Jumping Through Hoops and Set Up to Fail

8/17/2019 Jumping Through Hoops and Set Up to Fail

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Jumping Through Hoopsand Set Up to FailParents Speak Out About Child Care Assistance

By Judith Warner May 2016


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Jumping Through Hoopsand Set Up to FailParents Speak Out About Child Care Assistance

By Judith Warner May 2016


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1 Introduction and summary

5 Struggling through a broken system

9 Growing demand but chronic underfunding

12 Some, but not enough

14 Barriers to education

16 Warding off toxic stress

18 Hope in Pottstown

21 Not just a low-income issue

23 Policy recommendations

25 Conclusion

26 About the author

27 Endnotes

Contents


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1 Center for American Progress | Jumping Through Hoops and Set Up to Fail

Introduction and summary

“In order o be a producive member o sociey, you have o ge as much educa-

ion as you can so you can provide or yoursel and your amily. o do ha, I’m

making he ulimae sacrifice, no being wih my daugher and atending o her

needs. All I ask is a litle assisance wih ha.” 1

– Rochean Cofield, Des Moines, Iowa

Rochean Cofield, a 48-year-old working moher and graduae suden, has ried odo everyhing righ. She fled an abusive relaionship in Philadelphia and made her

way o Des Moines, Iowa, where she go a job, wen o school, and raised our chil-

dren, now ages 25, 23, 21, and 10. She worked ull ime while earning an associae

degree and hen a bachelor’s degree. Bu he more she didand he beter she

didhe harder i became o ge he high-qualiy child care she needed or her

younges child, Deshaan, who is on he auism specrum.

As a ull-ime college suden and ull-ime, low-income working moher, Cofield

doubly qualified or sae child care subsidies. Bu as her pay rose rom $14 per

hour o $14.25, and hen o $14.50, her child care copays subsanially increased.

By her senior year in college, she was paying hree-quarers o he price o ull-

ime carealmos one-hird o her preax income.

When she enrolled in a ull-ime maser o social work program, eager o earn

an advanced proessional degree ha would allow her o do high-level work

supporing amilies like her own, she ound ha he academic demands were

inense. o succeed in school, she asked o cu her work hours back o par ime.

Her employer agreed bu imposed sric condiions: only 19 hours o work each

week and no benefis. Tese were oo ew hours o allow Cofield o qualiy orsubsidized child care as a working paren.2 And when she ried o requaliy as a

ull-ime suden, she learned ha he sae does no provide child care benefis or

parens sudying a he graduae level.3


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Cofield was suck. She couldn’ rely on relaives or assisance. Her moher had

ried helping in he pas, bu she was now homeless, wih serious menal illness.

Priced ou o he cener where Deshaan received care in he beore- and afer-

school hours, she made a barer deal wih a woman she knows who will care or

Deshaan wo days per week in exchange or $40 and hair-braiding.

“I’m graeul ha I me someone who’s willing o work wih me,” Cofield says o

he arrangemen.

In recen years, amid growing public awareness o inequaliy in he Unied Saes,5

prominen members o he child developmen research communiy have been

making he case ha he roos o lieime gaps in income, wealh, and opporuniy

begin in inancy.6 Policy discussions have urned o he poenial o high-qualiy

child care and early childhood educaion o narrow he achievemen gap and give

all children a beter sar in lie. Tey also have increasingly ocused on he qualiy

o he child care available o low-income parens, who all oo ofenlike RocheanCofieldmus rely upon casual arrangemens wih no qualiy conrols, healh and

saey regulaions, or opporuniies or early learning.

Chronic underunding o our child care assisance sysem lies a he roo o his

problem. Our naion’s child care assisance programs or low-income working

amilieschiefly paid or by he ederal Child Care and Developmen Block

Gran, or CCDBG, program and adminisered by he saeshave never been

unded a levels sufficien o keep pace wih he level o amily need. Lacking

unds, saes mus scramble o essenially raion heir child care dollars. Tey do

his, in large par, by imposing complex and burdensome rules and requiremens

ha rip parens up and push children ou o subsidized care.

As a resul, only a racion o he children who need child care assisance acually

receive i. Tose who do benefi rom assisance suffer requen inerrupions in

services due o bureaucraic snaus, missing paperwork, changes in parenal work

saus or income, or simple human error.7 Low-income children, whose lives are

already disproporionaely marked by uncerainy and insecuriy, all oo ofen

encouner ha same sor o insabiliy in heir child care arrangemens.8 And

our child care assisance programs ofen ail in heir dual purpose o seting uplow-income children or a beter sar in lie while helping parens become sel-

supporing hrough work.9

The average annual

cost of child care for

an infant and a 4-yea

old child in Iowa is

$17,701.4


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A growing body o research now deails he ways ha hese sysemic problems

compound he damaging insabiliy so prevalen in he lives o low-income chil-

dren.10 Largely missing rom his lieraure, however, is a deailed discussion o

he oxic effecs o our overcomplicaed, underunded, and prooundly un-amily-

riendly child care assisance sysem on parens.

Te sories conained in his reporbased on inerviews wih nearly hree dozen

low- and middle-income parens, providers, advocaes, and policy expersfill

ha void by illusraing he lived experiences o parens sruggling wih he U.S.

child care sysem. Te inerviews show ha policies ha purpor, in he absrac,

o suppor economic sel-sufficiency ofen concreely uncion in ways ha make

finding and keeping work almos impossible. Tey also prove how programs ha

suppor parensno jus in accessing good child care bu also in navigaing he

child care assisance sysemhelp reduce he oxic load o day-o-day sress ha

now weighs on working amilies, wih benefis or aduls and children alike.

Te voices gahered here need o be heard righ now. In lae 2014, Congress

reauhorized he CCDBG program or he firs ime in almos wo decades.11

Te reauhorizaion law conained new healh, saey, and qualiy conrol

requiremens or child care providers; included provisions or beter and more

accessible inormaion on child care or parens; and direced saes o increase

he supply o good child care by bringing provider reimbursemen policies in

line wih marke pracices.

Te law also conained a number o provisions ha aimed o preven he sors o

Cach-22-like scenarios ha push low-income children ou o subsidized care and

ino unregulaed, someimes even dangerous, siuaions. Noably, i mandaed

ha saes gran subsidies or a minimum 12-monh period, required ha sub-

sidies phase ou only gradually i a paren loses a job or experiences an increase

in income, and called upon saes o make heir applicaion and recerificaion

processes more amily riendlyall changes ha could have he poenial o make

i much easier or amilies o ge and keep good child care.

Wha he reauhorizaion law did no do, however, was include any new money.

As sae agencies sruggle over he coming monhs o do more wihou addi-ional unds, hey will need o be mindul o he ways ha he inricacies o


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policy implemenaion can helpor inadverenly hurlow-income amilies.

Indeed, as saes scramble now o deal wih he law’s addiional qualiy require-

mens wihou greaer unds, hey acually may ighen eligibiliy rules o give

ewer children access o care.12

As policymakers move oward implemening he new CCDBG rules, he aes o vulnerable parens and children hang in he balance. Tis repor aims o make sure

ha he realiies aced by such amilies are no orgoten.


