Consequences of Cash Benefits for Children in Immigrant Families, 2000

It has been a public goal to encourage increased use of kindergartens among children with ethnic minority background. When the cash benefit program was introduced, it was criticized for the possibility of having opposite effects. On the basis of this problem, three questions have been adressed in the FAFO-report "Kontantstøttens konsekvenser for barn i innvandrerfamilier, 2000":

1. Is the share of parents who receive cash benefits larger among ethnical minorities than in the majority population?
2. Do cash benefits lead to reduced usage of kindergartens among one and two-year old children with ethnical minority background?
3. Do cash benefits lead to altered usage of kindergartens among children in the age between three and six year with ethnical background, in families where they receive cash benefits?

The survey is based on interviews of 442 parents of young children, living in Oslo or Akershus. The parents had ethnical background in Norway, Pakistan, Somalia or Vietnam. The groups are chosen in order to include the largest minority groups at the same time as it was preferable to include typical refugee groups and immigrant-/family reunion groups. In general we also knew that the various ethnical groups choose different child care services and this was accounted for.