National Survey of Early Care and Education 2019

The National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) aims to provide a comprehensive portrait of both the availability and use of early care and education (ECE) in the United States. 

In 2019, the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) team conducted a set of four integrated surveys to characterize the supply of and demand for ECE.

In light of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new data collection effort, the NSECE COVID-19 Longitudinal Follow-up, began in Spring 2020 to learn how the pandemic was affecting ECE providers and the individuals who work directly with children in ECE settings.

National Survey of Early Care and Education 2019

In 2019, the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) team conducted a set of four integrated surveys of 1) households with children under age 13, 2) home-based providers, 3) center-based providers, and 4) the center-based workforce as a cross-sectional follow-up to the original 2012 NSECE. Together they characterize the supply of and demand for ECE in America and permit better understanding of how well families' needs and preferences mirror providers' offerings and constraints. The NSECE surveys make particular effort to measure the experiences of families with low income, as these families are the focus of a significant component of ECE and school-age public policy.

The 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) builds on the data collected in the 2012 NSECE, which was the first nationally representative survey of early care and education supply and demand conducted in over 20 years. The 2012 NSECE data has improved our understanding about the ECE services available throughout the U.S. and how families with young children select and pay for child care services. More information about the 2012 NSECE is available here.

The 2019 NSECE collected data in a manner that facilitates comparisons with data collected in the 2012 NSECE and allows for examination of the changing landscape of child care and early education programs during that 7-year period. It also provides data to answer new research questions, including:

• How have parental schedules, ECE costs, and parental preferences for types of care changed since 2012?
• What are the characteristics of ECE providers and workers in 2019?
• How do providers blend funding from different sources?
• Which providers are willing and able to participate in the child care subsidy program?
• How do parents seek help paying for ECE?

The 2019 NSECE is implemented through a contract with NORC at the University of Chicago, with partners from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Child Trends, and Mathematica Policy Research.

This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under the title National Survey of Early Care and Education 2019.

Information collections related to this project have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under OMB #0970-0391. Related materials are available at the National Survey of Early Care and Education page  on RegInfo.gov.

The most currently approved documents are accessible by clicking on the ICR Ref. No. 201808-0970-002 with the most recent conclusion date. To access the information collections (E.g. interviews, surveys, protocols), click on View Information Collection (IC) List. Click on View Supporting Statement and Other Documents to access other supplementary documents.

Data are being archived at the Child and Family Data Archive

NSECE COVID-19 Longitudinal Follow-up

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a new data collection effort began in Spring 2020 to learn how the pandemic was affecting ECE providers and the individuals who work directly with children in ECE settings. The NSECE project team sought to re-interview center-based providers, center-based workforce members, listed home-based providers, and unlisted and paid home-based providers who completed surveys in the 2019 NSECE. Households participating in the 2019 NSECE were not included in the NSECE COVID-19 Longitudinal Follow-up. Data collection for the NSECE COVID-19 Longitudinal Follow-up took place across two waves between late 2020 and early 2022.

The NSECE COVID-19 Longitudinal Follow-up public-use and restricted use data files are being archived at the Child and Family Data Archive on a rolling basis beginning in summer 2023: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38578

Point(s) of contact: Ivelisse Martinez-Beck and Ann Rivera.