FNS Research Corner provides a continuing series to summarize recently completed and current research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the area of Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs). Summaries of recently completed research projects and in-progress research are provided in this article.

Policymakers, child care providers, and parents face tradeoffs in determining how much to spend on child care, including how many hours to purchase, and the features of programs that might influence quality. Given these tradeoffs, it is useful to understand what constitutes quality, the cost of care features associated with quality, the effects of…

We tested the cost-effectiveness of giving low-income parents childcare discounts contingent on their participation in the Chicago Parent Program, a 12-session preventive parent training (PT) program offered at their child's daycare center. Eight centers were matched and randomized to an experimental condition in which parents received a discount…

There are an estimated 167,000 children in early care and education programs in Massachusetts. In 2000, the state department of education commissioned a study of the cost and quality of early care and education in the state. This report and executive summary are the first from the study, addressing early care and education for preschool-aged…

Suggests that cost-benefit analysis can be a helpful tool for assessing difficult and complex problems in child care facilities. Defines cost-benefit analysis as an approach to determine the most economical way to manage a program, describes how to analyze costs and benefits through hypothetical scenarios, and discusses some of the problems…