Likelihood Parents Who Want Informal Care Would Accept Free Formal Care, by Setting Type Figure 5 Many parents who prefer an informal child care arrangement say that it is important to them that their child be around family, and some are hesitant to use caregivers they do not know personally or settings where they may have limited visibility. Even so, some parents who did not select formal care would be open to using a school-, center-, or home-based program if a seat were offered to their child at no cost. Depending on the setting, 37 to 51 percent of parents who did not initially prefer formal care say they would be very or extremely likely to enroll their child in a school-, center, or home-based setting if offered at no cost (Figure 5). Overall, analysis of the data suggests that availability of free programming could increase the use of formal care by an additional 14 percent of parents beyond those who already identified it as their preferred arrangement. Figure 5: Formal Inducement “Myself, a relative, or close trusted friend caring for my child in the first 2 years of life is ideal because I feel comfortable and have a relationship with the person caring for them. By 3 years old I would like my child to start experiencing what school is like and socializing more with other children, but 3-K could be part time with friend/family caring for him the rest of the time.” Mom of one child under one living in Queens
Extremely/very likely Not very/not likely at all
60%
51%
42%
40%
37%
27%
24%
20%
16%
0%
School-based program
Child care center
Family day care or home-based program
Notes: Source: Sources Source: Survey of 4,306 parents and caregivers of children ages 0-5 living in New York City; conducted by NORC for New America’s New Practice Lab and Robin Hood, March 31-April 20, 2026. Note: Based on responses from 724 parents who did not select any formal arrangement—family day care or home-based program, child care center, or school-based program—as the arrangement they most want for any age group (under 1, age 1, age 2, or age 3). These parents were asked how likely they would be to actually use each of these types of care (family day care or home-based program, child care center, or school-based program) if a space in that setting was available to them at no cost. Parents who selected “Somewhat likely” are not shown.
THE 2026 NEW YORK CITY PARENT SURVEY : WHAT CHILD CARE PARENTS WANT 16
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker