Education and training are key determinants of economic mobility, yet low-income parents seeking to improve their skills are constrained by a lack of affordable child care. They may be eligible for subsidies from the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the largest source of public child care subsidies in the US, but states administering the program often prioritize working parents over those in school or training. What if child care subsidies could be guaranteed to all parents in education and training? What would be the impact on children and on their parents’ employment and income? These questions become urgent as parents in low-wage jobs face significant jobs losses and child care and school closures because of COVID-19.

To model these potential policy scenarios, Urban Institute researchers Gina Adams and Linda Giannarelli will estimate the effects of making child care subsidies available to all parents in education and training using microsimulation, a computer program that forecasts effects of new policy proposals. The researchers will estimate the number of additional children and families both nationally and in all 50 states who would receive subsidies if all parents in education and training could access them. Their findings will be critical to understanding the geographic, racial, and ethnic gaps in accessing federal child care subsidies and will inform policymaking and advocacy around the CCDF.