Indicator: 28 - Access to Childcare

Why This Is Important

For some families, especially for children from economically challenged backgrounds, enrollment
in an early childhood education program is one indicator of readiness to learn in elementary school. Communities that create access to preschool, before- and after-school programs for families are
keeping families at the heart of their decisions.

 

 

 

Where We Stand

For 2004, 39% of those parents surveyed “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with the statement:
“I have access to high quality, affordable child care in my community”, and approximately 25%
responded that they “did not know”. Seventeen percent of all respondents reported that they
“disagreed” or “strongly disagreed” with the statement. Of interest are the differences by income
category; these rough estimates using weighted data reveal differences between income levels; with favorable reporting from the highest and lowest income levels.

 

Data Sources and Context

Data on this indicator comes from a statewide telephone survey of Maine households with children
present who are age 18 or younger. The respondents to this survey were adults in the household
who self-identified as a parent. The indicator is similar to indicators used by the Maine Development Foundation in their previous surveys of Maine citizens, or other national surveys of families, so
that the data could be used to monitor trends over time and to compare Maine to the nation. This
2004/5 survey was conducted by Critical Insights, a strategic marketing research firm in Portland,
Maine. During the months of December 2004 and January 2005, 400 Maine adults responded to the survey.

The adults were asked the following: “Thinking about your children under 12, how satisfied are you
with the quality of care they receive when you are not with them?”

Only the data in the “all” column is statistically representative of adults in households with children under the age of 18 in Maine. The information that is provided by category of
household income is a rough estimate using weighted data based on the 2003 American Communities Survey of the U.S. Census, household income report for Maine. These
categories are estimates only for descriptive purposes and should not be used to make
inferences about all households in Maine with children under the age of 18.