In this brief, we use publicly available data from the 2012 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) to describe the amount and timing of hours that young Hispanic children from low-income households spend in ECE settings, distinguishing care that takes place during standard weekday hours from care that occurs during nonstandard times (i.e., evening, nighttime, and weekend hours). We focus on low-income households because the challenges of coordinating parental employment and the care of young children are most acute for families with limited economic resources. Low-income families are therefore the primary target of policy efforts and public investments to improve ECE access, use, and quality. Hispanic families represent a growing policy-relevant population, with more than two thirds of young Hispanic children living in low-income households. Households' ECE needs, preferences, and available options may vary by family members' demographic characteristics or child age. We report separate estimates for Latino children in immigrant households and those living with U.S.-born adults only, and provide comparison data for young non-Hispanic white and black children from low-income households. We also examine patterns of ECE schedule characteristics separately for infants and toddlers (younger than age 3), and preschoolers (3 to 5 years). (author abstract)
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United States