The distance between homes and childcare providers serves as a crucial factor in evaluating accessibility and equity in early childhood education. Spatial mismatch between childcare demand and supply is suggested when families opt for facilities further than the nearest available options, a situation scarcely scrutinized in existing literature, especially among under-six children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. To fill this research gap, this study leverages the excess commuting analysis to delve into the extent of extended travel undertaken by subsidized families to access childcare services. Utilizing real enrollment data from the Florida's School Readiness program, it quantifies the disparity between actual and shortest possible commuting distances, investigating the tendencies of low-income families to forgo nearby providers for their young children. Furthermore, the research probes into age-related disparities in excess commuting, examining to what degree childcare facilities are more conveniently located for certain age groups compared to others. The analysis unveils substantial spatial mismatch in subsidized childcare, with a significant portion of low-income families choosing more distant providers, resulting in a 51.3% surplus in commuting distance. It also highlights a noticeable age-dependent trend in this mismatch: parents of infants face a dual disadvantage with longer commutes, compared to families with five-year-olds who have closer access to providers. The findings advocate for policy reforms that address these disparities, enhancing the efficiency and equity of childcare resource allocation.

中文翻译：

---

揭示托儿服务供给与需求的空间错配：补贴家庭家到托儿服务距离的过度通勤分析

家庭和托儿服务提供者之间的距离是评估幼儿教育的可及性和公平性的关键因素。当家庭选择比最近的可用设施更远的设施时，就表明儿童保育需求与供应之间存在空间不匹配，现有文献中几乎没有仔细研究这种情况，特别是对于来自经济弱势背景的六岁以下儿童。为了填补这一研究空白，本研究利用过度通勤分析来深入研究受补贴家庭为获得儿童保育服务而进行的长时间旅行的程度。它利用佛罗里达州入学准备计划的真实入学数据，量化了实际通勤距离和最短通勤距离之间的差异，调查了低收入家庭为年幼的孩子放弃附近医疗服务提供者的倾向。此外，该研究还探讨了与年龄相关的过度通勤的差异，研究了与其他年龄段相比，某些年龄段的托儿设施在多大程度上更方便。分析显示，儿童保育补贴存在严重的空间不匹配，很大一部分低收入家庭选择距离较远的服务提供者，导致通勤距离富余 51.3%。它还凸显了这种不匹配中明显的年龄依赖性趋势：与有五岁孩子的家庭相比，婴儿的父母面临着双重劣势，他们的通勤时间更长，而五岁孩子的家庭更容易获得医疗服务。研究结果主张进行政策改革，解决这些差异，提高儿童保育资源分配的效率和公平性。