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Struggling through

a broken system

“I’d like o see someone who is in a posiion o power have an ideniy devel-

oped or hem as a person in a posiion o need and see jus how demeaning i

is. Tey’d see fom boh sides. Tey’d see a real human ace o he policies hey

make.” 13

– Princess Mack, Denver, Colorado

Princess Mack, a 46-year-old moher wih our childrenages 28, 27, 8, and 7knows all oo well wha i’s like or parens o figh heir way hrough a child care

sysem ha seems rigged o make hem ail. She has experienced he rusraions

o Colorado’s child care subsidy program rom muliple perspecives: as a low-

income moher seeking services or her amily; as an employee o Denver Human

Services helping amilies navigae he sysem; and as a member o he policy

council a Clayon Early Learning, a high-qualiy early educaion program where

she has been boh a paren and a grandparen.

In 2005, Mack moved o Colorado rom her naive Norh Carolina, where she had

a nework o riends and amily o help suppor her as she raised her wo older

children. In Colorado, she worked a an energy company while raising her wo

younger children. When he job ended suddenly, Mack, he daugher o a Marine

firs sergean and a moher who worked muliple jobs on his miliary base, ound

hersel having o urn o public assisance.

Finding hersel in his siuaionand, in paricular, seeing her children’s ae

depend on he good will o sae office workers who, more ofen han no, didn’

seem o carewas appalling. “I was eeling very demeaned,” she said, when

reached by phone las December. “I so ofen el like i was us agains hem.”


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One unpleasan encouner in paricular a Denver Human Services sayed wih her:

Mack waied or a hal-hour in he direc line o sigh o an office worker whose help

she needed in processing an applicaion. Te woman wached Mack wai and hen

pu up a sign saying ha she was going o lunch. When she reurned, Mack old her,

“‘One day, I am going o be jus where you are.’”

“And wihin one year, I was,” she recalled.

Mack ook a job in he ron lobby o Denver Human Services, where she

helped amilies navigae a variey o public programs, including he Colorado

Child Care Assisance Program, or CCCAP. Some o he difficulies amilies

had in applying or child care subsidies were specific o her sae: Colorado

adminisered ederal Child Care and Developmen Block Gran unds hrough

is 64 couniesall o which could inerpre sae rules a bi differenlymak-

ing applying or child care subsidies nohing shor o a nighmare.14 Couny

daabases did no necessarily sync or communicae, paricularly i a child wasreceiving services boh hrough Head Sarhe ederal preschool program

serving he mos a-risk amiliesand CCCAP.15 As a resul, amilies risked

losing heir subsidies i hey moved rom one couny o anoher, as many did

in recen years when real esae prices in he Denver area skyrockeed, in par

due o he legalizaion o marijuana.16 “You’d enroll here in Denver, hen apply

in anoher couny,” Mack recalled, “and he whole ime, your job would be in

limbo because you wouldn’ have anyone o wach your kids.”

Bu many o he problems Mack winessed are ypical naionwide. Un-amily-

riendly governmen office policies would require parens o submi paperwork in

person during normal business hours. Parens would lose enire days o work as

hey waied o see a caseworker, only o be old afer many hours in line ha hey

had brough he wrong documenaion. Or hey migh find ha heir caseworker

was off or he day and ha he person who was here o help hem had an enirely

differen noion o wha paperwork hey needed and when. Even worse, a case-

worker migh lose heir paperwork, saring he process all over again and creaing

wha Mack called “a domino effec on someone’s household.”

Parens receiving muliple services aced an even more dauning adminisraivelabyrinh, ofen providing all-bu idenical inormaion over and over again. I a

child qualified or more han one unding sream or child careHead Sar plus

he CCDBG, or exampleeach unding sream would require is own applica-

ion, cerificaion, and recerificaion paperwork. A change in parens’ working

The average annual


an infant and a 4-yea

old child in Colorado

$23,036.17


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hours or pay migh affec heir child’s CCDBG saus bu no heir Head Sar

saus. Tis could mean ha i a child was in a ull-day slo in a cener hanks o

dual unding, he or she migh have o move o a par-day slo in anoher classroom

and ge used o a whole new se o eachersi such a slo was even available.18

Te inricacy and sheer volume o paperwork creaed enormous poenial orhuman error. Someimes, language issues go in he way, or a lack o educaion

made writen insrucions incomprehensible. A Mack’s office in Colorado, he

dual effecs o worker burnou rom heavy caseloads and “compassion aigue,”

as she pu i, creaed huge urnover a he couny agency, adding o he chaos.

“Applicaions would no ge processed, or errors would be made on our end, and

amilies would ge cu off,” she remembered. Te burden o proo lay wih par-

ens o show ha hey were working sufficien hours or spending enough ime in

school. Bu i wasn’ always possible or parens o convey hose rue ime commi-

mens in paperwork, paricularly i hey had nonradiional or shifing schedules.

Underlying all hese logisical problemsin Mack’s Colorado office, as around

he counrywas a disrusul, almos puniive atiude oward low-income par-

ens. “oo ofen, he mindse is: Tis is a welare benefiwe need o make sure

parens are using i correcly,” said Eric Karolak, CEO o he nonprofi organiza-

ion Acion or Children in Columbus, Ohio. “Many o he requiremens o he

child care subsidy sysem are based on he leas common denominaor, he weak-

es link: he wors child care provider, he mos morally compromised paren. I’s

buil o preven raud raher han, like any oher business, o make hings as simple

or he consumer as possible o access he bes services available.”19

Mack was well-acquained wih his mindse. For a ime, her younger children

were receiving child care subsidies while she worked a Denver Human Services,

which mean ha her own lie was consanly being reviewed by her colleagues

an experience she describes as a “humiliaion.”

She also knew firshand he enormous benefis ha qualiy child care can provide

o boh children and parens. A Clayon Early Learning, counselors had helped

her deal wih sae paperwork, and boh she and her children were able o receive


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menal healh services; he school even provided her wih opporuniies o speak

ou o lawmakers on policy. Ta’s why i pained her o see parens pushed ino

dead-end siuaions because heir chaoic work lives could no fi he erms laid

ou by he subsidy program.

“Someimes, he barrier is so sressul, amilies decide i’s no worh i,” she said.“You see people giving up on lie when here are siuaions where, wih he sroke

o he pen or a conversaion, a litle caring, hings could have gone so differenly.”


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Growing demand but

chronic underfunding

In 2014, he sae o Colorado passed sweeping child care subsidy reorm legislaion

ha aimed o remedy many o he problems ha Mack winessed during her ime a

Denver Human Services. Te law included provisions ha lighened and simplified

he paperwork required o veriy parens’ income and employmen, made i easier

or parens o keep heir child care subsidies while looking or a job, and aligned he

lengh o subsidies wih he Head Sar program year. Te legislaion made all hese

changes saewide, doing away wih couny-o-couny variabiliy.20

Te majoriy o he issues aced by Colorado amilies, however, exend ar

beyond he sae’s borders. Tey come down o a undamenal and long-sand-

ing disconnec beween he goals o our child care assisance sysem and he

unding ha susains i.

Te Child Care and Developmen Block Gran programoriginally enaced

under he Omnibus Budge Reconciliaion Ac o 199021was primarily con-

ceived as a way o keep children sae so ha parens could work. As awareness o

he imporance o high-qualiy early care and educaion has grown, however, he

subsidy program increasingly has aimed o supply low-income children wih he

oundaional skills and srenghs hey need o succeed in kindergaren and afer.

Tese greaer expecaions, however, have no been mached by addiional money.

In ac, sufficien unding has long been he mos essenial need o he CCDBG

programand he mos elusive.

Te Personal Responsibiliy and Work Opporuniy Reconciliaion Ac o

199622widely known as welare reormdid away wih boh he Aid o

Families wih Dependen Children program and all exising child care enile-men programs or low-income amilies.23 By puting more low-income mohers

o work, welare reorm significanly increased he demands upon he CCDBG

program. I increased unding as well: In he fiscal year ollowing he passage o

he welare reorm law, ederal unds or child care increased 27 percen.24


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Ye even wih ha boos in resources, he program’s unding ell ar shor o low-

income working amilies’ rue level o need. In 1999, looking back a he period

righ afer welare reorm, he Urban Insiue esimaed ha, i saes had drawn

down all he ederal dollars available o hem under he CCDBG program, hen

“a a maximum” less han hal o he low-income children in need o child care

assisance in 1997 would have been served.25

Te need has only grown more dire in he years since. Alhough he number o

children under age 13 living in amilies wih annual incomes below 150 percen o

he ederal povery line increased rom 15.4 million in 1999 o 18.4 million in 2012,

he number o low-income children receiving subsidies did no ollow sui, increas-

ing only rom 2.1 million in 1999 o 2.2 million in 2012.26 In fiscal year 2012, he

mos recen period or which naional daa are now available, only 15 percen o he

14.2 million children per monh who me ederal eligibiliy guidelines or CCDBG

subsidies acually received subsidized care hrough he program.27

Meanwhile, demand or affordable, qualiy child care coninues o rise. Sixy-five

percen o American children under age 6 now live in homes where all parens

are in he workorce,28 and 63 percen o mohers are eiher breadwinners or co-

breadwinners.29 Te cos or cener-based care or wo children exceeds annual

median ren paymens in every sae in he Unied Saes, and he average annual

cos o care or an inan in a cener-based seting is greaer han a year o uiion

and ees a a our-year public college in 28 saes and Washingon, D.C.30

Wih demand or child care growing, saes are increasingly required o do more

wih lesswhich adds up o more amilies losing ou.

Chronic underunding lies a he roo o long waiing liss or subsidies ha exis

in 21 saes around he counry.32 And i explains why amilies who do qualiy or

subsidies may sruggle mighily o find good care. Sae paymen raes are consid-

erably lower han privae paymens or comparable services; saes may reimburse

providers only or he specific days or hours, while he provider requires paymen

or ull-ime atendance. As a resul, some o he bes child care providers simply

reuse o serve children on subsidies.

In Colorado, or insance, less han one-hird o licensed providers are willing o par-

icipae in he sae’s subsidy program due o low paymen raes and he headaches

o paperwork.33 And in New Hampshire, licensed ceners are closing or lack o

childrena somewha myserious phenomenon ha advocaes believe sems rom

new pay pracices designed o pass on o parens coss ha he sae did no cover. 34

In 2013, the averagesubsidy for center-

based child care was

approximately $4,90

per year—less than h

of the average cost.3


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A he cener o hese unding decisions are young children who ofen suffer

inerrupions in care. Indeed, in 2014, he average lengh o ime ha children

receiving subsidies were covered by coninuous child care services was jus six

o seven monhs.35

Charlote Branley, presiden and CEO o Clayon Early Learning and heormer head o he Child Care Bureau o he U.S. Deparmen o Healh and

Human Services, likened his patern o shor-erm placemens o a “churn”

ha serves everyone poorly. “Many more people are eligible han will ever have

access,” she said, adding:

So now we have his churn: wo or hree kids occupy he same child care slo

over a 12-monh period. Some see his as a success because more children are

served. Bu wha i you had 10 kids who had ear inecions and who needed a

ull course o anibioics and you only had enough or five kids? So you gave all

o hem a hal-course o anibioics. How many would sill have ear inecionsa he end?36

Indeed, in 2014

the average

length of time

that children

receiving subsid

were covered b

continuous chil

care services wa

just six to seven

months.35


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Some, but not enough

Marqunia Robinson is a 30-year-old single moher whose daily rouine is buil

around he bus rides ha ake her o drop-off and pickup a her children’s hree

schools. Her las sop in he morning brings her 3-year-old o Educare DC, an

early learning cener jus eas o he Anacosia River in one o Washingon’s mos

economically disadvanaged neighborhoods. Educare DC is par o a naional

nework o high-qualiy early learning ceners serving low-income children and

offering a wide range o suppor services o heir amilies. A Educare, Robinson’s

son receives denal and vision screenings. His classroom has hree eachersincluding a head eacher wih a bachelor’s degree in educaionand a door o an

ouside play area, wih ricycles and climbing bars and he hick rees o Naional

Park Service land in he disance.37

Te abiliy o access child care like hisvia Head Sar undingis an incred-

ible privilege in a ciy ha has he mos expensive child care in he naion, 38

largely due o he presence o a disproporionae number o high-income working

mohers who can afford nanny care and who live in neighborhoods ar away rom

Educare.39 Te problem is, Robinson’s Head Sar-unded hours are simply no

enough o allow her he ime she needs o ge a good job and suppor her amily.

A voucher or subsidized child care would allow Robinson o ge her 12-year-old

son on a wailis or his school’s ee-based afer-school program. And i would

permi her o drop off her 3-year-old a Educare as early as 7:00 a.m. and pick him

up as lae as 6:00 p.m. As i is, she’s always dropping him off and picking him up

lae, and she’s errified ha one day, he Educare saffers migh ge ed up and kick

him ou. “Tey give me chances and chances, bu when are hose chances going o

be up?” she wondered aloud in a mid-December inerview.41

Te Educare saff ries o help. yra Coton, one o he school’s amily engagemen

specialiss, has creaed a pamphle lising all he paperwork ha amilies need in

order o apply or vouchers. She has goten o know some workers a he ciy’s

Deparmen o Human Services and will call hem o ry o expedie he process

The average annual


infant and a 4-year-o

child in Washington,

D.C., is $40,473.40


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or parens. Bu when he parens go in o drop off heir paperwork, here’s no

one available o answer heir quesions. “Te lines are oo long; hey’re here five

o seven hours o be old o come back he nex day. Tey ge he runaround. You

never have everyhing you need,” said Dawn Smih, a maser eacher a Educare

DC. “Tey find a job, bu hey have o be here a 7:00. Tey say hey can’ ge

here unil 9:30 because hey don’ have a voucher, and hey lose he job.”42

She has seen many parens simply give up rying. “Te sysem ses hem up or

ailure,” she said.

