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Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS : : BEYOND RHETORIC – BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN FAMILIES AND CHILDREN A Discussion with A Discussion with Researchers from the Researchers from the National Research National Research Council's new Council's new publication: publication: Working Families and Working Families and Growing Kids-Caring for Growing Kids-Caring for Children and Adolescents Children and Adolescents

Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

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Page 1: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation

WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDSKIDS::

BEYOND RHETORIC – BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDRENWORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

A Discussion with A Discussion with Researchers from the Researchers from the National Research National Research Council's new publication:Council's new publication:

Working Families and Working Families and Growing Kids-Caring for Growing Kids-Caring for Children and AdolescentsChildren and Adolescents

Page 2: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Report Overview

Jennifer GootmanNational Academy of Sciences

[email protected]

Presented at the Congressional briefing on Work and Family Policies and Child

Development

Dirksen Senate Building, Room 562

May 14, 2004

Page 3: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Committee on Family and Committee on Family and Work PoliciesWork Policies

Eugene Smolensky (Chair), University of California, Berkeley

Suzanne Bianchi, University of Maryland, College Park

David Blau, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Francine Jacobs, Tufts University

Robin Jarrett, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Donna Klein, Marriott International

Sanders Korenman, Baruch College

Joan Lombardi, The Children’s Project

Joseph Mahoney, Yale University

Harriett Presser, University of Maryland, College Park

Gary Sandefur, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Deborah Vandell, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Jane Waldfogel, Columbia University

Hirokazu Yoshikawa, New York University

Martha Zaslow, Child Trends

Page 4: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

BackgroundBackground

• From Neurons to Neighborhoods (2000)

• Community Programs to Promote Youth Development (2001)

Page 5: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Pivotal Federal Pivotal Federal LegislationLegislation

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)• 1993• Established rights of certain workers to job-

protected leave

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)

• 1996• TANF provisions made cash assistance for

poor families contingent on employment or participation in activities to prepare for work

Page 6: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Work Patterns and Effects of Maternal

EmploymentDr. Martha Zaslow

Child [email protected]

Presented at the Congressional briefing on Work and Family Policies and Child

Development

Dirksen Senate Building, Room 562

May 14, 2004

Page 7: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Committee FocusCommittee Focus

• Low-income families

• Working mothers

Page 8: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

FindingFinding

• More Children Have Employed Parents

Page 9: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Maternal Workforce Maternal Workforce ParticipationParticipation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Perc

ent

Em

plo

yed

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Page 10: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

FindingsFindings

• Access to Paid Parental Leave Is Limited

• Children and Adolescents Spend Significant Time in Nonparental Care

Page 11: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

FindingsFindings

• Opportunities for Care for Adolescents Are Limited

• Quality of Care Matters

• Much Child Care Is Not of High Quality or Developmentally Beneficial

Page 12: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Implications of Work and Implications of Work and Care TrendsCare Trends

• Employment can be neutral or beneficial

• Employment can be negative under certain circumstances

Page 13: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Federal Work and Family Policies and the

Development of Children

Dr. Hirokazu YoshikawaNew York University

[email protected]

Presented at the Congressional briefing on Work and Family Policies and Child Development

Dirksen Senate Building, Room 562May 14, 2004

Page 14: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Policies Covered

I. Policies that require work (TANF)II. Tax policies that require work as

a condition of receiving benefits (EITC, other tax credits)

III. Policies that provide job-protected family leave to employees (FMLA)

IV. Child care policies

Page 15: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

I. Temporary Assistance to

Needy Families(TANF)

Page 16: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

TANF: Description• 1996: Replaced welfare entitlement (AFDC)

with block grants to states; significant state control.

• Required states to ensure that recipients engage in work and work-related activities.

• Cumulative 60-month limit on federal assistance, with some exemptions permitted to states.

• Made legal immigrants ineligible for TANF during their first 5 years in the U.S.

Page 17: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

TANF: Effects on Parents

• Best evidence: increased rates of employment among recipients.

• Little evidence on effects on income, though existing studies suggest small increases.

• A majority of former recipients are working (average 2/3 across studies).

• Most earn between $6.50 and $8.50 an hour (13K – 17K / year).

Page 18: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

TANF: Effects on Children and Adolescents

• No direct evidence. But data from 16 experiments testing state welfare programs just prior to 1996.

• Programs of three types:– Those that simply mandate employment. – Those that provide additional income when parents

increase their work effort (earnings supplement programs).

– Those that imposed time limits on welfare receipt. • Of these program types, only earnings supplement

programs improve children’s school performance and reduce their acting-out behaviors. No effects for other types.

• Earnings supplement programs increase income to a greater degree than most current state TANF programs.

Page 19: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

How Earnings Supplement Programs Help Families Become Self-Sufficient

• Marissa is an unmarried mother of two in her early twenties. At the time that she signed up for the New Hope program, she was working part-time in a pharmacy. “When I started making more money, it [the earnings supplement] started coming down. OK, you know, I’m getting up there on my own.” The earnings supplement was key to her ability to reach self-sufficiency. Marissa says bluntly of the program, “I could not be where I am without New Hope.” (Gibson & Weisner, 2002)

Page 20: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

II. Tax Policies Requiring Work as a Condition of

Benefit Receipt

Page 21: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Tax Policies Requiring Work as a Condition of

Receipt• Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit ($2.8 billion

in 2000). • Dependent Care Assistance Program ($2.7 billion

in 1999). • Both provide funds for working families to meet

child care expenses. – CDCTC – provides up to $3,000 of child care

expenses for 1 child, $6,000 for 2 children. – DCAP – makes portion of earned income tax

exempt• Neither program is refundable. No benefits to

families with incomes too low to pay taxes (e.g., below $15,000 a year for single mother with 2 children).

