Child Care Utilization among Working Mothers Raising Children with Disabilities

Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, this study investigates factors associated with utilization of child care among working mothers raising children with disabilities. Results provide a national-level description of the use of nonparental child care among working mothers raising children with disabilities. Multivariate analyses show that the hours of day care or relative-provided child care used by mothers raising children with disabilities are influenced by demographic and economic factors and by the specific nature of the childhood disability. The study also finds that a child's disability status is less important in a mother's decision to enter the labor force than other factors, such as the mother's own disability status. © 2000 Human Sciences Press, Inc.