Robinson said she has been rying o qualiy or a child care voucher or years. Bu

he Disric o Columbia’s subsidy program requires 20 seady hours per week o

dayime work,43 and her only job is an on-call arrangemen wih a emp agency

ha conracs wih hoels and sends workers when hey need housekeeping or

oher help. Te work is usually a nigh, and i’s irregular. And even i she could

somehow work he dayime hours she needs, Robinson said, she doubs she couldge good documenaion o prove i.

“I’d have o ge a leter rom my job,” she says. “Te lady a my job, she doesn’

even answer he phone. She doesn’ communicae wih me righ.” In ac, she

hasn’ communicaed wih Robinson a all or six monhs.

Robinson is looking or a differen job. She has a high school diploma and once

managed her own clohing sore. She’d like o ge a business degree online;

Educare is helping her figure ou how. Bu beween morning drop-off, afernoon

pickup, and he long sreches o public ransporaion in beween, here jus

aren’ a whole lo o hours lef in he day. “I’ve jus been applying or every job

I can,” she said. “Uploading my resume. Bu hen i’s bus o bus o bus unil i’s

ime or me o pick hem up.”


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Barriers to education

Educare DC’s parens have lives o exreme difficuly: 73 percen o hem have

repored annual amily income o $9,000 or less per year.44 Tere are many een

mohers, domesic violence survivors, and children who come rom homes

marked by subsance abuse and muligeneraional povery. Despie hese obsa-

cles, over five hours o inerviews, Educare DC mohers spoke abou how badly

hey waned o ge an educaiono finish high school or go o collegeand o

work and suppor hemselves.

Waynisha Wilson, a 20-year-old single moher who had her firs child a 14 and

her second a 16, dreams o finishing high school, becoming a police officer, and

serving as a role model or her wo children. “I wan hem o be moivaed. o

hink abou he suff ha’s relevan: school, hinking abou your lie,” she said.

Bu she worries abou being able o afford he cos o public ransporaion o and

rom her own school.45

Anoher single moher, age 24, wih our children ages 2 o 8, was expelled rom

a GED program when she missed a deadline or an essay on why geting a GED

cerificae is imporan. She has a learning disabiliy and had asked i he program

offered academic accommodaions, bu never received an answer.

She go in rouble a her GED program or atendance issues oo. Te school day

sared a 9:00 a.m.he same ime she had o drop off her children a Educare.

“I’d call o say I was running lae, and hey’d no noice,” she said. “I I missed one

day o ake my kids o he docor, hey’d be like, ‘Where’s your excuse?’ Tey’d

suspend me or a day because I wouldn’ have a noe. Bu I’d ge a noe rom he

docor, I brough i here [o Educare, o explain why her child was lae]. I didn’

dawn on me o ge a copy or he school. I was jus oo much.”46

She is looking or a job now, while Educare saff members ry o find her a beter

GED program, bu wihou a high school degree, job experience, or a voucher o

cover he cos o beore- and afer-school care or her kids, finding work is very hard.


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She lives wih her moher, who has a job as a securiy guard in a downown museum.

Bu her moher can’ help ou much; she’s waiing or a kidney ransplan, and

walking is difficul. Every morning a 4:00 a.m., a van picks her up and akes her or

dialysis. And when she’s no working, she ries o cach up on her sleep.

Te sress o impossibiliy akes an enormous emoional oll on hese mohers. Afer years ou o school, Wilson lacks sel-confidence. She worries ha i she

reurns o school, he eachers will make un o her behind her back or hav-

ing been a een moher and or finishing high school in her 20s. She’s araid her

own kids will look down on her oo: “You eel like you should be pas i, and i’s

embarrassing o ell he kids you’re going o school jus like hey are; you should

be more advanced han ha.”

Vaney King, a single moher o wo who lives in a domesic violence sheler and

is currenly working on compleing a GED program, akes hree buses in he

morning o bring her kids o Educare and anoher hree buses o ge o her ownschool. She is saddled wih housands o dollars in deb rom an unscrupulous

or-profi program ha promised her a maser’s degree beore she had her high

school diploma. She has signed up or home healh aid courses in he spring a

he Universiy o he Disric o Columbia, bu she’s worried ha her own healh

issues migh ge in her way.

She ofen eels as i she can’ breahelike she’s breahing and breahing, bu jus

no geting in enough air. Docors have suggesed ha i’s probably anxiey; she’s

anxious ha i could be her hear.

“My lie could be on hold or i,” she said.47


19/34


Warding off toxic stress

In recen years, he issue o oxic sress in childhoodsress ha is excessive,

prolonged, and unmediaed by srong relaionships wih proecing adulshas

emerged as a major concern in he child developmen research communiy.48

Expers warn ha his sor o sress, which is paricularly prevalen among chil-

dren growing up in povery, can have lielong impacs on learning, cogniion, and

sel-regulaion, as well as physical and menal healh generally.49

Child developmen expers now consider oxic sress in he early years o be oneo he key vecors hrough which inequaliy becomes enrenched and is repro-

duced over muliple generaions. “oxic sress,” according o Jack P. Shonkoff

and Andrew S. Garner, boh members o he American Academy o Pediarics’

Commitee on Psychosocial Aspecs o Child and Family Healh, “plays an impor-

an causal role in he inergeneraional ransmission o dispariies in educaional

achievemen and healh oucomes.”50

Awareness o hese dangers has ed he call or sysemic reorms ha can pro-

vide children wih more reliable and sress-buffering care.51 Bu wha abou he

srains on parens who are orced o navigae a child care sysem ha, insead o

lighening heir daily burden, adds o heir anxiey and rusraion, heir sense o

humiliaion and ailure?

Sress, like povery isel, is a wo-generaion phenomenon.52 When parens

are badly sressed abou heir child care arrangemens, hey pass ha sress on

o heir children.53 Good child care can ac as an imporan buffer agains oxic

sress no jus or children bu or heir parens as well.54 A 2012 sudy rom

he Universiy o Quebec a Monreal has shown ha low-qualiy child care is

associaed wih higher levels o parening-relaed sress or low-income moh-ers; he same research showed ha mohers who el ha heir child’s child care

eacher was skilled in meeing heir child’s needs repored less sress.55 Research

rom Maureen Perry-Jenkins, a psychologis a he Universiy o Massachusets

Amhers, has demonsraed ha percepions o greaer child care suppor are

linked o decreased depressive sympoms in ahers.56


20/34


Sheila Arias, a 30-year-old single moher o wo in Durham, Norh Carolina,

knows firshand he criical relie ha qualiy child care can provide.

Arias’ daugher, Jaslene, now 7, was born wih microia, a birh deec ha affecs

her hearing, speech, balance, and capaciy or sensory inegraion. Due o her dis-

abiliy, she immediaely qualified or he Early Head Sar and Head Sar pro-grams. As an Early Head Sar sibling, Arias’ 4-year-old son, Enoch, easily ound

a spo in he programs oo. Tis mean ha Arias didn’ have o spend he wo o

hree years on a wailis or sae-subsidized child care ha oher amilies around

her ypically ace. Te consisen, high-qualiy care has mean ha Arias has been

able o work while rusing ha her children are being educaed.

