What happens when grandma isn't around?

I often get calls from researchers, reporters, etc. regarding the common forms of child care. It is often quickly apparent that the standard definition of child care and the perceived and maybe even more "public" definition of child care very different.

I analyze child care used by both working and non-working mothers and broadly define child care providers under two groups: relative or nonrelative. Relatives includes mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, etc. Whereas nonrelatives includes babysitters, neighbors/friends, child care centers, nursery schools, etc.

I find the "public" perception of child care is usually limited to nonrelative care, namely organized child care such as centers and nursery/preschools. Certainly organized child care use has grown over the last twenty years, but relatives still play a vital role in helping working mothers. Grandparents prehaps play the biggest role. In 2005, 4.6 million preschoolers were cared for by their grandparents (Who's Minding the Kids: Spring 2005).

This brings me to Allison Gilbert's recent book, Parentless Parents. Gilbert examines how the lack of grandparents impacts families. Changes in fertility and mobility have made it increasingly likely that parents may not have access to their own parents to help look after their children or pass on family traditions. It's an interesting and often ignored issue. I suggest checking the book out, plus I think Gilbert cites me but I can't promise what I said was any near brilliant ;)

Comparing Measures: Child care costs, CPS, and SIPP

As part of the Census Bureau's mission to develop a supplemental poverty measure, a colleague and I recently completed a working paper comparing child care costs between the 2010 Current Population Survey's Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) and the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Child Care topical module.

The CPS ASEC is one of the main surveys used by the Census Bureau (and the bench mark for much of the federal government) to measure poverty. Child care expenses are an important part of the supplemental poverty measure and it is important that accurate data is collected. New questions regarding child care costs were added to the 2010 CPS ASEC. Our paper compare those results with SIPP (the best source of child care related expenses).

We found that costs estimates collected by CPS ASEC were similar to SIPP, with a few limitations.

The full paper can be found here.