Children’s Participation in Child Care and Early Education in 2012 and 2019: Counts and Characteristics

Child care and early education (CCEE) plays a critical role for young children and working parents in the U.S.  In 2019, close to 13 million children under age 6 used some form of non-parental CCEE on a regular basis. Their child care arrangements varied from individual care to center-based care and/or other organizational CCEE.  

This chartbook presents comparative estimates of children’s participation in CCEE using data from the 2012 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) and 2019 NSECE. It provides separate counts for children under age 3 and children ages 3 through 5 participating in any CCEE and in each of five specific types of CCEE. It also describes participation in CCEE for both age groups by child, household, and community characteristics. Lastly, it identifies statistically significant changes between 2012 and 2019 as well as statistically significant differences between demographic subgroups in 2019. 

This chartbook presents nationally representative estimates of children under age 3 and children ages 3 through 5 participating in regular CCEE by type of care and by child, household, and community characteristics. The estimates are based on 2012 NSECE and 2019 NSECE data.

• In 2019, 48.5% of children under age 3 and 68.1% of children ages 3 through 5 spent at least 5 hours in non-parental care each week.  
• In 2019, children under age 3 in regular care most often (26.5%) participated in individual unpaid care whereas children ages 3 through 5 most often (42.1%) participated in center-based care.  
• From 2012 to 2019, there was no change in the type of care that children participated most often whether they were under age 3 (individual unpaid care) or ages 3 through 5 (center-based care). 
• From 2012 to 2019, fewer children under age 3 participated in individual paid care, with or without a prior relationship between the provider and the child’s family. However, taking into account the total numbers of children in each year, the percentage of children under age 3 participating in individual paid care was not statistically different. 
• For both age groups under age 3 and ages 3 through 5, the number and percentage of children participating in other organizational care increased from 2012 to 2019. These are regular care arrangements in non-residential settings that are drop-in, single activity, before/after school programs, or otherwise not classified as center-based CCEE. 
• By race/ethnicity, non-Hispanic Black children under age 3 were more likely to be in any regular CCEE than non-Hispanic White children. Hispanic children ages 3 through 5 were less likely to be in any regular CCEE than non-Hispanic White children. 
• Across household incomes, children in households with income at or above 300% of the federal poverty level were more likely to be in any regular CCEE than children in households with lower incomes. This was true for children under age 3 and ages 3 through 5. 
• Children in households with all parents working in the prior week were more likely to be in any regular CCEE than children in households with no or some parents working in the prior week. This was true for children under age 3 and ages 3 through 5. 

Significance Testing: *** < 0.01, ** ≤ 0.05, * < 0.1 reflects differences between 2012 NSECE and 2019 NSECE.  
Note: Child’s race and ethnicity as reported by the respondent in two separate questions on race and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. “Other Race/Ethnicity” includes children reported as having multiple races or another race, as well as children whose race or ethnicity was not reported. 
Source: 2012 and 2019 NSECE Household survey, children not yet 5 as of prior September 1. 
Citation: A R Datta, Z Gebhardt, K Piazza, C Zapata-Gietl (2022). Participation in Child Care and Early Education in 2012 and 2019: Counts and Characteristics, OPRE Report No. 2022-xx, Washington DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/national-survey-early-care-and-education-2019-2017-2022.

This chartbook draws from data collected in the 2012 and 2019 NSECE Household Surveys. The household interview respondent was a parent or guardian of a child or children under age 13 in households with at least one member child under age 13. This chartbook focuses on children age under 60 months as of the September prior the interview being conducted (i.e., September 1, 2011 for the 2012 NSECE and September 1, 2018 for the 2019 NSECE) but under 72 months at the time of the interview. For this chartbook, 2019 tabulations use data from 7,269 children. 2012 tabulations use data from 8,943 children.

A R Datta, Z Gebhardt, K Piazza, C Zapata-Gietl (2022). Participation in Child Care and Early Education in 2012 and 2019: Counts and Characteristics, OPRE Report No. 2022-xx, Washington DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.