What are parents’ views on child care? 

Child Trends, a national research organization, decided to find out. 

Staff at the organization’s newly launched ECE Access Center designed a survey that was administered nationally to parents with children who are younger than 6. 

“The survey used a measure called the Misalignment Index,” Child Trends explains on its website, “which identifies the gap between the care families need and want and the care they are using. The Misalignment Index offers a practical tool for understanding where current child care systems and policies could be strengthened to improve access to the types of care families seek.”

The survey results are discussed in this research brief. 

Among the key findings: 

• “Almost two thirds of families using any type of paid or unpaid nonparental child care arrangement (64%) reported moderate to high misalignment between their current child care arrangement and their family’s needs and preferences.”

• “Affordability is not the only challenge families face. Families also seek care that simultaneously meets multiple needs—in addition to cost—such as quality and location.”

• “The primary drivers of families’ searches for new care arrangements are affordability (40%), finding a program that better supports their child’s learning (35%), and proximity to home or work (28%).”

• “Families with lower incomes who did not have access to a child care subsidy face an especially constrained set of choices in finding care that meets their non-negotiable needs.”

The brief also three takeaways for policymakers: 

• “Affordability is a widespread barrier with unequal impacts,” especially for families with lower incomes 

• To improve access to child care, policymakers should have a better understanding of the families’ experiences and challenges with accessing child care, and 

• “Misalignment can contribute to changes in child care arrangements, which can create instability for parents, children, and child care providers.”

To learn more, check out the brief.