Does subsidized childcare help poor working women in urban areas?: evaluation of a government sponsored programme in Guatemala City

This paper presents an evaluation and impact assessment (1998) of the urban Hogares Comunitarios Program (HCP), Guatemala, a government-sponsored pilot programme designed to alleviate poverty by providing working parents with low-cost, quality childcare within their community. Carers care for up to ten children and receive initial training, furniture, cooking equipment, and supplies for the children. On a monthly basis the programme gives approximately $0.60 per child per day to the caretaker for food, fuel, and educational material. The paper concludes that the programme provides affordable and good-quality childcare, especially for vulnerable urban households, and that expansion and continued strengthening of this type of programme could significantly contribute to reducing urban poverty, food insecurity, and childhood malnutrition.

Key findings of the operations evaluation:

• the programme is generally well-designed and is operating effectively
• delays in cash transfers for food, the insufficient amount of the transfer, and the lack of participation of parents were the key operational constraints identified
• the quality of services provided by the caretakers with respect to hygiene, safety, and their interaction with children was good overall but varied significantly between hogares
• caretakers consistently failed to allocate the required amount of time to educational activities, largely because of time constraints, but also because they did not feel adequately trained, motivated, and remunerated
• beneficiary parents were extremely positive about the programme. They suggested the addition of Saturday care and an increased emphasis on preventive and curative health care

Key findings of the impact evaluation on children’s dietary intakes:

• the programme appears to be reaching its targeted population, i.e., families of working parents with poor resources and particularly families where mothers are the main income generator
• beneficiary mothers are more likely to have a salaried (and possibly more stable) employment than mothers who use other childcare arrangements, which results in higher wages and a larger number of employment benefits
• the programme is having a significant and positive impact on children’s nutrient intake and dietary diversity