Caring for Children

Chapter 3: Caring for Children

SOCIETAL CHANGES AND WORKING MOTHERS
WHO CARES FOR CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES?
FACTORS THAT AFFECT CHILD CARE
FORMAL CHILD CARE FACILITIES
THE COST OF CHILD CARE

SOCIETAL CHANGES AND WORKING MOTHERS

In the early twenty-first century, women with young children were much more likely to work outside the home than they had been three decades previously. Jane Lawler Dye of the U.S. Census Bureau reports in Fertility of American Women: June 2004 (December 2005, http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p20-555.pdf) that in 1976, 31% of women aged 15 to 44 with a child under 12 months old worked. By 1998, this number had risen to 59% of allwomen with a child under 12months old; from 2000 through 2004 the number stabilized at 55% of allwomenwho had given birth in the past year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates in the press release “Employment Characteristics of Families in 2007” (May 30, 2008, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf) that in 2007 this percentage had increased slightly to 55.1%. In 2007, 63.3% of mothers with children under the age of six and 77.2% of mothers with school-age children were in the labor force. (See Table 3.1.)

Many factors contributed to the greater proportion of mothers in the workforce. Legislation passed in the late 1970s made it more possible for women to return to work after the birth of a child. In 1976 tax code changes allowed families a tax credit on child care costs, making it more financially feasible for women to return to work. In 1978 the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed, making it illegal for employers to discriminate in hiring, firing, promoting, or determining pay levels based on pregnancy or childbirth. In 1993 the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed, requiring employers to give eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for childbearing or family care each year.

Societal changes also contributed to the greater number of women with young children participating in the labor force. In Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns, 1961–1995 (November 2001, http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p70-79.pdf), Kirsten Smith, Barbara Downs, and Martin O'Connell of the Census Bureau review the changing demographic profile of first-time mothers between the 1960s and 1990s to explain, in part, this increase. The researchers emphasize that during this period the incidence of first-time motherhood at age 30 and older tripled and that first-time mothers in the 1990s tended to be better educated than their 1960 counterparts. These older, well-educated mothers often viewed their jobs as long-term careers and believed time lost could adversely affect their ability to hold a position and earn promotions and could decrease contributions to retirement funds. This trend continued into the twenty-first century. Joyce A. Martin et al. of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note in “Births: Final Data for 2005” (National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 56, no. 6, December 5, 2007) that the mean age of first-time mothers reached 25.2 years in 2003, up from 22.7 years in 1980 and an all-time high for American women; this age remained unchanged in 2005. However, by the end of 2006, Martin et al. indicate in “Births: Final Data for 2006” (National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 57, no. 7, January 7, 2009) that the age had dropped to 25—the first decline in some 40 years.

Furthermore, the increasing number of single mothers meant that more women had to work to support their families. In 1970, 3.4 million women maintained single-parent households; by 2007 this number had tripled to 9.9 million. (See Table 1.7 in Chapter 1.) Changes in government programs that provided assistance to poor families also resulted in increasing numbers of single mothers entering the workforce. In 1996 the federal government placed a two-year time limit on receiving public assistance benefits while not working, requiring poor parents to work even if they had to place young children in day care. In 2007, 72.8% of mothers in single-parent households worked. (See Table 3.2.) Nearly two-thirds (64.1%) of single mothers with children under three years old were in the labor force, with a 13.4% unemployment rate. (See Table 3.3.)

