Many low-income working parents rely on subsidized child care. The Illinois Child Care Assistance Program supports qualifying families in their work or school attendance. Many of these families may be unable to afford market-rate child care. Examining parents' income and employment patterns can guide policymakers to optimally structure subsidized…

Regular school attendance is associated with student academic achievement, while chronic absenteeism is a growing problem negatively associated with academic and socioemotional outcomes. While research has documented the significant influence of family socioeconomic conditions on student attendance, there is little empirical evidence documenting…

Participants (N = 226; M[subscript age] = 27.2) completed questionnaires about their care history, attitudes toward non-parental care and maternal employment, their preference for working from home, and demographic characteristics. Overall, attitudes toward non-parental care and maternal employment skewed in a positive direction. More time spent…

Many low-income working parents rely on subsidized child care. The Illinois Child Care Assistance Program supports qualifying families to work or attend school, many of whom may be unable to afford market-rate child care. Examining parents' income and employment patterns can guide policymakers to optimally structure subsidized child care to…

Despite its importance for career development, previous cross-sectional studies have shown that individuals are reluctant to consider continuing education (CE) engagement because of family responsibilities. To prospectively test these associations, a longitudinal dataset consisting of, respectively, 548 and 809 working mothers and fathers (with…

Many low-income working parents rely on subsidized child care. The Illinois Child Care Assistance Program supports qualifying families in working or attending school, many of whom may be unable to afford market-rate child care. Examining parents' income and employment patterns can guide policymakers to optimally structure subsidized child care to…

In the United States, most mothers work during pregnancy. Yet, until the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in 2022, pregnant employees did not have a right to reasonable accommodations to work under safe conditions. This law is expected to increase employment among pregnant women, making it critical to understand the effects of work…

The study aimed to determine the level of involvement of working parents and the level of seriousness of the problems they encountered in modular distance learning. It sought to test whether there is a significant relationship between the academic achievement of the students and their parents' level of involvement. This study utilized a…

This instrumental case study explores the messages STEM postdoctoral scholar women received and understood from faculty about having children and an academic career. Of concern, women with children are less likely than men with children or individuals without children to be offered tenure-track positions or to be promoted. This reality suggests…

This technical brief contains information about data sources and methodology for the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) three-part brief series focused on the employment and earnings of parents participating in the CCAP program.

Purpose: Caregiving often presents challenges for parents, particularly for parents of loved ones with disabilities or health challenges, who need and/or want to be employed. This study describes the employment experiences of aging parents as they continue to balance engagement in the paid workforce with the ongoing provision of care for their…

This study investigates the material-discursive contexts available for lactation-pumping--amongst U.S. teachers who wish to continue nursing [a] child(ren) upon returning full-time to the classroom. Guided by critical feminist methodologies, I conducted interviews and focus groups with 11 teacher-parents who chose to lactate or nurse their infants…

To effectively cultivate systems of equity, it is important to not only understand the experiences of those who are most affected by inequity but also of those who are in positions of power and privilege. This study explores how faculty men with children navigated the pandemic experience. Two major thematic findings emerged including 'Not (as)…

"Raising a Nation" offers a new framework for thinking about a comprehensive, inclusive child care system: one that supports families in all their diversity, whether they want to utilize a licensed child care program, family member, or have a parent as the primary child care provider. Thanks to a history of neglect, child care in America…

Child Care in State Economies (2024) is a three-part series examining the current status of the paid child care industry in the U.S. The reports provide policymakers and other stakeholders with a detailed update on the status of the paid child care industry following unprecedented disruption during the recent COVID-19 public health pandemic. This…