Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst

Three new studies provide additional evidence of the importance of early childhood investments for ensuring children’s successful development and future well-being.

A study published in the journal Child Development found that children whose families received child care assistance were able to attend higher-quality child care than children whose families were eligible for, but did not receive, child care assistance. Given that that higher-quality care can help boost children’s growth and learning, this new study shows the importance of helping more low-income families pay for child care so they can afford good options. However, the study also found that the quality of care used by families receiving child care assistance was not as high as the quality of care for families using Head Start and public prekindergarten programs, suggesting that even more can be done to improve families’ access to high-quality care.

This blog post is a part of NWLC’s Mother’s Day 2012 blog series. For all our Mother’s Day posts, please click here.

As mothers across the country celebrate Mother’s Day with their children this Sunday, many will be enjoying their time together with their daughters and sons. But many mothers who have young children and work outside the home will be looking ahead to the work week with trepidation, worrying about their child care arrangements.

Some mothers will be fortunate enough to have grandparents or relatives available and willing to provide child care—just like my brother and sister, who have children ranging in ages from 3 to 14, are able to rely on our Mom and Dad to provide care and after-school pick-ups and drop-offs. Some mothers earn enough to afford high-quality, dependable child care in a center or family child care home, where their children receive plenty of attention, nurturing, support, and opportunities to learn. And some mothers are able to receive child care assistance to help them afford the care they want for their children and that they need to work and to have peace of mind while at work.

Yet, many other mothers do not have any good child care options. In many cases, grandparents and relatives live far away, have to work themselves, or are not available to provide care for other reasons. Mothers often are not able to find conveniently located, high-quality child care with slots available, or are not able to find child care that covers their work hours—particularly if they work hours other than the traditional 9am to 5pm. Or they may find a terrific child care program, but are not able to afford it.