Access to Early Care and Education in Rural Communities: Implications for Children’s School Readiness

Taryn W. Morrissey; Scott W. Allard; Elizabeth Pelletier

doi:10.7758/RSF.2022.8.3.04

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Figure 1.
Early Childhood Program Provision by USDA Urban-Rural Continuum Code, 2009
Source: Authors’ tabulation (U.S. Census Bureau 2020; Tourangeau et al. 2017; Economic Research Service 2020; NCCS 2009; OHS 2019a).
Note: Labeled dots represent means; box and whisker plots represent distribution. Outliers (points that were more than 1.5 x the interquartile range below the first quartile or above the third quartile) are not shown. Counties with missing nonprofit expenditure data coded as having no nonprofit human service programming (see Allard 2017). To reduce the effects of a few outlying counties, we excluded seven counties from descriptive analysis because they reported one thousand or more Head Start slots per one hundred poor children three to four years old. For more information, see online technical appendix and appendix table 1.
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Figure 2.
Early Childhood Program Provision in the ECLS-K:2011: Weighted Means and Standard Errors by Child Characteristics
Source: Authors’ tabulation (U.S. Census Bureau 2020; Tourangeau et al. 2017; Economic Research Service 2020; NCCS 2009; OHS 2019a).
Note: Plots show means and 95 percent confidence intervals for county-level ECE provision measures, by characteristics of children in the ECLS-K:2011. Observations rounded to the nearest ten in accordance with NCCS requirements. All child-level variables assessed at the fall of kindergarten. Counties with missing nonprofit expenditure data coded as having no nonprofit human service programming (see Allard 2017). To reduce the effects of a few outlying counties, we excluded seven counties from descriptive analysis if they report one thousand or more Head Start slots per hundred poor children three to four years old. For more information, see online technical appendix table 2.
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Figure 3.
Factors Associated with ECE Participation in the Year Prior to Kindergarten and School Readiness
Source: Authors’ tabulation (U.S. Census Bureau 2020; DOE 2020; Tourangeau et al. 2017; Economic Research Service 2020; NCCS 2009; Barnett et al. 2010; Urban Institute 2019).
Note: Each column represents a separate regression. Odds ratios shown for binary dependent variables (attended center care or Head Start). Coefficients shown for math and reading scores. All child-level variables assessed at the fall of kindergarten, except for household food insecurity, which is assessed at the spring. All county-level variables assessed at 2009 (the year prior to children’s K entry), or for ACS variables, in the five-year 2007–2011 estimates. Standard errors clustered at the state level. Estimates use weights as specified by IES. Full model results reported in online technical appendix table 4.