Toward a Childcare Inclusive Poverty Measure

Childcare is a major need for all families with children in the United States, yet the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) only accounts for parents’ childcare needs by treating childcare expenses as a nondiscretionary expense for parents who work in the labor market. In reality, all families with children have a need for childcare. In this working paper, we attempt to create a “Childcare Inclusive” poverty measure, following recommendations put forward by a 2023 National Academies of Sciences report on improving the SPM. We identify a number of conceptual and empirical issues that would need to be overcome before instituting a fully childcare inclusive poverty measure. Our goal in the creation and evaluation of such a measure is to help inform the Census’ eventual consideration of a childcare inclusive measure going forward. A childcare inclusive measure, if properly constructed, would better illuminate the role that childcare subsidies like childcare vouchers and Head Start play in reducing child and family poverty.