Public child-care subsidies are designed to reduce the financial burdens of child care for households that meet certain income thresholds in order to improve employment and/or educational opportunities for parents and other legal guardians. In New Jersey, child-care subsidy payments are made directly to child-care providers, including licensed child-care centers, registered family providers, and approved homes. The Rutgers University New Jersey State Policy Lab research team was asked to analyze the relative costs and other implications of two different payment mechanisms for child-care subsidy payments: an attendance-based system and an enrollment-based system.
