Gerilyn Slicker (Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education), along with colleagues from University of Oklahoma - Tulsa and The University of Delaware, published "State policy predictors of child care centers’ utilization of subsidies for children from underserved groups" in Children and Youth Services Review. 

This study identified connections between state-level child care subsidy policies and the enrollment of specific underserved groups of children (i.e., infants, toddlers, children with disabilities, and children experiencing homelessness) in ECE centers using nationally representative data. Results suggest that state policies aimed at increasing payment predictability for early childhood and child care programs (i.e., enrollment-based payments, subsidy contracts) as well as providing higher state subsidy reimbursement rates predict increased enrollment of infants, toddlers, children with disabilities, and children experiencing homelessness. These findings show that state policy decisions can meaningfully incentivize the enrollment of children that have historically been under enrolled in child care and early education programs.