Room to grow: examining participation and stability in child care subsidies using state administrative data

•The child care subsidy program in Virginia reached few eligible children before they enter kindergarten.•Families received child care subsidies for brief periods of time, with a median rate of less than a year (10 months) in 2019.•Stability in child care subsidy participation varied by gender, race, and geography.•Males, non-Hispanic white children, and those in rural areas experienced higher levels of stability than their counterparts.