Are State Child Care Subsidy Policies Associated with Center-Based Early Care and Education Participation for Children of Immigrants?

Background: Children with at least one immigrant parent are less likely to participate in center-based early care and education (ECE) compared to children of native-born parents. One reason for this gap may be that children of immigrants are more likely to have parents with low income, who have less financial resources to afford center-based ECE. Child care subsidies funded by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) may improve immigrant parents’ access to center-based ECE by reducing the cost of care. Because states have flexibility in setting their CCDF rules under the federal guidelines,  it is possible that various levels of generosity (e.g., income eligibility) and the ease of application process (e.g., verification of the child’ citizenship or immigration status) under state CCDF policies might affect center-based ECE participation for children of immigrants. This study examines the associations between subsidy generosity and the ease of application process under state CCDF policies and center-based ECE participation.

Method: This study uses data from the American Community Survey merged with data from the CCDF Policies Database between 2009 to 2016. The sample consists of children ages 3-5 years from low-income families (income at or below 200% of federal poverty line). About 23% of children in the sample had at least one immigrant parent. The measures of generosity include initial and continuing income eligibility thresholds, family copayment rate, and base provider reimbursement rate (all based on a family size of three). The ease of application process is measured by whether states require verification of the applicant’s identification and the child’s citizenship/immigration status, and the length of redetermination period. I use state and year fixed effects logistic regression to estimate the associations between center-based ECE participation and state CCDF rules, accounting for family and community characteristics. Analyses are conducted separately for children of immigrants and children of native-born parents.

Results: Among 3-year-olds, children of immigrants participate in center-based ECE at a lower rate than children of native-born parents (22% and 27%, respectively). Among 4- and 5-year-olds, the participation rates are similar between children of immigrants and native-born parents (about 56%). States with higher income eligibility thresholds are more likely to have higher provider reimbursement rates and also more likely to verify the applicant’s identification during application process. Preliminary analyses show that higher initial income eligibility is associated with higher center-based ECE participation (b=.002, p<.05), and requiring the applicant’s identification is associated with lower center-based ECE participation (b= -.200, p<.01) for children of immigrants. Further analyses will examine differential effects of CCDF rules on center-based ECE participation between children of immigrants and children of native-born parents and take into account spending on publicly-funded ECE programs (e.g., Head Start).

Implications: Eliminating the requirement of verifying the applicant’s identification might encourage low-income immigrants to apply for child care subsidies by reducing their concerns related to immigration status, which in turn would increase their use of center-based ECE. Social service organizations that serve immigrants can also support immigrant parents to access subsidies by assisting parents during application process.