The Effects of Child Care Subsidies on Maternal Labor Force Participation in the United States

Research generally has demonstrated the employment benefits of providing child care.  However, much of the existing research on child care policies on parental labor force participation was conducted prior to the early 2000s or in non-U.S. contexts.  This brief provides policymakers and researchers with new evidence from a study of the effects of child care subsidy policies in the United States on maternal labor force participation and employment. Higher child care state level subsidy expenditures were found to significantly increase labor force participation and employment rates of low-income mothers.  A 10 percent increase in per child Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) expenditures corresponds to between half and two-thirds of a percent increase in employment among low-income women with young children.