Married women have also entered the workforce in larger numbers. A decline in men's real wages plus a

 

TABLE 3.1 Employment status of population, by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under age 18, 2007
[Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic	2007
	Total	Men	Women
With own children under 18 years
Civilian noninstitutional population	66,801	29,684	37,117
Civilian labor force	54,370	28,002	26,368
Participation rate	81.4	94.3	71.0
Employed	52,373	27,216	25,157
Employment-population ratio	78.4	91.7	67.8
Full-time workersa	45,336	26,282	19,053
Part-time workersb	7,037	933	6,104
Unemployed	1,998	786	1,211
Unemployment rate	3.7	2.8	4.6
Married, spouse present
Civilian noninstitutional population	53,432	27,205	26,227
Civilian labor force	43,824	25,784	18,041
Participation rate	82.0	94.8	68.8
Employed	42,625	25,134	17,492
Employment-population ratio	79.8	92.4	66.7
Full-time workersa	37,120	24,332	12,788
Part-time workersb	5,505	802	4,704
Unemployed	1,199	650	549
Unemployment rate	2.7	2.5	3.0
Other marital statusc
Civilian noninstitutional population	13,369	2,479	10,890
Civilian labor force	10,546	2,219	8,328
Participation rate	78.9	89.5	76.5
Employed	9,747	2,082	7,665
Employment-population ratio	72.9	84.0	70.4
Full-time workersa	8,216	1,950	6,266
Part-time workersb	1,531	132	1,400
Unemployed	799	137	662
Unemployment rate	7.6	6.2	8.0
With own children 6 to 17 years, none younger
Civilian noninstitutional population	36,983	16,384	20,599
Civilian labor force	31,179	15,269	15,910
Participation rate	84.3	93.2	77.2
Employed	30,176	14,866	15,310
Employment-population ratio	81.6	90.7	74.3
Full-time workersa	26,288	14,378	11,910
Part-time workersb	3,888	488	3,400
Unemployed	1,003	403	600
Unemployment rate	3.2	2.6	3.8
With own children under 6 years
Civilian noninstitutional population	29,818	13,299	16,518
Civilian labor force	23,192	12,733	10,458
Participation rate	77.8	95.7	63.3
Employed	22,197	12,350	9,847
Employment-population ratio	74.4	92.9	59.6
Full-time workersa	19,048	11,904	7,143
Part-time workersb	3,149	446	2,704
Unemployed	995	383	611
Unemployment rate	4.3	3.0	5.8

rising cost of living has led some two-parent families to decide to maintain two incomes to meet financial obligations and pay for their children's future college expenses. According to the Census Bureau, in The 2009 Statistical Abstract (2008, http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/09s0678.pdf), the median income in 2006 for married couples with one or more children under the age of 18 in which both the husband and wife worked was $86,338, which was significantly higher than the $57,452 median income for married-couple families in which the wife was

TABLE 3.1 Employment status of population, by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under age 18, 2007 [CONTINUED]
[Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic	2007
	Total	Men	Women
a Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
b Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
c Includes never married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
Notes: 2006 estimates for total and for men differ from those published in the “Employment Characteristics of Families in 2006” news release (USDL 07-0673) due to a change in the weights for the estimates of married men. Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Data may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
SOURCE: Adapted from “Table 5. Employment Status of the Population by Sex, Marital Status, and Presence and Age of Own Children under 18, 2006–07 Annual Averages,” in Employment Characteristics of Families in 2007, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 30, 2008, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf (accessed November 2, 2008)
With no own children under 18 years
Civilian noninstitutional population	165,066	82,489	82,577
Civilian labor force	98,754	54,134	44,620
Participation rate	59.8	65.6	54.0
Employed	93,674	51,039	42,635
Employment-population ratio	56.7	61.9	51.6
Full-time workersa	75,755	43,752	32,003
Part-time workersb	17,919	7,286	10,632
Unemployed	5,080	3,095	10,632
Unemployment rate	5.1	5.7	4.4

not in the paid labor force. Table 3.1 shows that 68.8% of married women with children under the age of 18 were in the labor force in 2007, and Table 3.3 shows that 57.4% of married women with children under the age of three were in the labor force in that year. According to Table 3.2, in 62.2% of married-couple families with children under 18 years old, both parents were employed. Many families have come to depend on women's economic contributions to the household.

WHO CARES FOR CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES?

