A Federal Agenda for Affordable, Quality Child Care


 

Publication Date: September 2009

Publisher: Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law; Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy

Author(s): Dan Lesser

Research Area: Labor

Keywords: childcare; employment

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Child care is essential for low-income parents who are working or seeking to enter the workforce. Affordable, quality child care not only promotes employment and economic stability for parents but also facilitates children' s cognitive and emotional development and prepares them to succeed academically when they start school. Because of the expense of child care, however, quality care is often inaccessible. To make work pay for low-income parents, the federal government should ensure affordable, quality child care for all families who need this support in order for parents to succeed in the workforce.