Impact of Child Care Subsidy on Trajectories of Maternal Employment Rate

Background

In the U.S., a childcare subsidy program refers to government-funded financial assistance designed to help low-income families afford childcare services while parents work, attend school, or participate in job training programs. Therefore, one of the major goals of the program is to promote parental employment. Research consistently shows that childcare subsidies support maternal employment by increasing the likelihood of being employed, improving earnings, and reducing work-hour challenges. The current study builds upon the previous research to examine an association between childcare subsidy use and maternal employment outcomes, but we extended from previous studies to explore how childcare subsidy could longitudinally impact maternal employment trajectories when their children were from age 3 to 9.

Method

We used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) to examine associations between childcare subsidy receipt and maternal employment trajectories among a subsample of 2,835 subsidy-eligible mothers (poverty threshold <200%). Childcare subsidy use (0 = eligible non-users, 1 = users) predicted latent growth models capturing changes in maternal employment across three waves (child ages 3, 5, and 9). Employment at each wave was treated as a binary indicator (1=employed vs. 0= not). Other covariates included child demographics, maternal characteristics, parenting skills, and household characteristics.

Results

Childcare subsidy receipt was significantly associated with a higher initial likelihood of maternal employment (β = 0.07, p <0.001). Although childcare subsidy receipt had a long-term effect on likelihood of maternal employment, the rate of change is negative (β = -0.027, p= 0.033). Compared to single mothers, married mothers showed significantly lower likelihood of employment at baseline (β = - 0.183, p < .001), but showed an increased rate of change on being employed overtime (β = 0.041, p = 0.004). Interestingly, we also found that the early childhood experience like the types of care arrangement children used also impact the likelihood of maternal employment. For example, at baseline level, children were taken care of by parents exclusively, their mothers were less likely to be employed (β = -0.109, p < 0.001). Children had relative/informal care and center-base care, their mothers were more likely to be employed (β = 0.114, p <0.001; β = 0.102, p <0.001), compared to Head Start children. In terms of employment changes overtime, parental exclusive care showed an increased rate of change on being employed (β = 0.046, p =0.001). However, center-based care showed a decreased rate of change on mothers being employed (β = -0.032, p =0.033).

Implication

Childcare subsidies help boost maternal employment early on, but their long-term effects are mixed. Since subsidy receipt was only measured at one point, it’s unclear how continued access might affect employment stability. Single mothers face more difficulty maintaining employment, while married mothers and those using parental care show greater employment growth as children age. Policymakers should consider how to extend continuous support to maximize long-term employment outcomes for mothers. Future studies should explore how factors like care type and marital status interact with subsidy use over time.