Connecticut RAPID Survey 1

Child Care Preferences and Satisfaction

May 2025


Most Families Want Center-Based Child Care

We asked families what their ideal child care arrangement(s) would be for each of their children, if all options were equally priced and accessible to their family. Nearly four out of five respondents (78%) reported that a child care center, Head Start, or state-funded pre-K would be an ideal child care arrangement for at least one of their children.

About one third of respondents (32%) reported that a relative, friend, neighbor, nanny, or babysitter would be an ideal child care arrangement; thirty percent (30%) preferred caring for their child(ren) themselves; one quarter (25%) expressed a preference for family child care; and only five percent (5%) said that a community child care pod would be ideal.

Parents’ interest in center-based care was greater for preschool-aged children (80%) than for infants and toddlers (65%), although center-based care was still by far the most desired option even for infants and toddlers.

Conversely, parents’ interest in caring for their child themselves was greater for infants and toddlers (33%) versus for preschool-aged children (28%), as was their interest in having a relative, friend, neighbor, nanny or babysitter care for their child (38% for infants and toddlers versus 28% for preschool-aged children).


About Half of Families Reported that They Would Ideally Like Full-Time Child Care

We asked all respondents about when they would ideally like to have child care. Respondents were allowed to select multiple “ideal” child care hours.

  • About half (49%) reported that they would ideally like full-time care.

  • About one in four wanted half-day (25%) or after-school (24%) care.

  • Twenty-two percent (22%) wanted drop-in or as-needed care.

  • Ten percent (10%) wanted care on one or more days of the weekend, six percent (6%) wanted overnight care, and five percent (5%) wanted extended (12+ hours) care.


Families Reported Relatively High Levels of Satisfaction with their Current Child Care Arrangement, with the Exception of Affordability and the Quality of Food Served

A majority of respondents who currently had any non-school-aged child in non-parental care reported that they were very satisfied with various aspects of their child care arrangement, including:

  • health and safety (64%),

  • convenience of the location (62%),

  • the hours of care (61%),

  • the overall quality of the care (60%),

  • meeting their child(ren)’s educational needs (59%),

  • communication with parents (58%),

  • culture and values (57%), and

  • meeting their child(ren)’s developmental needs (57%).

However, less than half (44%) of parents reported that they were very satisfied with the affordability of their child care arrangement.

Additionally, only forty-seven percent (47%) of parents reported that they were very satisfied with the type and quality of food served by their child care provider(s).


Lower-Income Families Were Less Likely to Report that Their Current Child Care Arrangement Works Well with Their Work Schedule

Of all families who reported currently having a non-school-aged child in non-parental care, four out of five (80%) reported that their current child care arrangement “usually” or “always” works well with their work schedule. However, lower-income families were significantly less likely to report this.

  • Among families with incomes below 30% of the State Median Income (SMI), only sixty-eight percent (68%) reported that their current child care arrangement “usually” or “always” works well with their work schedule.

  • Seventy-five percent (75%) of families with incomes between 30% and 60% SMI reported that their child care arrangement works well with their work schedule.

  • Eighty-five percent (85%) of families with incomes above 85% SMI reported this.