disadvantaged, with one-third living in poverty and two-thirds living in low-income families. However, labor market attachments among low-income Hispanic families remain strong, as the vast majority of low-income Hispanic children live with a working adult. It is important to gain a better understanding of the economic and employment realities of low-income Hispanic families in order to develop responsive policies and programs to serve this population.

Using innovative data and measures, this panel will provide information about the employment characteristics and conditions of low-income Hispanic families, as well as the interplay between employment and Hispanic family life.

Focusing on seven states with different racial/ethnic compositions, the first paper examines state-level Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) policies and practices—subsidized child care that supports parents’ employment and economic stability. This project will pay attention to dimensions of state programs that may differentially affect Hispanic families’ program access and utilization, highlighting features of policy and practice that get masked in aggregate characterizations.

The second paper assesses the state of our current national data infrastructure to measure and describe Hispanic family life, providing a review of 22 mostly national datasets. All the datasets focus on at least one key family domain, and the availability of key data elements that are essential for understanding Hispanic diversity are also considered. This study provides both the insights and limitations of large, secondary data sources for gaining a better understanding of Latino families.       

The final paper examines nonstandard work hours among low-income Hispanic families, using detailed, 7-day calendar data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). This perspective, which extends beyond qualitative efforts and 24-hour time use data, offers a unique glimpse into the work-family divide among low-income Hispanic families.

Taken together, this panel uses different data approaches to examine the economic well-being and employment characteristics of low-income Hispanic families and provide information that will be useful in developing responsive policies and practices to better serve this population.