Understanding Families’ Access to Nontraditional Hour Child Care and Early Education

Nontraditional-hour child care and early education (CCEE)—also referred to as nonstandard-hour CCEE—includes care in the early mornings (before 7 a.m.), in the evenings or overnight (after 6 p.m.), and on weekends. More than one-third of young children in the U.S. need CCEE during nontraditional hours, and families who work nontraditional hours face challenges in finding care providers for their schedules. Not all CCEE providers offer nontraditional-hour care, and when they do, they may focus only on particular time frames, such as early mornings or weekend care.