Many factors influence parents' decisions about childcare. Accessibility, quality, affordability, socioeconomic status, household structure, and ethnicity all play a role in the decision making process of childcare arrangements, while other can even act as barriers. Minority, low-income, and single parents are particularly vulnerable to barriers in childcare and how the above dynamics impact their decision for childcare. This paper attempts to review current literature surrounding this subject matter including why it needs to be address. It will also discuss the literary history of how childcare accessibility, quality, and affordability impact parental childcare decisions and attempt to reveal gaps in current research. The literary history …show more content…
childcare centers) and informal (i.e. family or friends) care. Some highlights of the extensive information collected in this survey that have not been addressed in other studies discussed in this literature review are childcare-related influences on the decision to not work, parents' evaluation about the need for more childcare resources, and difficulties in organizing childcare arrangements. Regarding organizing arrangements, parents who need before and after school care and those who utilized more than one provider reported difficulties in organizing care. Woodland, Miller, and Tipping (2004) stated situations such as these can cause "considerable stress and anxiety for both the parent and child" (p. 111). A little over 30 percent of the participants expressed they would discontinue using two providers if one provider would meet all of their needs (Woodland et al., 2004). Additionally, the in-depth interviews revealed that three-quarters of the parents desired more options for pre-school age children while nearly two-thirds desired more supervised after-school care (Woodland et al., 2004). The desire was even greater among single parents for both types of care. Finally, reasons why parents chose to not engage in employment varied. Woodland et al. (2004) stated "lone mothers were consistently more likely than mothers with partners to cite reasons pertaining to the quality and availability of children, [as well as] the lack of free/cheap childcare that would make working worthwhile" (p. 222). Furthermore, 15 percent of all mothers cited their reason for staying home was a result of not being able to find a childcare provider that provided care at suitable times. The findings from this research correlate with research conducted by the U.S. Census