Te abiliy o rely on her children’s well-rained eachers also has relieved a grea

deal o he sress Arias eels abou having o be and do everyhing or her chil-

dren all on her own. “As a paren,” she said in early January, “when you’re going

hrough so many siuaions in lie, reading o your child every day is really, reallyhard. Having o pracice any academic skills is even harder. Having ha sup-

por a school really matered. Tey were always looking o be sure my kids were

where hey need o be.”57

Te conras beween her experience and ha o ohers in her communiy is sark.

Arias recenly helped a riend fill ou an applicaion or subsidized child care or

her 6-week-old baby; he mom was old her son probably wouldn’ ge a spo unil

he was 3. “Oher people leave heir kids wih relaives, no even aduls, or oher

people hey know. I’s even more expensive and hey jus wach V all day,” she

says. “Tere’s no educaion.”

Te Child Care Services Associaion in Chapel Hill, Norh Carolina, esimaes

ha ewer han hal o Norh Carolina children in child care arrangemens find

spos in regulaed ceners.58 Anna Carer, presiden and CEO o he organizaion,

said ha he psychological effecs o ha sysem ailure should no be minimized:

I you can’ access subsidized care, hen he kinds o arrangemens you’re having

o look or are going o pu sress on he amily. You’re having o ake he child o

an unregulaed program or o his grandparen and ha grandparen or oher fiends and amily members. From a logisical perspecive, i’s a nighmare, bu

fom a child developmen perspecive, i means ha he children are no geting

wha hey need. When parens know ha, he guil is errible.59

The average annual


infant and a 4-year-ochild in North Carolin

is $16,847.60


21/34


Hope in Pottstown

Ouside o Head Sar and Early Head Sar programs, he psychological well-

being o parens is rarely a ocal poin o early childhood policy. Ta is wha

makes he early childhood communiy in Potsown, Pennsylvania, so unique.

Potsown’s hisoric red brick downown recalls a ime when companies such as

Behlehem Seel and Firesone brough affluence o local residens. When indus-

ry depared in he 1980s and 1990s, high unemploymen, drugs, and crime ook

is place. By he 2013-14 school year, 67.5 percen o children in he PotsownSchool Disric qualified or ree or reduced-price lunch.61 Te ciy ’s concenraion

o need poses enormous challenges or early educaorsbu also has provided an

exremely erile landscape or policy innovaion.

In 2005, he Potsown School Disric received a $15,000 planning gran rom he

sae o Pennsylvania o bring ogeher public and privae child care providers and

communiy-based organizaions and find a way o deliver services collaboraively.

Programs ha normally compeed or childrenHead Sar, hal-day locally

unded pre-K, and privae child care providerscame ogeher wih school

disric officials and organizaions such as he Potsown Family Cener and he

Unied Way o Greaer Philadelphia and Souhern New Jersey. Te resuling col-

laboraion in child care and amily suppor service delivery was Potsown Early

Acion or Kindergaren Readiness, or PEAK.62

Te PEAK program acs as a kind o clearinghouse or inormaion and service

reerrals or amilies in he Potsown area and as a source o suppor or child care

providers and early childhood educaors as well. Te program brings finess and

nuriion programs o classrooms and employs a behavioral specialis o suppor

eachers in educaing he growing numbers o young children hey see wih emo-ional and behavioral issues.63 I has drawn local parens ogeher or public library

evens, chariy oy drives, parening lecures, and school voluneering projecs. In

shor, amid he many challenges o lie in a deeply impoverished ciy, i has given

hem access o a supporive, conneced parening communiy much like hose ha

flourish in wealhier suburbs.


22/34


One early morning in mid-December, five Potsown mohers gahered or a

breakas meeing a he Potsown School Disric Adminisraion Building.64

Te moms knew one anoher rom PEAK amily engagemen aciviies, and heir

children were all enrolled in Pennsylvania’s Pre-K Couns classroomsull-day,

sae-unded preschool or children rom amilies earning up o 300 percen o he

ederal povery line, or abou $73,000 or a amily o our.65

Tese Potsown parens ace he same sysemic barriers o affordable child care

as parens across he Unied Saes. Tere is a waiing lis or ull-day pre-K and or

child care subsidies unded by he Child Care and Developmen Block Gran. And

he Cach-22 o subsidy qualificaionparens can’ ge a subsidy wihou a job

bu don’ have he ime o ge a job wihou a subsidyis ever presen.66

Bu hey don’ have o navigae ha rusraing landscape o programs and services

on heir own. Behany Egol, a amily engagemen specialis in he Potsown

Family Cener, makes sure ha child care providers in he ciy are aware oprograms ha exis or inans, oddlers, and preschoolers so ha hey can help

amilies wih muliple young children find care more easily.68

She aciliaes conac beween parens and eachers and encourages mohers and

ahers o ge involved in heir children’s classrooms. Her colleague, Ada Sykes,

specializes in oureach o he Spanish-speaking communiy. Maricruz Clemens, a

moher o wo whose daugher received speech herapy while in he Pre-K Couns

program, said ha he presence o he bilingual amily engagemen specialis in

he PEAK program has made a real impac on Spanish-speaking parens. “A lo

o parens are araid o come orward. Ada came on board, and now hey don’

eel araid,” Clemens recalled. “She’s righ here wih he eachers and principals.

When you have he connecion wih he amilies, hey rus you. Tey’re open

more. Tey eel, ‘Tey’re no going o ake advanage o me.’”69

Egol has helped Alexis Didge, a moher o hree, find needed resources when

her husband’s wo jobs, her par-ime job, and he amily’s checks rom he Special

Supplemenal Nuriion Program or Women, Inans, and Children aren’ enough

o mee heir basic needs. “I I’m in a ough spo and don’ know how we’re going

o ge hrough he week, I can call Behany,” Didge said. “I ge suppor.”70

The average annual



child in Pennsylvania

$18,712.67


23/34


Phoebe Kancianic, a moher o hree whose 8- and 3-year-old sons are boh

on he auism specrum, old he breakas group ha Egol ’s help has been a

godsend on bad days, o which here have been many. Tere was he day, or

example, when he Head Sar preschool ha provided services o her 3-year-

old moved wihou noice, or he day when her 6-year-old son’s sae medical

assisance ended, also wihou noice.

Kancianic is currenly enrolled in an associae degree program a Mongomery

Couny Communiy College. She’s eager o finish, o ranser o a our-year pro-

gram, and o earn a bachelor o ars in human services. Her career goal is clear: “I

wan o no do o ohers wha was done o me.”71


24/34


Not just a low-income issue

Te Potsown Early Acion or Kindergaren Readiness program’s combinaion

o inormaion, educaion, and connecion or parens is precisely he sor o sup-

por ha migh allow a paren such as Vaney King in Washingon, D.C., o breahe

more easily. Or i migh alleviae he grinding worry ha weighs upon Sarah Lynn

Sadowski, a moher o our in Concord, New Hampshire.

Sadowski has a maser’s degree in inernaional developmen. Her husband Jon, a

public school special educaion eacher, also has a maser’s degree and is sudyingo become a school adminisraor. I hey boh worked ull ime, hey could make

well over six figures, save or college and reiremen, and enjoy a comorable lie.

