Child Care and Early Education at CLASP

One in five young children lives in poverty

Yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau announced new data on household income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. The good news is that the number of people living in official poverty decreased slightly (from 12.6 percent to 12.3 percent) for the first time this decade, while real median income increased for the second year. But, that's still 36.5 million poor people! Despite this small decline from last year, the poverty rate remains higher than it was in 2000.

Young children are the most likely to live in poverty. Twenty percent of children under 6 live in poor families. That's 4.8 million young children! (An even greater number of children are living in low-income families above the official poverty thresholds, which does not include expensive household budget items including child care and housing.)   The big story in yesterday's number of uninsured continued to climb. Eleven percent of children under 6 are without health insurance coverage.

These numbers tell a clear story. America's poor and low-income families need help meeting their basic needs. We know that low-income children face a number of risk factors during early childhood that threaten healthy development and learning. These children need access to high-quality early care and education, that includes a range of comprehensive health services and family supports, and their parents need access to affordable, quality child care in order to work and support their families. With the costs of child care ranging from $3,016-$9,628 a year for a 4-year-old, and even higher for infants and toddlers, a family earning below $17,170 (the 2007 poverty level for a family of three) may pay 18-56 percent of their household income to afford licensed child care. This is why expanding the availability of high-quality early care and education is one important component of reducing poverty and improving child well-being and why it's critical to increase national and state funding for child care.

More than kissing babies! New ZERO TO THREE presidential candidate guide on infant and toddler policies

Aimed at informing the 2008 presidential race, a new publication highlights key policies that could be embraced by the candidates to improve the lives of vulnerable infants and toddlers. ZERO TO THREE's Babies Can't Wait summarizes a set of issues, provides information about ZERO TO THREE publications written on these topics, and includes federal policy recommendations, including 1) promote affordable, quality child care; 2) improve outcomes for maltreated infants and toddlers; 3) help parents support the emotional health of infants and toddlers; and 4) build the capacity of our nation's early childhood workforce.

Pre-kindergarten: A key support for low-income working families

Governor Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced recently that he will propose that the state expand its existing preschool initiative to serve all four-year-olds in the state who qualify for free and reduced price lunch (up to $38,000 for a family of four).  This is good news for low-income families who would like their children to participate in pre-school.

Of critical importance, but less prominent in the announcement, is the Governor's vision that child care centers meeting high quality standards are included in the pre-school program.  CLASP's research has found that this "diverse delivery model" presents an important opportunity to bring together the dual goals of promoting early learning and supporting working families.   Yet, this research also shows that implementation matters, and without several key policies in place, community-based child care providers--and the working families they serve--can be left out of the pre-school program.  Key policy recommendations for states like Virginia moving to expand pre-school include:

• Require that a minimum proportion of pre-kindergarten be delivered in non-school settings and require that a proportion of settings have the capacity to provide fullworkday and -year services.
• Identify and eliminate state child care subsidy policies that may prevent participation of community-based providers in the pre-kindergarten program.
• Allow pre-kindergarten funding to augment other child care funding without reducing existing resources to assure full workday coverage for low-income families in a setting that maintains consistent pre-kindergarten quality all day.
• Conduct thorough outreach and disseminate information to all potential communitybased providers.
• Set pre-kindergarten payments and provide dedicated funds that cover the cost of providing a high-quality early education program.
• Invest in the communitybased child care teacher workforce by providing targeted resources to help teachers meet pre-kindergarten teacher education standards—and receive comparable wages to similarly educated school teachers.

New reports focus on children of immigrants

Two new reports, from Children Now and Latinos United, emphasize the importance of focusing attention on how children of immigrants are accessing early care and education, the subject of CLASP's recent report, The Challenges of Change. From California to Illinois (and across the rest of the nation), children of immigrants are a growing group of young children and yet, they are being left out of preschool programs. A data brief provides basic information on California's immigrant families, including that children of immigrants in that state are 10 percent less likely to attend preschool compared to children in non-immigrant families. (In April, another analysis of Census data found that the same was true in 37 other states, to varying degrees.)  The second report, A Critical Policy Imperative, identifies the access barriers preventing Latino families, the largest immigrant group in Illinois, from participating in early care and education programs, including a deficit of programs and facilities in Latino communities. 

As CLASP's research shows, immigrant families face an overwhelming number of barriers to accessing high-quality early care and education. Yet, there are steps that can be taken to improve access for families. We hope that policymakers are paying attention to all of the critical information coming out!

New study confirms videos are no substitute for human interaction for babies

CLASP's recent work on infants and toddlers emphasizes the importance of caregiving relationships and quality child care for babies.  A new study reconfirms the importance of relationships and interactions for infants and toddlers.  As reported in the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek, the Journal of Pediatrics study has found that videos such as Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby marketed as educational for infants and toddlers may actually inhibit language development.  The study found that for every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old watched these videos, they knew six to eight fewer words than other children.  Parents in Washington and Minnesota participated in the survey, which asked about video usage and baby vocabularies using 90 common baby words. Led by Frederick Zimmerman and Dr. Dimitri Christakis, both at the University of Washington, the survey found that 32% of the babies were shown the videos, and 17% of those were shown them for more than an hour a day.    Dr. Christakis is concerned babies are getting the wrong kind of stimulation. "There is an assumption that stimulation is good, so more is better," he says. "But that's not true; there is such a thing as overstimulation." His other work has found links between television viewing and later reduced attention span. "Even watching a live person speak to you via television is not the same thing as having that person in front of you," says Christakis.    The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children under 24 months.

Spanish early literacy parent-child activity materials available

As we continue our work on the Breaking Down Barriers project, CLASP's research shows that young children of immigrants need experiences that support their home- and second-language development, that respect their families’ culture and traditions, and that offer meaningful opportunities for parents who speak languages other than English to be involved.

Yet, we found that there is a wide range of education levels, experience, and training among family, friend, and neighbor caregivers, and few supports for those providers.

Focus groups of license-exempt care providers in immigrant neighborhoods in San Jose, California found that providers were interested in information, resources and training in child development, and assistance in supporting the school readiness of children in their care. (Exempt Care Collaborative: Mayfair and Seven Trees/Solari Neighborhoods: Final Report and Recommendations)

Therefore, we were excited to notice that the Spanish version of Supporting Early Literacy in Natural Environments: Activities for Caregivers and Young Children has recently been updated. It includes forty-six home and community activities designed to address the three key skills of 1) language development, 2) phonological awareness, and 3) general print awareness. The activities are appropriate for children with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically.

Child care tax credits, but only for some

Today USA Today had an article in the "money" section that encouraged parents to think about using summer camp expenses to apply for the child and dependent care credit.

This credit allows working parents to claim from 20% to 35% of child care expenses, up to $3,000 a year for one child, or $6,000 for two or more. The actual amount of your credit will depend on your adjusted gross income. If you earn less than $15,000 this year, you can claim up to 35% of child care camp expenses; if you earn more than $43,000, your credit is limited to 20%. A credit is more valuable than a deduction because it represents a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax bill.  The credit is available for care for children up to age 13.

For families who qualify, the credit is a way to reduce their costs and end up with more money in their pockets.  However, not all families get the credit.  Low income families who do not make enough to pay taxes get no help with their child care costs--even though they pay the highest percentage of their income on child care of any group.  A report from the Urban Institute's Tax Policy Center notes that:

For calendar year 2006, the CDCTC provides tax benefits of approximately $3.3 billion.The majority of the benefits flows to middle- and upper-middle-income households. Taxpayers with incomes between $100,000 and $200,000 receive almost a quarter of the total benefits although those taxpayers represent only 11 percent of all households. Another 40 percent of the benefits go to the 30 percent of households earning between $50,000 and $100,000. Only 8 percent of the benefits go to households with incomes less than $30,000. In percentile terms, the top quintile (or fifth) of income earners receives 41 percent of CDCTC benefits; the bottom 40 percent receives only 4 percent.

The report goes on to note that to make the credit useful to low income families--and to make the credit more progressive--Congress should make it refundable so that even families with no tax liability get help paying for child care.  An additional 1.6 million families could benefit. 

And that's a story we'd like to see in USA Today.

Basic facts about child care assistance

Stable, affordable child care is essential for families to work and to succeed financially. High-quality child care is often unaffordable for families, especially low-income families. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary source of federal funding for child care subsidies for low-income working families and funds to improve child care quality. CCDBG helps families receiving welfare, families transitioning off welfare, and low-income working families. Most states provide parents with vouchers or certificates and families may choose to use any legally operating child care provider. Some states also provide assistance through grants or contracts. Over half of children receiving CCDBG-funded assistance are served in child care centers. Families may receive assistance for children up to age 13; 64 percent of children receiving assistance are under the age of six. CCDBG allows states a great deal of flexibility in how they design their programs, within minimal federal guidelines. States set income eligibility, reimbursement rates for providers, and family copayment rates.

States are required to spend at least 4 percent of CCDBG funds to increase quality and expand access to child care programs. The majority of these funds are spent on basic health and safety investments, supporting accreditation or quality ranking systems, professional development, and caregiver training and education.

Some states also provide child care assistance through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. Federal TANF funds may be spent directly on child care assistance, in the form of vouchers given to parents. States may also choose to transfer up to 30 percent of their annual TANF block grant to CCDBG. TANF funds may also be used to support early education programs.

Currently, federal and state funds for child care assistance fall far short of meeting the need. Inadequate funding levels in recent years have led to a steady decline in the number of children receiving child care subsidies. It is estimated that only one in seven children who is eligible for child care assistance, based on federal eligibility rules, receives any help. Due to near flat federal funding for child care, many states have made policy changes in recent years that restrict the availability of child care assistance. In 2005, 22 states made cuts in child care.

CLASP's child care and early education work is dedicated to promoting policies that support both child development and the needs of low-income working parents. Read more about our work.

Read our latest publications or go to our publications page:

• Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and their Families
• CCDBG State Plan Reported Activities to Support Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Communities
• Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care: Policy Framework Summary
• Title I and Early Childhood Programs: A Look at Investments in the NCLB Era