Benefits cliffs refer to the sudden and often unexpected decrease in public benefits that can occur with a small increase in earnings. This happens when families receive benefits through a public assistance program, earn a raise, and then become ineligible to continue receiving benefits despite being unable to sustain their household. This National Conference of State Legislatures report provides an overview on the Federal income eligibility requirements for public assistance programs, including housing assistance, utility assistance, food and nutrition assistance, direct cash assistance, child care, and health insurance. Additionally, it highlights work requirements for these public assistance programs and state policy strategies and legislation related to benefit cliffs.

Latino parents with low incomes were especially hard-hit by COVID-19 pandemic-related closures and disruptions to their jobs and to their childcare arrangements — challenges exacerbated by Hispanic workers’ structural concentration within industries and occupations that offer few benefits and flexibilities needed to respond to childcare disruptions. This Hispanic Research Center brief presents findings on employment patterns among these parents and on workplace flexibilities adopted (or not) by the industries in which they are employed and discusses potential programmatic and policy interventions to support family well-being and childcare needs moving forward.

Guaranteed income programs represent a promising avenue for supporting the health and well-being of families with low incomes who have young children by providing them with direct unrestricted cash payments. However, participation in a guaranteed income program can inadvertently affect a family’s eligibility for childcare subsidies and other social safety net benefits. This Child Trends brief presents information on the benefits of guaranteed income programs and the importance of protecting childcare benefits for families receiving a guaranteed income. Additionally, it provides recommendations for protecting access to childcare subsidies.

Many effective services promote healthy development in early childhood and support families’ well-being that are located across sectors. These include high-quality childcare and early education (CCEE), and support for other family health, educational, and financial needs. It can be challenging for families to benefit from all these services because they all function separately, typically in different locations and with differing eligibility, enrollment, and service provision requirements. Potential roadblocks can exacerbate disparities because they affect marginalized families the most. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation study provided an in-depth look at different approaches to coordinating CCEE with other health and human services.

Finding and maintaining quality childcare is a challenge for many parents, and those living in low-income households often face even more obstacles. The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison will host a virtual session on October 4, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to introduce and discuss the current landscape of early care and education (ECE) as it pertains to low-income families. The panel will focus on policies and practices that offer support to low-income parents, an assessment of the current childcare subsidy program, and potential future measures could help to ensure access to affordable, high-quality ECE for all.

The federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), administered through individual states, subsidizes access to affordable early care and education for families with low incomes. CCDF subsidies can support parents’ ability to work and positively impact their children’s early development. Many Latino families tend to have high rates of parental employment but low levels of income. Latino families are underserved by the CCDF program in most states and could stand to benefit from these subsidies. This National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families brief is a part of a series focused on Latino families’ access to social assistance. This resource aims to improve understanding on families’ access to subsidies in California, including barriers and facilitators.

Stable and reliable childcare enables parents and caregivers to work, attend school, or pursue other opportunities that support family economic growth. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the primary source of federal funding that helps families with low incomes access childcare. This Center for Law and Social Policy brief offers states ways to improve childcare access within the confines of the current system. It focuses on policies surrounding financial assistance for childcare and notes that states can choose to use funds from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for childcare.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau protects the interests of working women, advocates for their equality and economic security, and promotes quality work environments. The Women’s Bureau is hosting a virtual event on June 28, 2023, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. Participants will learn about innovative public and private partnerships with employers to support childcare needs, as well as federal resources to build stronger investments in childcare supply and access.

As Millennials and Gen Z employees begin to dominate the workforce, they will demand economic security and stability and workplace freedom and flexibility. This blogpost discusses how these workforce changes will necessitate a thoughtful design of the services needed to support employers and employees, including options for child care. The post summarizes available data and research on the changing nature of workplaces, workers, and the issues impacting our nation’s economic success, and reflects on how a reimagined child care and early education system can better meet these changes.

Currently, almost 5 million (or about one-third of) children younger than age 6 living in families with working parents have parents who work before 7:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. on weekdays or on weekends. Further, children of color, children in families with low incomes, and children in single-parent families are disproportionately likely to have parents working these hours. However, very little is known about what child care arrangements these parents want during nontraditional hours or about the policy constraints and opportunities that may affect their ability to access the care they want.

This report presents findings from a mixed methods study of parents in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and Oklahoma that explores the following questions:

• What do we know about the potential demand for child care during nontraditional hours?
• What child care arrangements do parents of young children recommend and use for nontraditional hours?
• What role do children’s needs play in shaping parents’ recommendations for nontraditional hour child care?
• What other constraints and issues do parents report concerning nontraditional-hour child care?
• What are the implications of the answers to these questions for policy and practice?