School-Age Children

Married parents who both work and single parents who work need reliable child care. The Federal Inter-agency Forum on Child and Family Statistics reports in America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008 (2008, http://www.childstats.gov/pdf/ac2008/ac_08.pdf) that about half of children in kindergarten through eighth grade were cared for by someone other than their parents in 2005. (See Figure 3.1.) Of those who were cared for by someone other than parents, younger children were more likely to receive home- or center-based care for before- or after-school hours; children in grades four and up were less likely to receive these types of care and more likely to care for themselves. Only 2.6% of children in kindergarten through third grade cared for themselves regularly, whereas 22.2% of older children did. (See Table 3.4.)

 

TABLE 3.2 Employment status of parents, by age of youngest child and family type, 2007
[Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic	Number	Percent distribution
	2007	2007
*No spouse present.
Note: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Data may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
SOURCE: Adapted from “Table 4. Families with Own Children: Employment Status of Parents by Age of Youngest Child and Family Type, 2006–07 Annual Averages,” in Employment Characteristics of Families in 2007, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 30, 2008, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee/pdf (accessed November 2, 2008)
With own children under 18 years
Total	35,856	100.0
Parent(s) employed	32,538	90.7
No parent employed	3,318	9.3
Married-couple families	25,125	100.0
Parent(s) employed	24,459	97.3
Mother employed	16,855	67.1
Both parents employed	15,627	62.2
Mother employed, not father	1,228	4.9
Father employed, not mother	7,604	30.3
Neither parent employed	666	2.7
Families maintained by women*	8,554	100.0
Mother employed	6,224	72.8
Mother not employed	2,330	27.2
Families maintained by men*	2,177	100.0
Father employed	1,855	85.2
Father not employed	322	14.8
With own children 6 to 17 years, none younger
Total	20,361	100.0
Parent(s) employed	18,619	91.4
No parent employed	1,742	8.6
Married-couple families	13,823	100.0
Parent(s) employed	13,435	97.2
Mother employed	10,126	73.3
Both parents employed	9,341	67.6
Mother employed, not father	785	5.7
Father employed, not mother	3,309	23.9
Neither parent employed	388	2.8
Families maintained by women*	5,224	100.0
Mother employed	4,070	77.9
Mother not employed	1,155	22.1
Families maintained by men*	1,314	100.0
Father employed	1,115	84.9
Father not employed	199	15.1
With own children under 6 years
Total	15,495	100.0
Parent(s) employed	13,918	89.8
No parent employed	1,576	10.2
Married-couple families	11,302	100.0
Parent(s) employed	11,024	97.5
Mother employed	6,729	59.5
Both parents employed	6,287	55.6
Mother employed, not father	442	3.9
Father employed, not mother	4,295	38.0
Neither parent employed	278	2.5
Families maintained by women*	3,329	100.0
Mother employed	2,154	64.7
Mother not employed	1,175	35.3
Families maintained by men*	863	100.0
Father employed	740	85.7
Father not employed	123	14.3

SELF-CARE—LATCHKEY KIDS . The term latchkey kids is used to describe children left alone or unsupervised either during the day or before or after school. These are children five to 14 years of age whose parents report “child cares for self” as either the primary or secondary child care arrangement. In 2005 approximately 5.6 million school-age children cared for themselves regularly without adult supervision. (See Table 3.5.) Self-care was higher among children who lived with their fathers without their mother present than it was among children who lived with their mothers, with or without their fathers present, in all age groups. Most of these children were 12 and older, but 1.5 million children 11 years of age and younger regularly took care of themselves. In Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Winter 2002 (October 2005, http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-101.pdf), Julia Overturf Johnson of the Census Bureau finds that the percentage of children in self-care held steady between 1997 and 2002 in both families with married parents and in families living with an unemployed single parent; however, the percentage of children of a single, employed parent in self-care actually declined from 24% in 1997 to 18% in 2002.

TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS . More than half of all families use after-school programs, and in many families, parents rely on after-school care to provide a safe and nurturing place for their children while they are working. In response to concerns about the availability of quality after-school programs, the U.S. Department of Education initiated Twenty-First-Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), which was authorized under Title X, Part I, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and reauthorized under Title IV, Part B, of the No Child Left Behind Act. This initiative gives grants to low-performance elementary and middle schools in rural and urban areas to provide after-school opportunities for their students, both educational and recreational. In 1997 the 21st CCLC had a budget of only $1 million; by fiscal year 2008 the program's budget had increased tenfold, to $1.1 billion. According to the Department of Education, in “21st CCLC Profile and Performance Information Collection System” (2008, http://ppics.learningpt.org/ppics/publicGrantSearch.asp), by 2008 the 21st CCLC supported 4,183 after-school programs across the country.

Deborah Lowe Vandell, Elizabeth R. Reisner, and Kim M. Pierce note in Outcomes Linked to High-Quality Afterschool Programs: Longitudinal Findings from the Study of Promising Afterschool Programs (October 2007, http://www.policystudies.com/studies/youth/Promising%20Programs%20Final%20Report%20FINAL%2010-23-07.pdf) that participation in high-quality afterschool programs in 2007 was associated with improved outcomes among disadvantaged students. The study included a group of 3,000 low-income, ethnically diverse elementary and middle school students. These students improved their

 

TABLE 3.3 Employment status of mothers with own children under three years old, by single year of age of youngest child and marital status, 2007
[Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic	Civilian noninstitutional population	Civilian labor force
		Total	Percent of population	Employed				Unemployed
				Total	Percent of population	Full-time workersa	Part-time workersb	Number	Percent of labor force
a Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
b Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
c Includes never married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
Notes: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Data may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
SOURCE: Adapted from “Table 6. Employment Status of Mothers with Own Children Under 3 Years Old by Single Year of Age of Youngest Child and Marital Status, 2006–07 Annual Averages,” in Employment Characteristics of Families in 2007, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 30, 2008, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf (accessed November 2, 2008)
2007
Total mothers
With own children under 3 years old	9,659	5,721	59.2	5,354	55.4	3,783	1,571	367	6.4
2 years	2,812	1,808	64.3	1,694	60.2	1,225	469	114	6.3
1 year	3,501	2,068	59.1	1,938	55.4	1,350	589	130	6.3
Under 1 year	3,346	1,845	55.1	1,721	51.4	1,208	513	123	6.7
Married, spouse present
With own children under 3 years old	7,018	4,027	57.4	3,888	55.4	2,730	1,157	140	3.5
2 years	2,076	1,281	61.7	1,230	59.2	881	349	51	4.0
1 year	2,536	1,433	56.5	1,388	54.7	954	434	46	3.2
Under 1 year	2,406	1,313	54.6	1,270	52.8	896	374	43	3.3
Other marital statusc
With own children under 3 years old	2,641	1,694	64.1	1,466	55.5	1,052	414	227	13.4
2 years	736	528	71.6	464	63.1	344	120	63	12.0
1 year	965	635	65.8	551	57.1	396	155	84	13.2
Under 1 year	940	531	56.5	451	48.0	312	139	80	15.1

   

