The Myth of a Child Care Crisis. The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder.
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| Title: | The Myth of a Child Care Crisis. The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder. |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Riedl, Brian M., Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC. |
| Availability: | Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4999. Tel: 202-546-4400; Fax: 202-546-8328; Web site: http://www.heritage.org. |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2003 |
| Intended Audience: | Policymakers |
| Document Type: | Opinion Papers Reports - Descriptive |
| Descriptors: | Child Care, Eligibility, Employed Parents, Federal Government, Federal Programs, Financial Support, Standards, Welfare Reform, Welfare Services |
| Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: | Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families |
| Abstract: | Although there has been a dramatic increase in child care funding since the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, some activists and members of Congress have argued that there remains a child care crisis. This paper asserts that many of the arguments concerning welfare and child care are outdated or misleading and presents evidence to discredit six persistent myths about child care in the United States. The myths concern the percentage of needy children receiving child care assistance, trends in government child care funding over the past decade, the need for appropriated new funds and increased costs for taxpayers in order to increase child care spending, whether states set excessively strict eligibility standards for child care subsidies, the amount of time eligible poor families wait for child care assistance, and the size of child care subsidies in comparison to child care costs. The report concludes by asserting that if welfare reform is to continue and expand, additional funding for child care must be provided but that most of this funding should come from savings that reform has generated in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program rather than from new congressional appropriations. Appended is information on funding sources of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), a breakdown of TANF and CCDF child care spending from 1992 to 2002, and classification of TANF and CCDF spending. (Contains 31 footnotes.) (KB) |
| Entry Date: | 2003 |
| Accession Number: | ED475628 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Although there has been a dramatic increase in child care funding since the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, some activists and members of Congress have argued that there remains a child care crisis. This paper asserts that many of the arguments concerning welfare and child care are outdated or misleading and presents evidence to discredit six persistent myths about child care in the United States. The myths concern the percentage of needy children receiving child care assistance, trends in government child care funding over the past decade, the need for appropriated new funds and increased costs for taxpayers in order to increase child care spending, whether states set excessively strict eligibility standards for child care subsidies, the amount of time eligible poor families wait for child care assistance, and the size of child care subsidies in comparison to child care costs. The report concludes by asserting that if welfare reform is to continue and expand, additional funding for child care must be provided but that most of this funding should come from savings that reform has generated in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program rather than from new congressional appropriations. Appended is information on funding sources of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), a breakdown of TANF and CCDF child care spending from 1992 to 2002, and classification of TANF and CCDF spending. (Contains 31 footnotes.) (KB) |
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