Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst

Karen Schulman is a Senior Policy Analyst in NWLC's Family Economic Security division. She researches and writes about child care and early education policies. She received her bachelor's degree from Williams College and her master's degree in Public Policy from Duke University. Prior to joining NWLC, she worked at the Children's Defense Fund. She enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews and is glad they will grow up thinking there is nothing unusual about a woman being Speaker of the House or running for President.

Expert in: Child Care & Early Learning, Child Care, Head Start, Child Care Assistance, Prekindergarten, Child Care Tax Strategies, Family, Friend & Neighbor Care, Military Child Care, Unionization
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My Take

Support for Child Care Across the Spectrum

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: January 25, 2012 at 04:07 pm

Child care got favorable and somewhat unexpected mentions on Tuesday from two conservative-leaning commentators—co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

During a segment about the best companies to work for, Scarborough brought up—without prompting—the benefits for employees when companies provide on-site child care. Scarborough talked about how reassuring it can be for parents to know that their children are well cared-for while they work, and close enough to visit anytime during the day. He is certainly correct about how valuable on-site child care can be. Unfortunately, it is not an option for most parents. Many parents work for employers that are too small to support an on-site center. Many parents also work multiple part-time jobs and would not find it practical to move their child from one place to another as they moved from job to job throughout the day. And, as Scarborough’s co-host Mika Brzezinski points out, on-site child care may not be convenient for parents with school-age children, since they would need to find a way to get their children from school in the middle of the day.

But if employers cannot offer child care on site or doing so would not meet their employees’ needs, they can support child care in other ways. 

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Tags: Child Care, Child Care & Early Learning, MSNBC | Add new comment

Media Spotlight on Child Care, Finally

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: January 19, 2012 at 05:40 pm

Child care is an everyday concern for families, but on most days it is overlooked by the media. In the past few months, though, that's started to change, as the New York Times, AP, and CNN have all done stories about the child care funding cuts occurring across the country. These stories, which include quotes from NWLC's Director of Leadership and Public Policy, Helen Blank, and data from NWLC's October 2011 report on state child care assistance policies, examine child care cuts and the resulting hardships for low-income families unable to receive help paying for child care.

In addition, the New York Times wrote about child care for parents working evenings, nights, and early morning hours, and the Huffington Post published a column on the decline in the availability of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for child care.

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Tags: Child Care, Child Care & Early Learning, Child Care Assistance | Add new comment

Child Care for Parents Working 9 (at Night) to 5 (in the Morning)

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: January 18, 2012 at 02:36 pm

Many parents take whatever work they can find, no matter what the hours, particularly in today’s economy. As a result, a significant proportion of parents—especially parents in low-wage jobs—are now working evening, night, and weekend hours. These parents need reliable care for their children during these hours, but this is typically hard to find. However, there are some signs that the market may be starting to respond to this growing need, with an increasing number of centers operating during nontraditional hours, according to an article this week in the New York Times.

The article describes the juggling act that a number of parents must do as they try to keep their jobs—as waitresses, cooks, and nursing home employees and doing other work involving late-night and early-morning hours. They have some misgivings about having their children cared for out of the home overnight, but are reassured when they find child care centers or other arrangements providing reliable, good-quality care during nontraditional hours.

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Tags: Child Care, Child Care & Early Learning, Early Childhood Education, The New York Times, Child Care Assistance | Add new comment

Child Care Cuts Continue in 2012

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: January 17, 2012 at 06:16 pm

As 2012 begins, states are continuing to make, or propose, cuts to child care. Maryland’s waiting list for child care assistance, started last year, has grown to over 14,000 children. California’s governor has proposed to reduce spending for child care and early education by $517 million, which would deprive 62,000 children of the opportunity to participate in these programs. Washington’s governor has proposed to cut funding for child care assistance by $50 million, which would result in 4,000 fewer children receiving help.

A CNN story aired this weekend demonstrates what these cuts mean for parents who need help affording child care so they can hold onto their jobs and make sure their children are in care that nurtures their growth and learning.

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Tags: Child Care, Child Care, Early Childhood Education, TANF, Child Care Assistance | 4 comments

NY Times: Child Care Assistance Declining as Need Rises

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: December 14, 2011 at 01:35 pm

 “There’s a long history of recognition that child care is essential to helping low-income women work. That commitment is being eroded.” - Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy at the National Women’s Law Center, quoted in the NY Times 

A front-page story in today’s New York Times, citing NWLC’s recent report and its finding that child care assistance has eroded in 37 states, shows the impact of this for families across the country. A mother on the waiting list for assistance in Virginia has her daughter spend her after-school hours with her grandmother while the grandmother does her job driving a bus across the city. A mother on the waiting list in Maryland uses a patchwork of arrangements—including a grandmother in ill health—that often fall through, forcing her to miss work and lose pay. A mother in Pennsylvania receives child care assistance, but constantly worries about losing her job, losing her assistance, and being placed at the end of a long waiting list before she could receive it again.

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Tags: Child Care, Child Care, The New York Times, Child Care Assistance | Add new comment