This study examines the effects of child care as a possible constraint on women's subsequent employment. As women's participation in the labor force has increased, there has been growing concern about the impacts of the quality, reliability and cost of child care on women's employment. Using panel data on a nationally representative sample (the Survey of Income and Program Participation) and logistic regression analysis, this research will explore the effects of women's child care arrangements and expenses on the likelihood of women leaving the labor force or moving from full to part time work. For women not in the labor force, the investigator will examine the influence of expected child care expenses, in relation to expected earnings, on the likelihood of homemakers subsequently entering employment. This study will make an important contribution to our knowledge of how working families balance work and family obligations, by documenting the effects of child care costs and arrangements on women's abilities to maintain an attachment to the labor force.
