The role of parental immigration status in Latino families' child care selection

Prior studies that have investigated child care arrangements among Latino immigrant families have often overlooked the role of parental immigration status and neighborhood factors in shaping child care selection. Thus, this study considers the effects of parental immigration status and neighborhood contexts, on child care selection among Latino immigrant families using a sample of 862 young children (ages 0–5) from the 2001 Los Angeles Families and Neighborhood Survey. Results from a hierarchical multinomial regression model suggest that, irrespective of immigration status, children of Latina mothers were significantly less likely to use center-based care than parental care, but the relationship was stronger for the children of undocumented Latina mothers. The findings also indicate that children living in poor neighborhoods were less likely to use formal center-based care, all else equal.