The impact of child care subsidies on low-income single parents: An examination of child care expenditures and family finances

Evidence regarding the degree to which child care subsidies support low-income, employed parents' financial resources is lacking. This study used two samples to evaluate the impact of child care subsidies on parents' child care payments and the percentage of household income spent on child care. Cross-sectional and longitudinal multivariate models were supplemented with descriptive information on parents' perceptions of the impacts of child care costs and child care subsidies on family finances. Child care subsidies were found to reduce child care costs by a small but statistically significant amount. Approximately half of parents who received a subsidy reported that it positively affected their financial well-being, allowing them to afford non-child care services, save money, and pay bills or debts. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.