title: Child-care subsidies and school readiness in kindergarten.
abstract: The federal child-care subsidy program represents one of the government's largest investments in early care and education. Using data from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, this study examines associations, among subsidy-eligible families, between child-care subsidy receipt when children are 4 years old and a range of school readiness outcomes in kindergarten (sample n ≈ 1,400). Findings suggest that subsidy receipt in preschool is not directly linked to subsequent reading or social-emotional skills. However, subsidy receipt predicted lower math scores among children attending community-based centers. Supplementary analyses revealed that subsidies predicted greater use of center care, but this association did not appear to affect school readiness.
authors: Georgetown University.
authors: Anna D
authors: AD
authors: Johnson
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Martin
authors: Jeanne
authors: J
authors: Brooks-Gunn
mesh_terms: D002654:Child Care / Q000191:economics*; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011632:Public Assistance; D011932:Reading; D012578:Schools, Nursery; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology