More than one in three children younger than age 6 with working parents have parents who work early in the mornings, evenings, nights, or weekends. Understanding the child care needs of parents who work nontraditional hours (NTH) is a growing concern for policymakers trying to make child care more accessible. In the products below, Urban researchers are exploring key questions, such as how many children have parents working NTH schedules, what the characteristics of families are who work these hours, what parents recommend is the best care for their children, and what policy contexts affect parents’ NTH child care options.

Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Austin/Travis County

Insights from Interviews, Focus Groups, and Analyses of Supply and Demand

• Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Austin/Travis County: Insights from Interviews, Focus Groups, and Analyses of Supply and Demand (report)
• Executive Summary: Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Austin/Travis County Insights from Interviews, Focus Groups, and Analyses of Supply and Demand (brief)
• What Policymakers Need to Know about Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Austin/Travis County, Texas: Challenges and Recommendations (brief)
• What Employers Need to Know about Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Austin/Travis County, Texas: Need for Nontraditional-Hour Care, Challenges to Access, and Recommendations (brief)
• What Child Care Providers Need to Know about Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Austin/Travis County, Texas: Supply and Demand, Challenges, and Considerations (brief)
• Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Austin/Travis County: Key Findings and Recommendations (fact sheet)
• Austin/Travis County Parents’ Experiences with Nontraditional-Hour Child Care (fact sheet)
• Insufficient Child Care during Nontraditional Hours Has Hurt Families and Employers in Austin, Texas (blog post)
• Las Experiencias de Padres del Condado de Austin/Travis con el Cuidado Infantil en Horarios no Tradicionales (fact sheet)
• The US Child Care System Relies on Women of Color, but Structural Barriers Systematically Disadvantage Them (blog post)

Answers to Questions about Child Care Preferences and Use during Nontraditional Hours

Findings from Analyses of the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education 

• Child Care Use for Young Children during Nontraditional Hours (report)
• Who Uses Nontraditional-Hour Child Care? (snapshot)
• What Types of Child Care Do Families Use during Nontraditional Hours? (snapshot)
• When Are Children in Nontraditional-Hour Child Care? (snapshot)
• How Do Parents with and without Nontraditional-Hour Schedules Rate Different Types of Care? (snapshot)
• How Many Hours Do Young Children Spend in Nontraditional-Hour Child Care and How Does It Vary by Type of Care? (snapshot)

Exploring Potential Demand and Parental Preferences for Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in Three Sites

Findings from parent interviews

• What Child Care Arrangements Do Parents Want during Nontraditional Hours? Findings from Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and Oklahoma (report)
• Executive Summary: What Child Care Arrangements Do Parents Want during Nontraditional Hours? Findings from Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and Oklahoma (executive summary)
• What Child Care Arrangements Do Parents Want during Nontraditional Hours? Insights from Parents in Connecticut (fact sheet)
• What Child Care Arrangements Do Parents Want during Nontraditional Hours? Insights from Parents in the District of Columbia (fact sheet)
• What Child Care Arrangements Do Parents Want during Nontraditional Hours? Insights from Parents in Oklahoma (fact sheet)
• Child Care Systems Don’t Align with What Parents Working Nontraditional Hours Recommend (blog post)

Findings from analyses of the American Community Survey and Survey of Income and Program Participation on the incidence of nontraditional-hour work for parents in select sites

• Parents with Nontraditional Work Schedules in Connecticut: Implications for Child Care (brief)
• Parents with Nontraditional Work Schedules in the District of Columbia: Implications for Child Care (brief)
• Parents with Nontraditional Work Schedules in Oklahoma: Implications for Child Care (brief)
• To Make the Child Care System More Equitable, Expand Options for Parents Working Nontraditional Hours (blog post)

Comparing Potential Demand for Nontraditional-Hour Child Care and Planned Policies across States

• Comparing Potential Demand for Nontraditional-Hour Child Care and Planned Policies across States (report)
• States Can Pursue Policies to Make Child Care More Accessible during Nontraditional Hours (blog post)
• State Snapshots of Potential Demand for and Policies to Support Nontraditional-Hour Child Care (snapshots)

Study of Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in the District of Columbia

• Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in the District of Columbia (report)
• Study of Nontraditional-Hour Child Care in the District of Columbia (presentation)

Ensuring Access to Quality Child Care for Four Priority Populations (Including Families Needing Nontraditional-Hour Child Care)

• Increasing Access to Quality Child Care for Four Priority Populations: Challenges and Opportunities with CCDBG Reauthorization (report) 
• Increasing Access to Quality Child care for Four Priority Populations: Executive Summary (brief)
• Insights on Access to Quality Child Care for Families with Nontraditional Work Schedules (brief)
• Who Might Face Barriers to Accessing Quality Child Care? (data feature)

Assessing the Child Care Arrangements of Mothers Working Nontraditional Hours

• Who Minds the Kids When Mom Works a Nonstandard Schedule? (report)