Impossible arrangements

The extreme challenge of child care for low-income mothers

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2816600
AutoresA Freeman (0000-0002-6156-7444, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice University of Hartford West Hartford Connecticut USA, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen83
Número5
Páginas971-989
Fecha de publicación2024-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Economics and Sociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-9246 • E-ISSN: 1536-7150
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/ajes.12562
OpenAlexW4391228219
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas61

Arranging safe and secure child care is necessary for parents of dependent children to maintain their participation in the labor force. This article uncovered the extreme version of work-childcare conflict faced by low-income mothers. The constant, underlying threat of the loss of income and unsafe conditions for children influences child care and work, hindering their ability to move out of poverty even when employed. This qualitative study uses interview and focus group data collected from low-income mothers in Colorado, Georgia, and Massachusetts from 2009 to 2020 to explore the obstacles as well as the strategies for finding and keeping child care. The data are the mother's voices as they describe their experiences negotiating care arrangements while working or looking for work. Factors that contributed to this extreme version of work-childcare conflict included: difficult conditions at work and mixed experience relying on care from family and friends. Also uncovered were problems affording paid care and utilizing public vouchers, which may undermine assistance programs. Child care from schools, family, and public programs were greatly diminished during the Covid-19 pandemic, further exacerbating work-childcare conflict for low-income mothers. Policy implications and the effects of the pandemic on childcare arrangements were also considered

Business · Demographic economics · Economics · Low income · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges