The Role of Child-Care Subsidies in the Lives of Low-Income Children

In the United States, federally funded child-care subsidies offer a unique opportunity to influence low-income children's early education and, in so doing, affect their development. To understand the role of child-care subsidies in children's lives, we must answer the following questions about their impact: How does receiving subsidies affect (a) the type of care children receive, (b) the quality of care children receive, and (c) their developmental outcomes? Theoretically, the answers to these questions should cohere, yet they do not; though subsidies increase exposure to the type and quality of care known to predict more optimal outcomes for children, the direct effect of subsidies on outcomes has been null or negative. In this article, we review research on child-care subsidies to describe its inconsistencies and offer explanations, a timely endeavor in light of the 2014 reauthorization of legislation on child-care subsidies.