Our childcare research examines the impact of public investments in childcare and efforts to make high-quality childcare more affordable for families with children. We examine the effect of childcare policies on poverty, employment and earnings, gender and racial inequality, children’s long-term outcomes, and more. We explore the impact of existing and proposed policies at the federal and state level, and in New York City.
Research
2025
- Toward a childcare inclusive poverty measure, working paper—Aug 2025
2023
- Effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on household spending: Estimates based on U.S. consumer expenditure survey data, National Bureau of Economic Research working paper—June 2023
- Related earlier version: Effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on household spending: Estimates based on U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics working paper—Apr 2022
2022
- The effects of the 2021 monthly Child Tax Credit on child and family well-being: Evidence from New York City, Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World—Dec 2022
- A benefit-cost analysis of child care subsidy expansions: The New York State case, working paper—Dec 2022
- Paying for child care to work? Evaluating the role of policy in affordable care and child poverty, Social Service Review—Mar 2022
2019
- Gender in the labor market: The role of equal opportunity and family-friendly policies, The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences—Dec 2019
2018
- Young child poverty in the United States: Analyzing trends in poverty and the role of anti-poverty programs, Children and Youth Services Review—Mar 2018
2023
- Too little, too late: An assessment of public spending on children by age in 84 countries, with UNICEF Innocenti - Global Office of Research and Foresight—June 2023
2021
- A lifetime's worth of benefits: The effects of affordable, high-quality child care on family income, the gender earnings gap, and women’s retirement security, with National Women's Law Center—Sept 2021
- The potential poverty reduction effect of the American Families Plan—Apr 2021
- The potential poverty reduction effect of the American Rescue Plan—Mar 2021
2019
2026
- Universal child care as anti-poverty policy: Assessing the potential impacts of universal 2-K and 3-K—May 2026
- Spotlight on: Childcare hardship among NYC parents—May 2026
2025
- Childcare hardship in NYC: Preliminary findings from the Poverty Tracker—Jan 2026
- Why stability is so hard to maintain: Stories of economic peaks and valleys—Jan 2026
2024
- Spotlight on: Home-based child care in NYC in the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker—Sept 2024
- Spotlight on: Child care-related work disruption in the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker—Sept 2024
- Portrait of disadvantage among women in New York City in 2022—Mar 2024
2023
- New York City’s 3-K for All supports mothers’ labor force participation—Sept 2023
- Spotlight on early childhood education: Participation in New York City’s 3-K for All program—Apr 2023
- Spotlight on early childhood education: Participation in Pre-K before and during the COVID-19 pandemic—Apr 2023
2022
- The effects of the 2021 monthly Child Tax Credit on child and family well-being: Evidence from New York City, Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World—Dec 2022
2021
2019
2018
The Poverty Tracker is a joint project with Robin Hood