Between Benefits and Burdens: Navigating the Dutch landscape of childcare allowances from a migrant perspective

Abstract

This study investigates how parents' perceived accessibility to childcare benefits differs among parents with and without migrant backgrounds, focusing on the roles of functional and digital literacy. Despite the increased availability of childcare services, complex policy procedures and digital requirements can create barriers to access, particularly among parents with a migrant background. Using representative panel data from the Netherlands, where childcare benefits are administered within a private market framework, we quantitatively examine how functional and digital literacy shape perceived accessibility to childcare benefits. Although no significant relationship was found between migrant background and perceived accessibility to childcare benefits, our findings reveal a significant association between functional literacy (i.e., the ability to navigate the policy landscape) and digital literacy (which involves online information-seeking and benefit applications) with parents' perceived accessibility to childcare benefits. Our results suggest that practical competencies in understanding and engaging with bureaucratic texts, along with digital skills for navigating online application processes, are crucial for the perceived accessibility of childcare benefits. By highlighting the influence of both functional and digital literacy, our study offers much-needed insights into the impact of complex policy application procedures and the reliance on digitally administered benefits in increasingly digitalised social policy systems.