The Wait List as Redistributive Policy: Access and Burdens in the Subsidized Childcare System

Abstract

This article theorizes the wait list as an underexamined vehicle of administrative burden. Wait lists are now common within the U.S. social safety net, yet little research has considered their administration. Drawing on a surprising case of Massachusetts’ declining wait list for subsidized childcare, I find that administrative burdens were introduced to the list following state questioning of agency competence. The burdens have resulted in the ongoing deactivation of thousands of caseloads from the list per month and a 75 percent reduction in the total number of waiting families in just five years. My findings suggest wait lists as understudied but consequential sites of opaque policymaking that shape access to critical social services and the legibility of unmet need.