Connecticut RAPID Survey 1

Child Care Access

May 2025


Lower-Income Families and Latino Families were Less Likely to Seek Non-Parental Child Care

Seventy-five percent (75%) of respondents reported having ever looked for non-parental care for a child under 6 years old. This percentage differed by parents’ race/ethnicity and income level.

Only fifty-six percent (56%) of respondents with household incomes under 30% of the State Median Income (SMI) - $39,955 for a family of four - reported ever seeking non-parental care for a child under 6 years old. In comparison, about eighty-five percent (85%) of respondents with household incomes above 60% of SMI - $79,910 for a family of four - had sought non-parental care.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of Latino respondents reported having ever searched for non-parental child care for a child under 6 years old, compared to eighty-two percent (82%) percent of White respondents.

Since race/ethnicity was associated with household income, we also examined whether race/ethnicity and household income independently predicted the likelihood of seeking non-parental child care when accounting for the relationship between the two. We did this using a statistical model called logistic regression. This analysis revealed that both race/ethnicity and household income independently predicted the likelihood of seeking non-parental child care, even when accounting for their association with each other. White respondents were more likely to seek non-parental care and Latino respondents were less likely, even accounting for group differences in income. Likewise, lower-income respondents were less likely to seek non-parental care and higher-income respondents were more likely, even accounting for group differences in race and ethnicity. Thus, both income constraints and race/ethnicity appear to play a role in families’ decisions to seek non-parental care for their children.


Lower-Income Families Were Less Likely to Have a Child Currently Receiving Non-Parental Care

Respondents were asked whether they have used non-parental care for each of their young children in the past month. Overall, only 59% of non-school-aged children (that is, children who were not yet old enough to enroll in kindergarten) had received non-parental care in the past month.

Among all parents who responded to the survey, 64% reported having at least one non-school-aged child in non-parental care in the past month. However, the likelihood of having any child in non-parental care differed by parents’ income level and race/ethnicity.

Among families with incomes less than 30% of the SMI for their household size - $39,955 for a family of four - only thirty-nine percent (39%) reported that any child had received non-parental care in the past month.

In contrast, seventy-six percent (76%) of families with incomes between 60% and 85% of the SMI ($79,910 to $113,206 for a family of four), and seventy-eight percent (78%) of families with incomes greater than 85% of the SMI, reported that any child had received non-parental care in the past month.

Latino respondents were also significantly less likely to report that any child had received non-parental care in the past month (49%). In contrast, seventy-two percent (72%) of White families reported that any child had received non-parental care that month, which was significantly higher than the average.

Taking into account the association between race/ethnicity and household income, we found that the lower likelihood of using non-parental care specifically among Latino respondents was accounted for by their tendency to have lower household incomes. Only White respondents had rates of child care usage that were significantly different from the mean across racial/ethnic groups after accounting for group differences in household income. This suggests that the rate at which Latino families actually enroll their children in non-parental care (as opposed to just looking for care) is driven primarily by income constraints, whereas the increased rate of enrolling children in care for White families is not entirely accounted for by their tendency to have higher incomes.


Many Families Have Difficulty Finding Child Care

The limited availability of child care slots is a significant challenge for Connecticut’s parents. Among parents who had looked for a spot in a center- or home-based child care program in the past year, half (50%) reported having difficulty finding a space. This was the same regardless of parents’ race and ethnicity or household income.

Among families who had searched for programs offering sliding scale fees or free/reduced tuition, fifty-four percent (54%) reported that they’d had difficulty finding a space, compared to forty-five percent (45%) of families who had not looked for free- or reduced-tuition programs (a statistically significant difference). This is likely due to lower supply and/or longer waiting lists for these programs, which offer a more affordable child care option for families.

Parents of children with disabilities faced even greater challenges finding child care. Among the 181 respondents who had a child with a disability and who had ever searched for child care, sixty-nine percent (69%) reported that they have had difficulty finding a child care provider who can meet the needs of their child(ren) with a disability. Nearly half (48%) reported “some difficulty” and one out of five (20%) reported “great difficulty.”

