Transcript Document

Working Mothers, Child Care Usage and The Community Context
Lynda Laughlin, Temple University
This project is funded by the Child Care Bureau of the U.S. DHHS
Table 2. Logistic Model Predicting Use of Formal or Kith and
Kin Care (Significant Coefficients Only)
Research Questions and Data
This study uses new quantitative data from The Philadelphia Survey
of Child Care and Work to examine the following questions:
How does the supply of licensed child center care slots vary across
Philadelphia neighborhoods?
How does a mother’s proximity to licensed child care centers
influence her child care usage?
What social and economic factors effect the types of child care
mothers use while they work?
 The Philadelphia Survey of Child Care and Work (Press & Fagan
2003) is a one hour, quantitative, door-to-door survey of 1,070
mothers with children under age 13 living in Philadelphia. The subsample for this poster includes 584 mothers with at least one child 6
or younger who is not enrolled in school.
Dependent Variable: Type of Child Care
The child care arrangement the child spent the most time in
was dichotomized into formal or kith and kin child care.
Formal Care (center/nursery/Head Start) – 30%
*p<.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001
1.99
17%
24%
2.00
15%
34%
1.97
18%
20%
28%
1.81 (.72)
1.79 (.65)
46%
32%
31%
1.78 (.73)
1.83 (.67)
44%
30%
27%
1.83 (.72)
1.78 (.64)
47%
33%
92.8
.31
415
Black (white omitted)
Less than high school (msh omitted)
Mother’s Job Characteristics
1.07***
-.86*
.45†
Bus to work
Mother’s Resources
Child care subsidy
Neighborhood Characteristics
High poverty tract
Neighborhood safety
Availability of Child Care
CC center slots within a quarter mile
Child/Adult ratio in tract
Household size
Table 1. Selected Sample Means for Total Sample and by Type of Child Care
Total
Formal
Kith & Kin
Household Characteristics
Household size (Mean)***
4.16
3.74
4.34
Number of children under age 13 (Mean)*
1.91
1.73
2.00
Age of youngest child in care (Mean)
2.8
2.84
2.71
Yearly Household Income (Mean)***
$35,761
$42,071
$32,997
Mother’s Characteristics
Married
44%
42%
45%
Black***
41%
57%
34%
Hispanic***
29%
17%
35%
White
30%
26%
31%
Less than high school**
22%
14%
26%
High school
55%
54%
56%
More than high school***
23%
32%
17%
Mother’s Job Characteristics
Number of hours worked: mean
32.16
33.0
32.0
Travel time to work: mean
30.0
31.0
29.3
Job flexibility: mean
17.46
17.84
17.29
Bus to work
34%
37%
33%
77.8
.35
584
B
-.33***
.00*
Adjusted R-Squared
† p < .10; *p<.05; **p,.01; ***p<.001 (only selected coefficients shown)
Kith & Kin (relative/friend/neighbor) – 70%
Mother’s Resources
Network size: mean
Welfare
Child care subsidy***
Neighborhood Characteristics
High poverty tract
Neighborhood quality (1=better, 3=worse)
Neighborhood safety (1=better, 3=worse)
Someone in neighborhood helps with child care
Someone in the neighborhood is a relative
Availability of Child Care
Child care center slots within a quarter mile: mean*
Ratio of children to adults: mean ***
N
Household Characteristics
Household size
Yearly Household Income
Mother’s Characteristics
71.5
.36
179
1.70***
.90**
.60*
.02*
-3.56*
.21***
Results & Discussion
Proximity to Child Care Centers
The distribution of child care center slots are unevenly distributed across the city of
Philadelphia (see Fig.1). The average number of child care center slots per Census tract is 114.
While the assumption may be that mothers in high poverty neighborhoods will lack access to
child care centers, the opposite is true for this sub-sample of mothers. The average number of
child care center slots available within a 15 to 20 minute walk (about ¼ mile) for mothers in
high poverty neighborhoods is 115. While the average number of child care center slots
available to mothers in low poverty areas is 73.
 Although there may be a larger number of child care center slots available to mothers in
high poverty areas, we know little about the quality of these facilities and if families in these
areas can afford this type of care.
Formal vs. Kith and Kin
There are several statistically significant differences between mothers who use formal child
care compared to mothers who use kith & kin care (see Table 1). Specifically, Black mothers
are more likely to use formal care, while Hispanic mothers are more likely to use kith & kin.
Families with a larger household income are more likely to use formal care, while mothers
with larger households are more likely to use kith & kin.
Multivariate Analysis: Who is More Likely to Use Formal or Kith & Kin Child
Care?
Formal Child Care: Larger household income, Black mothers, mothers who take the bus to
work, child care subsidy recipients, live in a high poverty neighborhood, perceive
neighborhood as less safe, and access to a greater number of child care center slots within a ¼
mile.
Kith and Kin: Larger households, mothers with less than a high school education, and
mothers in areas with a larger ratio of children to adults.