The Child Care Workforce
How Many Is Enough? Estimating the Size of the Child Care Workforce
HSPC has conducted several studies of the child care workforce. In partnership with the Center for the Child Care Workforce, we used a demand-based methodology to estimate the size and components of the U.S. child care workforce, including family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care. Comparing our estimates to the most readily available national data sources, we found that we had captured portions of the workforce – especially paid and unpaid FFN caregivers – that had previously been missed. In a subsequent study funded by the Federal Administration for Children, Youth, and Families, HSPC reviewed state child care workforce data sources, compared our state-level estimates to estimates generated by those sources, and recommended strategies for improving state child care workforce data collection.
In addition, HSPC produced a description of the child care industry and working parents in Washington State, and co-sponsored a forum on the economic impacts of Washington's child care industry.
