A four-year study aimed to learn how welfare reform affects children's upbringing and development, showing early warning signals such as low-quality childcare and social isolation among women. The report provides a baseline picture for 948 families across three states and suggests an unfinished agenda for cash assistance and family support programs to lift children out of poverty.

Latino children are less likely to be enrolled in preschools, even after considering household income and maternal employment. Social factors such as language, child-rearing beliefs, and practices also impact center selection. African American families participate at higher rates, while lower enrollment for Latinos is linked to Spanish-speaking households and cultural preferences. Center selection is part of a broader parental agenda of acculturation to middle-class Anglo commitments to prepare children for school.