Introduction
Parents across the U.S. are searching for information about child care and early education (CCEE), considering that information, and selecting a CCEE option. Despite considerable research on parents’ CCEE selections, little is known about how parents seek, use, and consider information when making a CCEE decision. This brief uses new nationally representative survey data of parents and guardians of children under age 6 years but not yet in kindergarten. The brief defines three groups of parents based on their most recent CCEE decision, then compares these three groups in relation to factors such as their family and child circumstances and their perceptions of the local child options available to meet their family and child’s needs.
Primary Research Questions
This brief addresses the following research questions.
What CCEE decisions did parents make and why?
What factors do parents consider in their CCEE decisions?
How do parents who made different CCEE decisions (chose a new provider, decided to stay with an existing provider, or decided to care for their child themselves) vary in their family and child circumstances?
How do parents who made different decisions (chose a new provider, decided to stay with an existing provider, or decided to care for their child themselves) vary in their CCEE search and selection process?
Purpose
This brief was developed as part of the Consumer Education and Parental Choice in Early Care and Education project. It summarizes the approach and findings from a nationally representative survey of parents and guardians of children under 6 not yet in kindergarten about how they search for and use information about CCEE. The brief identifies key findings and implications.
Key Findings and Highlights
Regardless of whether families had most recently chosen a new provider, decided to stay with an existing provider, or decided to care for their children themselves, parents reported spending on average 13 hours overall looking for CCEE information and having 1-3 weeks to consider information and make their child care decision.
Families who decided to take care of their children themselves less often reported having had enough information to make their decision, compared with families who chose a new provider or stayed with an existing one.
CCEE cost was the top reason that families who decided to care for their children themselves cited for making their decisions.
Knowing where to look for information and not having enough time to find information were the most frequently reported challenges cited by families.
Families with household incomes of $100,000 or higher differ significantly in how well their child care decisions met their families’ needs compared to families with lower household incomes.
Methods
Data in this brief come from a parent survey administered using the NORC AmeriSpeak Panel from March — May 2024. Results represent U.S. households with at least one child under the age of six years, but not yet in kindergarten. The survey asked parents to report on their experiences with finding and/or receiving information about child care, the different types of information about child care they may have looked for and/or found in the last 12 months, as well as information they did not find, but would find most helpful about child care options in their area. The survey also asked parents to report on their most recent child care decision and the types of child care the household is currently using.
Citation
Datta, A. Rupa, Molly Gordon, Thao Tran, and Bobbie Weber. 2025. Connecting Parents' Child Care Decisions With Their Needs, Information Access, and Reported Child Care Options. OPRE Report #2025-140, Washington DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.