Parents' Reasons for Searching for Child Care and Early Education: Findings from the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education. OPRE Report 2024-064

This snapshot provides updated findings about parents' child care and early education (CCEE) search and decision-making using the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) Household (HH) Survey. We present findings on (1) the prevalence of CCEE searches among household respondents, usually parents, that reported on children under age 6, (2) the reasons for CCEE searches, (3) the rate at which parents changed their care arrangement following a search, and (4) the reasons why parents ultimately did not change their care. We tested differences in CCEE search and decision-making by household income, child age, and, where sample sizes allowed, the race and ethnicity of the selected child. To better examine CCEE decisions within the contexts of current research, we utilize a multi-dimensional definition of CCEE access offered by the Access Guidebook to categorize parents' reasons for looking for CCEE and reasons for not changing their care arrangement. This definition identifies equitable CCEE access as a process that requires only reasonable effort for households to find CCEE that is affordable, supports child development, and meets parents' needs. Importantly, no one dimension is a more preferred or valuable reason for engaging in a CCEE search than any other; comparisons are examined to better understand the reasons why parents seek CCEE and how supports and services might be better tailored to meet their needs.