Measuring Access to Early Care and Education (ECE) with the 2019 NSECE

Publication Date: October 21, 2022
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  • Published: 2022

Introduction

The 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) is a set of four nationally representative surveys that describe the use, availability, and characteristics of early care and education (ECE) from multiple perspectives, including ECE providers (both center-based and home-based), the ECE workforce, and households with young children. As such, the data are useful for examining access to ECE, including measuring levels of access, comparing levels of access across family, child, or community characteristics, and, when compared to the 2012 NSECE, changes in access over time. This resource helps 2019 NSECE data users understand how they can address research questions related to ECE access in accordance with the multi-dimensional, family-centric definition of ECE access.

Purpose

This resource provides guidance to data users interested in using the 2019 NSECE to examine questions related to ECE access using a multi-dimensional, family-centric definition of access.[i] Access to ECE is best understood as a multi-dimensional construct requiring the consideration of multiple family and provider characteristics simultaneously. When access is measured as a single dimension, such as number of slots or enrollment, many key factors that make that care accessible to families, such as cost, hours open, and fit between family and provider, are ignored, painting an incomplete picture of ECE access. This report contains detailed lists of variables that can be used, methods for quantifying access, as well as design elements that facilitate or may hinder particular analyses of ECE access.

This resource should be used as a supplement to existing NSECE documentation. Data users should thoroughly review each survey’s User’s Guide and Questionnaires and the 2019 NSECE methodology report.


[i] Friese, S., Lin, V., Forry, N. & Tout, K. (2017). Defining and Measuring Access to High Quality Early Care and Education: A Guidebook for Policymakers and Researchers. OPRE Report #2017-08. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available from: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/defining-and-measuring-access-high-quality-early-care-and-education-ece-guidebook

Key Findings and Highlights

To support data users, this resource describes the following:

  • Design elements of the 2019 NSECE that allow data users to examine ECE access. Examples of design elements include the ability to link provider, workforce, and household surveys; and the option to conduct analyses with various geographic units
  • Variables in the 2019 NSECE that can be used to examine ECE access from a multi-dimensional, family-centric perspective
  • Analytic possibilities with public-use and restricted-use data. More information on accessing the restricted-use data can be found here.

Methods

This report applies the multi-dimensional, family-centric definition of access, found in the report entitled:  Defining and Measuring Access to High-Quality Early Care and Education (ECE): A Guidebook for Policymakers and Researchers to the 2019 NSECE. The NSECE is a set of four integrated, nationally representative surveys last conducted in 2019. Surveys were of: 1) households with children under age 13; 2) home-based providers to children under age 13; 3) center-based providers to children age 5 years and younger, not yet in kindergarten; and 4) the center-based provider workforce. Data were collected across each survey using multiple data collection modes from January 2019 through July 2019.

Citation

Paschall, K., Tout, K., & Fojut, J. (2022). Measuring Access to Early Care and Education (ECE) with the 2019 NSECE. OPRE Report #2022-234. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Glossary

Four dimensions of access:
1) reasonable effort to find care, 2) affordability of care, 3) how well care supports children’s development, and 4) how well care meets parents’ needs.
ECE:
Early Care and Education