Effects of Center-Based Child Care on Disadvantaged Children: Evidence from a Randomized Research Design

Chris M. Herbst ()
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Chris M. Herbst: Arizona State University

No 17430, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper uses the random assignment of poor families to treatment and control conditions in the Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) to isolate the causal effect of center-based child care enrollment on child well-being. Operating throughout the early-1990's, the CCDP demonstration aimed to improve child development and family functioning by offering those in the treatment group five years of high-quality child care along with case management. As a result, treated children were substantially more likely to be enrolled in center-based programs throughout the preschool-age years, and I use this variation to estimate the impact of center care on children's language and social skills as well as health. I uncover mixed results: more time spent in center-based settings improves language skills but reduces social skills in the short-run, and both effects fade-out for most children within one to two years. I also find that early center care use is strongly predictive of later Head Start enrollment, indicating that a more deliberate "family retention strategy" may be effective at lengthening children's exposure to high-quality early education.

Keywords: child care; child development; maternal employment; instrumental variables (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 50 pages
Date: 2024-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-mac
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