Compared to unpaid leave, paid family leave may better help working parents balance the competing needs of job and family early in a child's life, among other advantages. Yet the United States remains one of only two countries in the world without a statutory national paid maternity leave policy, and one of the only high-income countries that…

Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) is working to make high-quality voluntary preschool universally accessible to every 4-year-old in Los Angeles County by building upon the existing early care and education system. This brief provides a snapshot of children and families participating in LAUP center-based programs in the fall of 2007, at the…

Some 26 Mexican American families of East Los Angeles having children in Head Start responded to a questionnaire gathering data on birthplace, family income, number of individuals in the home, and pregnancy history of the mothers. Questionnaire results recorded in this document indicate that 46% of the mothers and 35% of the fathers were born in…

This study examines the specific economic impact on the cost to government of subsidized child care and development services. Data were collected from all 295 families who used Valley Child Care services for more than six months, over a period of two and a half years. The data and results indicated significant economic effects of providing…

Rising maternal employment, welfare reform, and increased preschool enrollment contribute to accelerating family demand for child care in California, and federal and state governments have responded by doubling support for child care and preschool programs between 1996 and 1999. However, there is little information available on how child care…