Bu hey can’, because he solidly middle-class Sadowskis have never quie been

able o make heir child care arrangemens work ou.

New Hampshire has one o he highes coss o living73 in he counry: Cener-based

care or an inan coss almos $12,000 per year, on average; he average cos o care

or a 4-year-old, a $9,500, is only slighly less.74 During he 2014-15 school year,

only abou hal o he sae’s school disrics offered ull-ime kindergaren pro-

grams,75 and here is no sae-unded pre-K.76 Because she never had paid maerniy

leave, Sarah needed child care as afer each o her pregnancies. Finding licensed

care or inans, however, was close o impossible. She pu her children on wailiss

and ended up aking hree o her our children o work wih her when hey were

inans. New Hampshire is one o only five saes ha does no provide sae-unded

pre-K. Te ohers are Idaho, Monana, Souh Dakoa, and Wyoming.77

Te Sadowskis’ eldes child has cerebral palsy and epilepsy resuling rom a birh

injury. Wih her, he Sadowskis have learned he hard way ha whaever child care

difficulies parens normally encouner increase exponenially when you acor ina child wih special needs. Te usual work-amily policy gaps become even wider

oo. Teir daugher had, or example, o grow used o a consanly shifing crew o

home healh care aids: Teir low pay, lack o paid sick days,78 and lack o access o

good child care o heir own creaes enormous urnover among he people who

work mos closely wih her.

The average annual



child in New Hampsh

is $21,267.72

New Hampshire

is one of only fiv

states that does

not provide stat

funded pre-K.

The others are

Idaho, Montana

South Dakota,

and Wyoming.77


25/34


Because heir daugher has a depressed immune sysem, he Sadowskis have o

keep heir oher children home rom day care when oher parens, lacking paid

ime off, send heir children in sick. Las winer, a younger daugher sayed home

a leas one day per week or jus his reason; he Sadowskis were required o pay

or her ime in care noneheless.

Te rusraion was such ha, or hree years, hey ried oping ou o child care

enirely. Jon became a say-a-home dad, and Sarah ook a policy job working

60 hours per week. Bu she ound he long hours were “no enable”79 given he

demands o our kids and a child’s special needs. Sarah has lef ha job and now

works par ime, while Jon works wo jobs o make ends mee.

Child care sill eas up ully one-hird o heir monhly income. Anoher hal goes

o car paymens and suden loans. Te crunch is so bad ha he couple is hink-

ing o picking up and moving across he sae line o Massachusets, where hey

believe wages are higher and amily suppor policies will be sronger.

“I’m 37. Jon is 38,” Sarah refleced in lae December. “Boh o us are a he peak

o our earning poenial, and here I am working 15 hours a week, no saving or

reiremen.” She alernaes beween eeling angry abou he policy gaps ha make

lie so hard or even middle-class amilies such as her own and simply blaming

hersel. “I sruggle wih his sense o personal responsibiliy,” she said.

Sadowski’s sense o shame a being a highly educaed person who can barely make

ends mee is deeply painul, ye she knows she’s no alone in eeling he squeeze.

According o he Cener or American Progress, he median married couple wih

wo children saw no income growh beween 2000 and 2012. In ha same period,

child care coss grew 37 percen, and he aggregae cos o saples o middle-class

securiysuch as child care, housing, healh care, and puting aside savings or

reiremen and collegeincreased $10,600.80

“Tis needs o be alked abou,” she said.


26/34


Policy recommendations

I child care policies mean o enhance children’s long-erm prospecs are insead

adding o parenal sress and undermining he posiive poenial effecs o good

care, policymakers should make reorming hem a op prioriy.

Te Child Care and Developmen Block Gran Ac o 2014 is a good place o

sar. Te new legislaion makes clear ha amilies should be graned a solid 12

monhs o child care subsidies beore having o undergo eligibiliy recerificaion.

Tis would remain he case even i parens’ work hours, educaional aciviies, orincomes emporarily change and as long as parens’ earnings do no rise above he

ederally mandaed cap o 85 percen o sae median income.81 I also requires

ha i a paren loses a job and is a risk o losing child care benefis, subsidies will

coninue or a leas hree monhs, giving he paren ime o look or new employ-

men. I sipulaes ha, a he end o he one-year subsidy period, he process

o recerificaion or child care assisance should no require parens o “unduly

disrup heir employmen.”82 And i provides ha i afer a year’s ime, parens’

income has risen above heir sae’s income eligibiliy hreshold, heir assisance

levels will phase ou only gradually or a leas one year or unil a amily’s income

exceeds 85 percen o heir sae’s median income.83 All his will reduce he paper-

work and recerificaion procedures required o low-income parens, giving hem a

much greaer abiliy o work seadily o suppor heir amilies.

Bu he legislaion sill leaves saes some wiggle room. Tere is no definiion, or

example, o wha sors o paperwork requiremens are “unduly” disrupive; wih

saes able o make ha judgmen call, here is no guaranee ha heir curren

pracices will change. Language insrucing saes o “demonsrae” how heir deer-

minaion and redeerminaion o eligibiliy processes “ake ino accoun” irregular

flucuaions in earnings requires hough bu no acion.84

And even hough henew law requires saes o gran amilies 12 monhs o care, saes could sill require

amilies o paricipae in exensive and complicaed inerim reporingand could

require amilies o pay new or addiional copays i heir incomes increase.85


27/34


Mos crucially, he new legislaion lacks new unding. I leaves saes wih he dis-

creion o se heir own income eligibiliy rules. Expers warn his may mean ha

as saes scramble o do more wihou more money, he added unding crunch

may lead hem o make i harder or amilies o become eligible or subsidies,

ulimaely pushing ou more children.86

As he new CCDBG rules are pu ino effec over he coming 20 monhs, sae

agencies mus ake he iniiaive o devise rules ha improve child care service

delivery. o his end, CAP has previously recommended measures such as crea-

ing a single enry poin or early childhood programs serving inans and oddlers

and has deailed how a number o saes around he counry have consruced

programs o sreamline services or parens and children.87

We also mus look beyond he CCDBG program o seek addiional child care

unding or low- and middle-income working amilies. Las all, CAP proposed

a bold new way o find such unds: he High-Qualiy Child Care ax Credi.Te ax crediworh up o $14,000 per child, according o amily income

would be advanced o amilies hroughou he year on a monhly basis and paid

direcly o a child care provider chosen by he paren. I would be argeed o

high-qualiy providers, driving up qualiy in he child care marke and creaing

good choices or parens. CAP esimaes ha he proposal would serve more

han 6 million children under age 5, a more han fiveold increase over he cur-

ren number o amilies ha he CCDBG serves.88 Combined wih earlier CAP

proposals or volunary, universal preschool or all 3- and 4-year-olds, his mea-

sure would provide grealy increased access o high-qualiy care or all children

rom birh o kindergaren.


28/34


Conclusion

Te voices colleced here ell a clear sory abou wha does and does no work in

our curren child care assisance sysem. Wha works: high-qualiy programs ha

ake a wo-generaional approach o encouraging boh healhy child developmen

and amily economic securiy. A key componen o wha doesn’: holding chil-

dren’s care and educaion hosage o parens’ compliance wih unrealisic employ-

men and educaional requiremens ha do no acknowledge he realiies o he

low-wage labor marke.

