Maternal Employment, Community Contexts, and the Child-Care Arrangements of Diverse Groups

Integrating family and child data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort with contextual data from the Census, this study examined associations among maternal employment, aspects of communities related to child care supply and demand, and the early care and education arrangements of 4-year-olds in Mexican-origin, black, and white families. Children with employed mothers were more likely to be in informal care arrangements than in early childhood education, regardless of racial/ethnic background. For children in Mexican-origin families, selection into informal care over early childhood education was more likely in zip codes with greater demand for care as measured by higher female employment. Utilization of parent care versus early childhood education was also more likely for children in Mexican-origin and black families in zip codes with higher female employment. Constraints associated with maternal employment thus hindered children from enrolling in early childhood education, and community contexts posed challenges for some groups.