Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Despite the benefits of center-based early care and education (ECE) for children’s school readiness skills, children of immigrants are less likely to participate in center-based ECE compared with children of U.S.-born parents. Prior research suggests that children of immigrants are more likely to live in low-income families (e.g., Greenburg & Kahn, 2011), and the high cost of center-based care limits their access to ECE. Child care subsidies funded by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) are intended to improve access to center-based ECE by reducing the cost of care. Since the welfare reform, the access to public benefits for immigrants has becomes more limited, and low-income immigrants might be discouraged from applying for subsidies even their children are eligible. Moreover, because states have flexibility in setting their CCDF policies under the federal guidelines, low-income families might have more or less access to child care subsides due to differing policies across and within states over time. However, little is known about whether state CCDF policies affect center-based ECE participation among low-income children of immigrants.

Using data from the American Community Survey and the CCDF Policies Database from 2009 to 2016, the purpose of this study is to examine (1) the association between subside generosity and the ease of application process sunder CCDF policies and center-based ECE participation; and (2) whether parents’ nativity moderates the associations. The sample consists of children ages 3-5 years from low-income families (income at or below 200% of federal poverty line, N=269,511). Generosity is measured by initial income eligibility threshold, the difference between continuing and initial income eligibility thresholds, family copayment rate, and center-based provider reimbursement rate. The ease of application process is measured by not verifying the applicant’s identification, not verifying the child’s citizenship/immigration status, and having a 12-month redetermination period. I use state and year fixed-effects logistic regression to estimate the associations between changes in center-based ECE participation and state CCDF policies within states over time, accounting for child, family and state characteristics, and state ECE-related spending. I also examine whether CCDF policies have differential effects on center-based ECE participation between children of immigrants and children of U.S.-born parents.

Overall, children of immigrants participated in center-based ECE at lower rates than children of U.S.-born parents (42% vs. 44%), and the gap was more pronounced among 3-year-olds. Results suggest that not verifying the applicant’s identification was associated with higher likelihood of using center-based ECE. Compared with children of U.S.-born parents, higher initial income eligibility thresholds, not verifying the child’s citizenship/immigration status, and having a 12-month redetermination period had larger and positive effects on center-based ECE participation for children of immigrants. By contrast, family copayment rates and center-base provider reimbursement rates had larger and positive effects on center-based ECE participation for children of U.S.-born parents.

Findings highlight the importance of considering state policies in examining immigrant families’ access to ECE. State subsidy programs with higher generosity and an easier application process are particularly beneficial for children of immigrants to participate in center-based ECE.