FAMILY SELECTION OF CHILD-CARE CENTERS - THE INFLUENCE OF HOUSEHOLD SUPPORT, ETHNICITY, AND PARENTAL PRACTICES

Accumulating evidence shows that young children benefit developmentall y by participating in quality child-care centers and preschools. But w e know little about which family characteristics and home practices in fluence parents' selection of a center-based program. This article rep orts on the influence of the family's social-structural attributes, et hnicity, and parental practices on the likelihood of selecting a cente r-based program, after taking into account economic characteristics. T he odds that parents enroll their child in a center-based program are greatest when mothers are more highly educated, when the child is olde r, and when less plentiful (nonpaternal) social support is available t o the mother, such as from a resident grandparent. Ethnic differences in the propensity to select centers were found, even after family econ omic and structural variables were taken into account: African-America n families were more likely than white or Latino families to use cente r-based care. Parental practices linked to the child's early literacy development and close supervision were related to the likelihood of ce nter selection. Selection processes must be more carefully taken into account as researchers attempt to isolate the discrete effects of chil dren's participation in centers and preschools.