Parens need simpler and more raional applicaion and recerificaion processes or

child care subsidies, beter aligned sysems o service delivery,89 and beter guaran-

ees ha heir children’s child care arrangemens can survive he ups and downs o

he low-wage labor marke. Tey also need more amily resource ceners and amily

engagemen specialiss o assis wih paperwork; more and beter reerrals o social

service agencies, child developmen specialiss, and adul educaion programs; and

culurally sensiive oureach o immigran and oher underserved communiies.

For all ha, we need more money or child care. We also need a change in menaliy.

Over he pas wo decades, a major ocus o our public assisance policies has

been changing he so-called culure o povery. Bu as ar as child care is con-

cerned, perhaps i’s ime or a change in he culure o policy: a move away rom

puniive atiudes oward low-income parens and heir osensible lie choices,

and a move oward a genuinely amily-riendly embrace o he needs o vulner-

able aduls and children.


29/34


About the author

Judith Warner

is a Senior Fellow a he Cener or American Progress, a conribu-

ing wrier o Te New York imes Magazine , and a bes-selling auhor whose books

include Perec Madness: Moherhood in he Age o Anxiey and We’ve Go Issues:

Children and Parens in he Age o Medicaion.

Acknowledgments

Te auhor wishes o hank all he parens, child care providers, and policy

expers who so generously gave heir ime o his projec. Some wish o remain

anonymous. Te ohers are: Rhonda Andrews; Sheila Arias; Shaunna Babcock;

MaryLou Beaver; Jane Bennet; Charlote Branley; Maricruz Clemens; Rochean

Cofield; yra Coton; Pyper Davis; Alexis Didge; Behany Egol; Meghan

Garber; Melanie Barkon; Sephanie Gendell; Phoebe Kancianic; Eric Karolak; Vaney King; Princess Mack; Lori Poiner; Karen Ponder; Mary Rieck; Marqunia

Robinson; Sarah Lynn Sadowski; Andy Selzer; Dawn Smih; Renee Spaide; Ada

Sykes; Waynisha Wilson; Sacey Woodland; and Gina Adams, whose oundaional

work in his area served as an invaluable resource. I am also exremely graeul

o Kaie Hamm, Melissa Boeach, Rebecca Vallas, and Lauren Vicary or heir

houghul reading and policy guidance; o Danielle Corley and Kailin Holmes

or heir assisance wih ac-checking; and o he CAP Ediorial eam or heir

careul and paien work wih his repor.


30/34


Endnotes

1 Rochean Cofield, phone interview with author, Decem-ber 27, 2015.

2 Iowa Department of Human Services, “Child Care As-sistance” (2015), available at http://dhs.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/Comm062.pdf .

3 Iowa Department of Human Services, “Child Care ClientPortal,” available at https://ccmis.dhs.state.ia.us/ClientPor-tal/Prequalification.aspx (last accessed February 2016).

4 Within Reach, “Interactive Map: How Out of Reach Is ChildCare or Pre-K in Your State?”, available at http://within-reachcampaign.org/map/ (last accessed March 2016).

5 Heather Boushey and Ed Paisley, eds., “Building aStrong Foundation for the U.S. Economy” (Washington:Washington Center for Equitable Growth, 2014), avail-ableat http://equitablegrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-equitablegrowth-conf-rep1.pdf.

6 Ariel Kalil, “Inequality Begins at Home: The Role ofParenting in the Diverging Destinies of R ich and PoorChildren.” In Paul R. Amato and others, eds., Families inan Era of Increasing Inequality: Diverging Destinies (NewYork: Springer, 2015), pp. 63–82. For a comprehensiveliterature review, see Heather Boushey and AlexandraMitukiewicz, “Job Quality Matters: How Our FutureEconomic Competitiveness Hinges on the Quality ofParents’ Jobs” (Washington: Washington Center forEquitable Growth, 2014), available at http://equitable-growth.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/062014-parental-jobs.pdf.

7 See, for example, Jennifer H. Suor and others, “TracingDifferential Pathways of Risk: Ass ociations AmongFamily Adversity, Cortisol, and Cognitive Function-ing in Childhood,” Child Development 86 (4) (2015):1142–1158, available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.12376/abstract. For an extensiveliterature review, see Heather Sandstrom and SandraHuerta, “The Negative Effects of Instability on Child De-velopment: A Research Synthesis” (Washington: UrbanInstitute, 2013), available at http://www.urban.org/

sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/412899- The-Negative-Effects-of-Instability-on-Child-Develop-ment-A-Research-Synthesis.PDF.

8 Sandstrom and Huerta, “The Negative Effects of Insta-bility on Child Development.”

9 For an exhaustive discussion of these issues anddetailed exploration of potential policy fixes, see GinaAdams and Hannah Matthews, “Confronting the ChildCare Eligibility Maze: Simplifying and Aligning withOther Work Supports” (Washington: Urban Institute,2013), available at http://www.urban.org/research/pub-lication/confronting-child-care-eligibility-maze; GinaAdams, Shayne Spaulding, and Caroline Heller, “Bridg-ing the Gap: Exploring the Intersection of WorkforceDevelopment and Child Care” (Washington: UrbanInstitute, 2015), available at http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000225-

Bridging-the-Gap.pdf; Maryam Adamu and others,“Aligning and Investing in Infant and Toddler Programs”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2014),available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/report/2014/10/15/98976/aligning-and-investing-in-infant-and-toddler-programs/; RachelHerzfeldt-Kamprath and Katie Hamm, “Emerging Stateand Community Strategies to I mprove Infant and Tod-dler Services” (Washington: Center for American Prog-ress, 2015), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/report/2015/06/04/114474/emerging-state-and-community-strategies-to-improve-infant-and-toddler-services/.

10 Sandstrom and Huerta, “The Negative Effects of Insta-bility on Child Development.”

11 Office of Child Care, “CCDF Reauthorization,” available athttp://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/ccdf-reauthori-zation (last accessed March 2016).

12 Gina Adams, phone interview with Danielle Corley,January 19, 2 016. Transcript provided to author.

13 Princess Mack, phone interview with author, December26, 2015.

14 Charlotte Brantley, phone interview with author,December 3, 2015; personal communication fromCharlotte Brantley, president and CEO, Clayton EarlyLearning, February 23, 2016.

15 For more on child care problems in Colorado, see JennyBrundin, “6 Ways To Make Child Care More Affordable inColorado,” Colorado Public Radio, December 29, 2014,available at http://www.cpr.org/news/story/6-ways-make-child-care-more-affordable-colorado; MeganVerlee, “State Subsidy Causes Some of Colorado’s‘Daycare Deserts,’ Providers Say,” Colorado Public Radio,September 30, 2014, available at http://www.cpr.org/news/story/state-subsidy-causes-some-colorados-daycare-deserts-providers-say.

