Participation across public programs among children in low-income families: Public preschool, child care subsidies, and the supplemental nutrition assistance program
Persistent URL
Author(s)
Rothbart, Michah W.
Heflin, Colleen
Morrissey, Taryn W.
Sun, Xiaohan
Allegheny College
Date Issued
January 28, 2026
Abstract
Early care and education (ECE) and nutrition assistance programs expand opportunity during early childhood. Although prior research examines participation in individual ECE programs, few investigate how families combine support across programs despite overlap in eligibility, or how nutrition assistance influences these decisions. Using linked administrative data from Virginia (2015–2019), this study examines how low-income families bundle public preschool with child care subsidies, and the extent to which the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) changes these bundles during the pre-K year. We explore who combines which ECE programs, when combinations occur, and how these patterns relate to hours in ECE using a sample of 176,773 first-time kindergarteners eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. We then focus on 98,965 of these children who participated in SNAP during the pre-K year. Child care subsidy participation is greatest among lowincome children in private ECE, but also common among public pre-K participants, suggesting mismatches between preschool and parent work schedules. Subsidy participation is associated with greater weekly hours in licensed ECE across public, private, and other settings. Black children from low-income households are most likely to attend public ECE and participate in subsidies, whereas Hispanic children are least likely to participate in public ECE, subsidies, and SNAP. We show subsidy timing varies by ECE type: utilization peaks during the academic year for those in private ECE and declines in summer, but ticks up in summer for those in public ECE or other settings. Findings highlight the importance of public program coordination in supporting low-income families.
Journal
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Citation
Rothbart, Michah W., Colleen Heflin, Taryn W. Morrissey, and Xiaohan Sun, "Participation Across Public Programs among Children in Low-Income Families: Public Preschool, Child Care Subsidies, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Early Childhood Research Quarterly 76,(2026): 13–28, doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2026.01.007. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885200626000074.
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Version of Article
Version of Record
DOI
10.1016/j.ecresq.2026.01.007
ISSN
0885-2006
1873-7706
Rights
© 2026 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies
Type of Publication
Journal Article
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1.49 MB
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