Page 22: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Tax Policies Requiring Work as a Condition of

Receipt• Earned Income Tax Credit ($32 billion in 2001;

86% of eligible tax filers covered). • Refundable tax credit providing up to $4,140 (for

family with 2 or more children); nearly all receive as lump sum instead of monthly.

• Single-parent families with incomes between $10,350 and $13,550 eligible for maximum (gradual phase-in below, and phase-out above to $33,178). Slightly higher phase-out for 2-parent families.

• 15 states + DC give additional state tax credits.

Page 23: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Tax Policies: EITC and Effects on Parents and

Children

• EITC results in increases in single mothers’ employment rates.

• Expansion of the EITC was responsible for more than half of drop in child poverty between 1993 and 1997.

• Majority of EITC recipients appear to prioritize spending the “tax check” on children (Romich & Weisner, 2002):

“When my taxes come…then I’ll take the kids shopping because my kids really need to go shopping,especially [my older son]. He has no clothes. He needsclothes…I can’t send my son to school like this. I need to goshopping for him really bad.”

Page 24: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

III. Family Leave Policies

Page 25: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Family Leave Policies

• The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)• 12 weeks of unpaid leave, for workers who

have worked 1,250 hours or more in past year, but only in firms with 50 or more employees.

• Only 60% of private sector employees eligible, only 45% actually receive it.

• Young, less educated, and lower-income employees least likely to be covered by FMLA.

• Less than 5% of employees in the U.S. have access to paid leave.

Page 26: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

FMLA: Effects on Parents

and Children• Mothers in America return to work much more

quickly after birth than those in other comparable countries.

• Among 11 comparable countries, US leave policy is the shortest in duration, and only one that is unpaid.

• Of concern: Newborns whose mothers return to work full-time within 12 weeks later show lower levels of cognitive development (Waldfogel, Han, & Brooks-Gunn, 2002).

Page 27: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

IV. Child Care Policies: (Head Start,

Child Care Development Fund,TANF-provided child care,

Out-of-School Care)

Page 28: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Head Start / Early Head Start

• Still in most places a part-day program.

• Much more for 4-year-olds than 0 to 3. • Higher classroom quality, smaller classes

than non-Head Start preschools in U.S.

• But reaches only about 50 percent of those eligible.

Page 29: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Child Care Development Fund

(CCDF)• $7.9 billion in 2001• Children under 13 of working parents.• Lower-income (max 85% of state median)• Certificates (vouchers) and contracts with

providers.• Any legal child care provider (licensed or

unlicensed).• Health and safety requirements.• 4% set-aside for quality improvement.• Reimbursement rates flexible but supposed to be

>=75th percentile of market rates. But most states set this lower – resulting in lower quality.

Page 30: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

TANF-funded Child Care

• Total $3.7 billion, 2001 • Some of these funds ($2.0 billion in 2001)

transferred to CCDF (Schumacher & Rakpraja, CLASP)

• But if not, CCDF rules for quality, health, and safety do not apply

• Uncertainty about future of TANF, and priorities for spending within TANF, render long-term child care planning with these dollars difficult.

Page 31: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

State Child Care Regulations• Child care regulations monitor health and

safety, not full spectrum of what child care researchers call quality.

• Regulations vary; settings they apply to vary; monitoring varies.

Out-of-School Care• 21st-Century Community Learning Centers

($1 billion in 2002): only 6 to 14 year olds.• Federal and state funding for out-of-school

care piecemeal (National Research Council, 2002).

Page 32: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Effects of Child Care Policies on Families and

Children• Head Start shows positive effects on immunization

rates, health care, child cognitive school readiness. • Child care subsidies – predict higher employment and

school enrollment.• Stricter state child care regulations associated with

higher child care quality, and better child development. • Proven, successful efforts to improve child care quality

(staff training, pay, monitoring and rating systems), but in only few states.

• After-school programs with adequate adult supervision, structured activities show positive effects on adolescent school performance.

Page 33: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Future Directions and Policy Options

Dr. Joan LombardiThe Children’s Project

[email protected]

Presented at the Congressional briefing on Work and Family Policies and Child Development

Dirksen Senate Building, Room 562May 14, 2004

Page 34: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Primary GoalPrimary Goal

• Improve the Quality of Care for Children and Adolescents in Working Families

Page 35: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Policy OptionsPolicy Options• Expand and Increase Access to Head Start and Early Head

Start• Expand Prekindergarten and Other Early Education Programs

Delivered in Community-Based Child Care Programs.• Expand Child Care Subsidies Through Quality-Related

Vouchers• Increase the Availability, Hours, and Quality of After-School

Programs

Page 36: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Policy OptionsPolicy Options• Improve Parents’ Ability to Take Leave After the Birth of a

Child, Especially Among Low-Income Parents

• Discourage the Practice of Requiring Mothers on Welfare to Return to Work Early or Full Time

• Expand Coverage of the Family and Medical Leave Act

Page 37: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

Research NeedsResearch Needs

• Collect National Data on Process Quality

Page 38: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

SummarySummary• More mothers are working. • Children and adolescents are spending

significant time in nonparental care. • Quality of care matters—it can either

promote or deter healthy development.• Care is not always high quality. • Parents need supports for taking time to care

for children, especially in the first year of life.

Primary Goal: Improve the quality of care for children and adolescents in working families.

Page 39: Event Sponsored by the New America Foundation WORKING FAMILIES AND GROWING KIDS: BEYOND RHETORIC – POLICY SOLUTIONS THAT SUPPORT WORKING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

For more information and copies of the report visit

www.nap.edu