16 Emilie Rusch, “Marijuana industry drives Denver metroarea’s real estate recovery,” The Denver Post , October 20,2015, available at http://www.denverpost.com/mari-

juana/ci_28993836/marijuana-industry-drives-denver-metro-areas-real-estate-recovery; Arielle Milkman, “TheHousing Crisis Amid Denver’s Cannabis Boom,”NewRepublic , October 12, 2015, available at https://newre-public.com/article/123084/green-rush-and-denvers-housing-crisis.

17 Within Reach, “Interactive Map: How Out of Reach IsChild Care or Pre-K in Your State?”

18 Brantley, phone interview with author.

19 Eric Karolak, phone interview with author, November

24, 2015.

20 Personal communication from Brantley. See also Colo-rado Children’s Campaign, “HB 14-1317 ‘Colorado ChildCare Assistance Program Changes’ Side-by-Side” (2014),available at http://media.wix.com/ugd/97dde5_74b38e6322064421ada3298245d6f5c4.pdf .

21 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, H. Rept.5835, 101 Cong. 2 sess. (Library of Congress, 1990),available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-bill/5835.

22 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Recon-ciliation Act of 1996, H. Rept. 3734, 104 Cong. 2 sess.(Government Printing Office, 1996), available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-104hr3734enr/pdf/BILLS-104hr3734enr.pdf .

23 Sharon K. Long and Sandra J. Clark, “The New ChildCare Block Grant: State Funding Choices and TheirImplications” (Washington: Urban Institute, 1997),available at http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/307043-The-New-Child-Care-Block-Grant.PDF.

24 Ibid.

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31/34


25 Sharon K. Long, “Child Care Assistance under WelfareReform: Early R esponses by the States,” Testimony be-fore the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcom-mittee on Human Resources, March 16, 1999, availableat http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/900265-Child-Care-Assistance-under-Welfare-Reform-Early-Responses-by-the-States.pdf .

26 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evalu-ation, Estimates of Child Care Eligibility and Receipt forFiscal Year 2012 (U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices, 2015), available at https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/

default/files/pdf/153591/ChildEligibility.pdf.

27 Ibid.

28 Kids Count Data Center, “Children Under Age 6 WithAll Available Parents in the Labor Force,” available athttp://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/5057-children-under-age-6-with-all-available-parents-in-the-labor-force?loc=1&loct=1#detailed/1/any/false/869,36,868,867,133/any/11472,11473 (lastaccessed March 2016).

29 “Breadwinners” are those who earn at least half of fam-ily income; “co-breadwinners” are those who earn 25percent to 49 percent of family income. See Sarah JaneGlynn, “Breadwinning Mothers, Then and Now” (Wash-ington: Center for American Progress, 2014) , availableat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/report/2014/06/20/92355/breadwinning-mothers-

then-and-now/.

30 Child Care Aware of America, “Parents and the HighCost of Childcare: 2015 Report” (2015), availableat http://usa.childcareaware.org/wp-content/up-loads/2015/12/Parents-and-the-High-Cost-of-Child-Care-2015-FINAL.pdf.

31 Authors’ analysis of data from Administration forChildren and Families, “FY 2013 Preliminary Data Table15 - Average Monthly Subsidy Paid to Provider byAge Group and Care Type,” October 8, 2014, availableat http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/resource/fy-2013-ccdf-data-tables-preliminary-table-15; ChildCare Aware of America, “Parents and the High Cost ofChild Care: 2014 Report” (2014), available at availableat https://www.ncsl.org/documents/cyf/2014_Parents_and_the_High_Cost_of_Child_Care.pdf.

32 Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, “Building Blocks:State Child Care Assistance Policies 2015” (Washing-ton: National Women’s Law Center, 2015), availableat https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CC_RP_Building_Blocks_Assistance_Policies_2015.pdf .

33 Verlee, “State Subsidy Causes Some of Colorado’s‘Daycare Deserts,’ Providers Say.”

34 A 2014 report from the New Hampshire Departmentof Health and Human Services found that fully 66percent of families receiving Temporary Assistance forNeedy Families, or TANF, supports who were eligible forscholarship funds were choosing not to apply for statechild care aid. The state’s system, which formerly hada waitlist so long that no new applications were beingprocessed, is now so underutilized that it has run upa large surplus. Instead, the same report found, two-thirds of children whose families receive TANF benefits

are being placed in the un regulated care of friends,neighbors, and relatives. See New Hampshire Depart-ment of Health and Human Services Division of FamilyAssistance, “Access of TANF Children to

Regulated ChildCare” (2014), available at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/documents/tanf-child-care-access.pdf . See also NewHampshire Department of Health and Human ServicesDivision of Family Assistance, “Child Care ProviderSurvey: OutofPocket Child Care Expenses for TANF Chil-dren” (2015), available at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/documents/tanf-child-care-access.pdf ;

MaryLou Beaver,phone interview with author, December 4, 2015.

35 Shannon Rudisill, “Stability in Early Childhood Develop-ment: The Role of Child Care.” In Gina Adams, ed.,“Insights on Instability and Children’s Development:Commentaries from Practitioners, Policymakers, andResearchers” (Washington: Urban Institute, 2014),available at http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/413184-Insights-on-Instabil-ity-and-Children-s-Development-Commentaries-from-Practitioners-Policymakers-and-Researchers.PDF.

36 Brantley, phone interview with author.

37 The author visited Educare twice—on October 8,2015, to tour the facility and on December 16, 2015, tointerview the women.

38 Cynthia Hess and others, “The Status of Women in theStates: 2015” (Washington: Institute for Women’s PolicyResearch, 2015), available at http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/the-status-of-women-in-the-states-2015-full-report.

39 Ibid.

40 Within Reach, “Interactive Map: How Out of Reach IsChild Care or Pre-K in Your State?”

41 Marqunita Robinson, interview with author, Washing-ton, D.C., December 16, 2015.

42 Tyra Cotton and Dawn Smith, phone interview with

author, November 25, 2015.

43 DC Prep, “Child Care Subsidy Program Eligibility Guide”(2012), available at http://www.dcprep.org/uploads/file/final_-_child_care_subsidy_eligibility_guide_2012.pdf.

44 Pyper Davis, interview with author, Washington, D.C.,October 8, 2015.

45 Waynisha Wilson, interview with author, Washington,D.C., December 16, 2015.

46 Interview with author, Washington, D.C., December 16,2015.

47 Vaney King, interview with author, Washington, D.C.,December 16, 2015.

48 See, for example, Harvard University Center on theDeveloping Child, “ Tackling Toxic Stress,” available athttp://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-con-cepts/toxic-stress/tackling-toxic-stress/ (last accessedMarch 2016); American Academy of Pediatrics, “EarlyChildhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Role of thePediatrician: Training Developmental Science IntoLifelong Health” (2012), available at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/129/1/e224.full.pdf .

49 See, for example, Jack P. Shonkoff and others, “TheLifelong Effects of Early Childhood Adversity and ToxicStress” (Washington: American Academy of Pediatrics,2012), available at http:// pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/129/1/e232.full.pdf. See also AmarHamoudi and others, “Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress:A Review of Ecological, Biological, and DevelopmentalStudies of Self-Regulation and Stress” (Washington: Ad-

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50 Shankoff and others, “The Lifelong Effects of EarlyChildhood Adversity and Toxic Stress.”

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