Childcare Costs: New Study to Map Barriers for U.S. Families

A two-year research initiative is launching to analyze the cost and availability of childcare across the United States. The project is led by Caitlyn Collins, an associate professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, and Chloe Gibbs, a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

The work is funded by a grant from Pivotal, a coalition established by Melinda French Gates. Pivotal aims to accelerate social progress for women and young people in the U.S. and globally. The researchers plan to use in-depth interviews and national surveys to capture the direct experiences of parents.

The study will examine how families with varying income levels interact with the childcare market. It seeks to identify specific barriers that prevent access to affordable options. The team will measure how factors such as location, household income, family structure, and background influence these obstacles.

Collins and Gibbs will evaluate the effectiveness of different policy interventions. These include workplace flexibility measures, childcare subsidies or vouchers, and the direct public provision of daycare slots. The goal is to determine which strategies best allow parents to balance work and care responsibilities.

The primary objective is to generate concrete evidence on which methods improve the childcare market. The findings are intended to inform policy discussions and help scale effective solutions. The project will bring family voices into the conversation regarding labor and childcare regulations.