S upport for child care in the context of welfare reform is generally viewed as a necessary, if costly and difficult, accompaniment to initiatives aimed at moving families from welfare to work. The stakes involved in making stable and adequate child care available to families on welfare, however, may be higher than previously assumed. New evidence indicates that the provision of safe and dependable child care is important not just for children, but also for their mothers' efforts to prepare for and maintain jobs. Established in 1985, GAIN provides job search, education, training, and supportive services to AFDC recipients in all 58 counties in California. A total of 255 single mothers were interviewed three times for the study.
Child care remains important once parents enter the workforce.
This initial evidence, that the successful completion of job training is contingent on child care that is reliable and of acceptable quality and that matches parents' scheduling needs, highlights the pivotal role that child care plays in facilitating work effort among families in poverty. Further research is needed to address the role of child care programs in facilitating parents' job training and employment. It would be useful to know, too, about the effects on infants and toddlers in families that receive AFDC of their mothers' participation in jobs and job training. Return to document.