Removing Barriers to Employment: The Child Care-Jobs Equation

Abstract

One of the critical concerns facing parents seeking employment is provision of adequate care for their children while they are at work. Employment and Training Institute surveys of central city Milwaukee female job seekers identified lack of child care as a primary barrier to employment, and a recent assessment of AFDC mothers with very young children found that most needed help finding and financing child care. It was expected that the influx of state and federal funds for child care support would increase the numbers of children receiving consistent, quality child care and that a number of central city residents might find family-supporting jobs offering child care to other families. This study examined the utilization of child care subsidies by low-income parents in Milwaukee County over a 21-month period from January 1996 through September 1997, analyzed payments to 2,826 providers of care and 31,863 child care placements, and reviewed AFDC, food stamp and medical assistance records in December 1995, September 1996 and June 1997 in order to assess use and type of child care subsidized in the county. It also explored the experience of adults offering provisional, certified and licensed child care to gauge income received for this work.