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Young Children’s Care and Education Before Kindergarten

Data about young children’s care and education before kindergarten are collected in the NHES Early Childhood Program Participation Survey (ECPP) and, in prior years, in the NHES School Readiness Survey (SR). These surveys collect data about children from birth through age 6 who are not yet enrolled in kindergarten. The surveys typically focus on children’s participation in and barriers to participating in nonparental care arrangements; activities the family engages in with the child, such as reading, singing, and arts and crafts; and the child’s preschool learning, such as counting, recognizing the letters of the alphabet, and reading. Parents are the respondents.

A mother and son reading on the couch

Most Recent Findings

Early Childhood Program Participation: 2019

Cover for the Early Childhood Program Participation Survey: 2019 report

This First Look report presents findings about young children’s care and education before kindergarten, including participation rates in weekly nonparental care arrangements, how well these arrangements cover work hours, costs of care, months spent in care, location of care, factors used to select a care arrangement, and factors making it difficult to find care. These data represent circumstances before the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions.

Early Child Care in Single-Parent and Two-Parent Families

First page of the Early Child Care in Single-Parent and Two-Parent Families Data Point

This Data Point uses data from the 2019 Early Childhood Program Participation (ECPP) survey. The survey asks about young children’s participation in weekly child care. The survey includes three types of care: care from a family member other than a parent (relative care), care from someone who is not a relative (nonrelative care), and care in a child care or early education center (center-based care). This report compares child care for children from birth through age 5, in single-parent families and two-parent families.

Most Recent Data File & Questionnaire

2019 ECPP Data File

2019 ECPP Questionnaire

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