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Research and Innovative Approaches

Across the U.S., hundreds of communities are taking important steps to ensure sufficient, affordable, quality child care for all families. At the same time, researchers and advocates work to analyze existing programs and develop new solutions to our nation's most pressing child care issues. These materials describe other communities' work and provide links to further research.

Special journal issue

A special issue of the International Journal of Economic Development features a set of articles about child care and economic deveopment, and was edited by Mildred Warner.

Recent reports, articles, and briefs

Recent state and local reports

Recent PowerPoint presentations

Conference calls

  • On January 10, 2006, the Shared Services Learning Community held a conference call to explore various administrative approaches/governance strategies for shared service alliances. Handouts from the call are available here.

Child Care and Economic Development

Special Issue: International Journal of Economic Development
Volume 9 Numbers 3 and 4, 2007

Table of Contents

  • Warner, Mildred E., editor 2007. Child Care and Economic Development: Markets, Households and Public Policy, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(3): 111-121.
  • Davis, Elizabeth E., Marcie Jefferys, 2007. Child Care Subsidies, Low-Wage Work and Economic Development, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(3): 122-158.
  • Covington, Kenya, 2007. Evidence of Dynamic Geographic Shifts in Metropolitan Child Care Markets Over the 1990s, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(3):159-204.
  • Lim, Youngok, Diane Schilder, Ben Chauncey, 2007. Supporting Parents through Head Start-Child Care Center Partnerships, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(3): 205-238.
  • Pratt, James E. ,2007. An Input-Output Approach to Valuing Non-Market Household Time, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(4): 239-268.
  • Prentice, Susan, 2007. Childcare, the ÔBusiness CaseƠ and Economic Development: Canadian Evidence, Opportunities and Challenges, International Journal of Economic Development, 9(4): 269-300.
  • Sabo, Jason, 2007. Commentary: Dancing the Dance of Capitulation: The Economic Development Rationale and the Politics of Kids. International Journal of Economic Development, 9(4): 301-306.

Articulating the Economic Importance of Child Care for Community Development

Special Issue: Community Development: Journal of the Community Development Society
Volume 37 No 2, June 2006.

This special issue, edited by Mildred E. Warner, focuses on the economic significance of child care in three areas: the importance of child care for the long term prospects of children, child care’s importance for parents as workers and child care purchasers, the importance of the child care industry for regional economies.

The papers, by an interdisciplinary array of leading experts, address a range of issues, including:

  • concerns about the conceptual and methodological approaches to regional economic modeling.
  • parent child care choices and labor force participation.
  • the impact of early education on children.
  • core principles for more comprehensive policy.

The papers in this special issue were first presented at a workshop on ‘Articulating the Economic Significance of Child Care’, held at Cornell University on May 17-18, 2005, and supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The broad contributions of this array of experts make this special issue useful and exciting.

Table of Contents

For a free copy of this special issue, send your name and address to taschelling@smartstart-nc.org at the Smart Start National Technical Assistance Center.

Other Work

  • The database of Child Care Economic Impact studies contains information about completed and in-progress studies across the United States and Canada.
  • Innovative Approaches. A fact sheet on what's going on in child care finance in other areas.
  • Financing Child Care. A summary of a report by Ann Mitchell, Louise Stoney, and Harriett Dichter on public and private child care financing strategies throughout the U.S.
  • Looking Into New Mirrors. A summary of a Louise Stoney paper describing financing and provider network strategies from other policy fields, including health care, higher education, transportation, and housing.
  • Annotated Bibliography. Research on child care policy.
  • Websites. Links to sources of child care data and useful websites.

Two Rationales for Greater Investment in Child Care

There is a need for greater investment in a care system in the United States. Both Harrington and Helburn and Bergmann’s books present different rationales for this investment. Harrington approaches the issue as a societal ideological problem. Presently, care is seen as a private family problem rather than a systemic public responsibility. Traditionally, the burden of family care has fallen on women’s shoulders, impeding their quest for equality. Harrington asserts that until care is viewed as a systemic societal issue, women will not achieve economic or opportunity equality. She describes the political bases and the ideological moves necessary for altering these pervasive ideologies. Although they conclude with the same recommendation of increased public investment, Helburn and Bergmann approach the issue in a different light. Specifically focused on child care, the authors state that high quality child care is a merit good, resulting in benefits for society as a whole, and thus it is in society’s best interest to invest in high quality, affordable child care. Rather than centering on politics, Helburn and Bergmann focus on the market failures inherent in the structure of the child care sector and how to address these problems.