Among the 230 parents who reported speaking a primary language other than English in the home, forty-four percent (44%) reported having difficulty finding a child care provider who speaks the same language as them.


Nearly One Third of Families Spend Three Months or Longer Looking for Child Care

For each child who was currently in care, we asked parents how long their most recent child care search had taken. Thirty percent (30%) of respondents reported that it had taken them three months or longer to find care, while thirty-seven percent (37%) reported that they were able to find care in less than a month. Since child care has direct implications for parents’ ability to participate in the workforce, this suggests that nearly one-third of parents may have reduced workforce participation for three months or more while they search for care.

The length of the child care search did not vary by the child’s age (infant/toddler or preschool-aged), despite a well-known shortage of infant/toddler slots across Connecticut. However, the length of the search did vary by parents’ race, ethnicity, and income level.


Lower-Income Families Were More Likely to Spend 3 Months or Longer Searching for Child Care

Lower-income households were particularly likely to have a longer child care search. Forty-five percent (45%) of households earning below 30% of SMI ($39,955 for a family of four) reported that their child care search had taken three months or longer.

Latino respondents were also more likely to report that their child care search had taken three months or longer (38%). In contrast, White respondents were the least likely to spend three months or more searching for care (27%).

Taking into account the association between race/ethnicity and household income, only household income independently predicted the likelihood of a child care search taking three months or longer. This suggests that the higher likelihood of a lengthy child care search for Latino parents was due to their tendency to have a lower household income.

It is possible that longer wait-lists for programs offering free or reduced tuition could contribute to the longer time it takes for lower-income families to secure child care. Indeed, among the roughly 200 families who had searched for non-parental care and had a household income below 30% of SMI, four out of five (80%) reported that they had searched for programs that offered sliding scale fees or free/reduced tuition. Of these, nearly half (48%) reported that it had taken them at least three months to find care, as compared to 36% of those who had not searched for free- or reduced-tuition programs (although this difference was not statistically significant due to the small sample size). Across all families regardless of household income, those who searched for programs offering free or reduced tuition were significantly more likely to take three months or longer to find child care (35% vs. 25% of families who did not seek free- or reduced-tuition programs).

 


The Top Reason for Not Using Care Was that Child Care is Too Expensive

Among parents who had searched for care but did not use any non-parental care in the past month, fifty-seven percent (57%) reported that child care being too expensive was a main reason why they were not using child care. This was by far the most commonly-cited reason for not using child care.

The remaining top five reasons were: parents preferring to care for their children themselves (38%), not being able to find a child care provider they feel comfortable with that is close enough to their home or place of work (16%), child care programs being full or wait-listed (14%), and being worried about their children getting sick in a group child care setting (10%).


Many Families Do Not Take Advantage of 2-1-1 Child Care to Find Care

Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood funds United Way of Connecticut to operate the 2-1-1 Child Care website and call line where parents can obtain information on all licensed and license-exempt child care programs in Connecticut. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of respondents reported that they knew that they can search for all child care programs in their area on 2-1-1 Child Care's website (42% did not know this). This did not differ by household income.

When asked how they have looked for child care, only thirty-eight percent (38%) of respondents reported that they had utilized 2-1-1 Child Care and thirty-three percent (33%) reported that they had used another internet search. In combination, fifty-nine percent (59%) reported that they had utilized 2-1-1 Child Care and/or another internet search.

Most parents reported looking to their social networks to find child care. The most common approach was asking family, neighbors, or friends (71% of respondents), followed by social media (45% of respondents). Recognizing the importance of social networks for connecting parents to child care, Connecticut has recently implemented a “Parents Connecting Parents” pilot program in six communities that utilizes Parent Ambassadors to share information with families about child care programs and other early childhood services in their community.