Researcher(s): Jerome A. Olson and Deanna T. Schexnayder
Date: June 2002
Publication Type: Full Report 51pp.(PDF); Executive Summary (PDF).

Abstract: This paper examines the major reasons for subsidized child care receipt among current and former welfare recipients in Harris County, Texas, between mid-1995 and mid-1999. For the most part, poor people receive subsidized child care because of either employment or engagement in workforce development activities. The time period of the study was chosen so that significant periods before and after welfare reform could be observed. The welfare reforms that were enacted during this period included the Federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) legislation and the Texas legislation that resulted in the state’s welfare waiver, known as the “Achieving Change for Texans” (ACT) waiver. This document reports on the estimation of a statistical model developed to determine the factors associated with the likelihood of employment (as opposed to training) as well as earnings, for recipients of subsidized child care who were current or former welfare clients.

The Net Benefits of Early Childhood Investments: Findings, Implications and a Texas Agenda

Researcher(s): Christopher T. King, Katherine Faliski, Alicia M. Betsinger and Daniel P. O’Shea
Date: June 1999
Publication Type: Full Report. Executive Summary (PDF) Printed Copies: 40pp, $4.00, Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Abstract: Early childhood intervention programs have varied widely in terms of their focus, their scale, the ages of the children served, and the scope or range of services provided. The expected benefits and costs of targeted early childhood investments have been estimated and projected for an illustrative cohort of Texas infants: Children 0-1 year old living in families with annual incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level in the year 2000, the overwhelming majority of them in minority families, especially Hispanics.