@article{e5b6ba3833594e6388b29a40c3f71157,
title = "Can we trust parental reports of child care subsidy receipt?",
abstract = "In recent years, research examining determinants and consequences of the means-tested child care subsidy program (the Child Care and Development Fund [CCDF]) has grown dramatically. To measure subsidy utilization, existing studies typically rely on parent-reported measures of subsidy receipt drawn from large surveys. As the research literature on child care subsidies has grown, however, so have concerns about the trustworthiness of parent-reported subsidy use. One way to assess the quality of parent-reported subsidy use is to examine its overlap with another subsidy receipt measure, drawn from a different source. The current paper uses the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (FFCWS), the only existing survey data source that contains an alternate measure of subsidy receipt - based on child care provider report - which permits a comparison to parent-reported measures. We find evidence that increases our confidence in the trustworthiness of parents as accurate reporters of subsidy receipt. In recognition that neither data source reflects {"}true{"} subsidy receipt, however, we conclude with a discussion of limitations and steps for future research.",
keywords = "Child care, Child care subsidies, Parent-report, Survey data",
author = "Johnson, {Anna D.} and Chris Herbst",
note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation for generously funding this project. The first author would also like to acknowledge generous research funding from the NICHD ( F32 HD068083-01 ); the larger Fragile Families study was funded by grant # 5R01HD036916 . The authors wish to thank participants in the 2011 meeting of the Child Care Policy Research Consortium (CCPRC), Nikki Forry, Kathryn Tout, Susan Jekielek, Ivelisse Martinez-Beck, and Deanna Schexnayder for their helpful comments and suggestions, and Rebecca Ryan for her help with data preparation. All remaining errors belong to the authors. Funding Information: As stated above, the CCDF was created alongside the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) to support low-income parents' transition from welfare to work. Specifically, the CCDF program was created to help parents meet the strict work requirements of welfare reform by providing subsidies that were designed to be highly flexible, allowing parents to use their subsidy with almost any provider of their choice (in centers, licensed family child care homes, or with family members, neighbors, or friends). The actual subsidies are administered to eligible families through vouchers and, to a lesser extent, through direct contracts with providers. In 2010, 89% of subsidy recipients' care was subsidized with a voucher, 9% of recipients' care was subsidized through a contract, and the remaining 2% of subsidized care was funded with cash ( Office of Child Care, 2011 ). Funding Information: To permit a comparison with parent-reported subsidy receipt, we constructed an equivalent measure based on the provider report. During the child care provider interview, providers were first asked “is any part of [focal child's name] care paid for by government support?” 7 7 and those that responded affirmatively were then asked “what local, state, or federal programs provide these funds?” Children whose providers responded that the focal child did not receive government support were coded “0”, as were children whose providers reported that the child's care was funded through a board of education, a state pre-kindergarten program, Head Start or Early Head Start, a private non-profit foundation, and those who reported sponsorship by or affiliation with a Head Start or public school. All remaining children in the subsidy recipient group (coded “1”) had providers who either explicitly reported that the child received a subsidy funded by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) or that the child received government support from a state or local social service agency likely to receive CCDF funding. Of the 777 children with child care provider information, approximately 26% received subsidies according to provider report. 8 8 Copyright: Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
year = "2013",
month = jun,
doi = "10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.03.005",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "35",
pages = "984--993",
journal = "Children and Youth Services Review",
issn = "0190-7409",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",
number = "6",
}