TABLE 3.4 Percentage of children in kindergarten through eighth grade by weekday care and before- and after-school activities, by grade level, poverty, race, and Hispanic origin, 2005
Grade level, care arrangement, and activity	Poverty status				Race and Hispanic origina
	Total	Below 100% poverty	100–199% poverty	200% poverty and above	White, non-Hispanic	Black, non-Hispanic	Asian	Hispanic
a The 1997 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used, allowing persons to select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native and respondents with two or more races. Respondents who reported the child being Asian or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander were combined. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
b Children may have multiple nonparental child care arrangements, in addition to being involved in more than one activity; thus, the total of the four kinds of nonparental arrangements may not sum to the category “nonparental care.” Likewise, the seven activities listed may not sum to the category “any activity.” Activities include organized programs a child participates in outside of school hours that are not part of a before- or after-school program.
c Home-based care includes care that takes place in a relative's or nonrelative's private home.
d Arts include activities such as music, dance, and painting.
e Academic activities include activities such as tutoring or math lab.
SOURCE: “Table FAM3.C. Child Care: Percentage of Children in Kindergarten through 8th-Grade by Weekday Care and Before-and After-School Activities by Grade Level, Poverty Status, and Race and Hispanic Origin, 2005,” in America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2008,http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables.asp (accessed November 2, 2008)
Kindergarten through 3rd grade
Care arrangements
Parental care only	53.1	52.0	54.5	53.0	58.3	34.6	49.9	55.3
Nonparental careb	46.9	48.0	45.5	47.0	41.7	65.4	50.1	44.7
Home-based carec	23.6	25.2	24.5	22.6	22.0	32.2	26.5	20.4
Center-based care	24.4	25.0	21.6	25.2	20.5	39.8	21.4	23.4
Activities used for supervision	5.2	3.1	5.3	6.0	4.8	5.8	13.4	3.2
Self care	2.6	5.1	3.6	1.3	1.6	4.1	3.6	4.2
Activities
Any activityb	46.2	24.3	34.0	59.5	56.2	30.4	45.8	30.4
Sports	31.8	12.1	19.5	44.3	40.2	16.8	29.3	20.8
Religious activities	19.4	13.5	14.8	23.4	24.0	14.6	11.5	11.9
Artsd	17.2	6.0	10.8	24.1	21.8	8.3	27.1	8.2
Scouts	12.9	5.3	8.0	17.8	18.2	4.9	11.1	3.8
Academic activitiese	4.7	3.8	3.8	5.3	5.1	4.4	7.4	3.5
Community services	4.2	1.9	3.0	5.5	5.3	3.3	2.6	1.7
Clubs	3.2	1.3	2.4	4.3	4.3	1.1	4.2	1.8
4th through 8th grade
Care arrangements
Parental care only	46.9	46.7	45.2	47.6	51.2	34.5	44.2	45.0
Nonparental careb	53.1	53.3	54.8	52.4	48.8	65.5	55.8	55.0
Home-based carec	18.1	15.0	20.0	18.4	16.4	24.1	17.5	18.6
Center-based care	19.0	21.3	21.3	17.4	14.2	28.9	21.9	25.4
Activities used for supervision	9.0	7.8	6.9	10.2	8.9	10.5	11.9	7.5
Self care	22.2	23.5	23.8	21.2	21.1	27.1	21.0	19.6
Activities
Any activityb	53.7	30.4	40.5	65.9	63.3	39.7	51.2	35.4
Sports	39.3	18.6	26.1	50.8	47.8	24.2	37.2	26.7
Religious activities	24.9	12.5	20.0	30.7	29.7	20.9	18.3	14.8
Artsd	21.5	9.7	12.5	28.5	25.8	13.3	25.5	13.2
Scouts	10.1	4.8	6.4	13.2	13.3	5.6	7.7	5.4
Academic activitiese	9.7	6.6	7.1	11.6	10.0	12.0	13.0	5.9
Community services	12.7	5.0	10.6	15.9	15.6	8.2	13.1	7.1
Clubs	8.7	3.7	4.6	11.8	11.0	4.9	8.9	4.1

standardized test scores and work habits and reduced problem behaviors. They also posted gains in teacher-reported social skills.

Children Younger Than Five (Preschoolers)

In 2005, 50.7% of children under the age of two and 73.7% of children aged three to six were in nonparental care at least some of the time. (See Table 3.6.) Among the youngest children, home-based care by a relative was most common (22%), followed by care in a center-based program (19.6%) and home-based care by a nonrelative (15.6%). Among older preschoolers, center-based programs were by far the most common; 57.1% of three- to six-year-olds were enrolled in these programs, whereas 22.7% were cared for in a home by a relative, and only 11.7% were cared for in a home by a nonrelative. These numbers reflect the fact that as their children grow from infancy to school age, working mothers often change child care arrangements to meet the needs of their children, their families, and their employers. Making child care arrangements for infants and toddlers is often more difficult than for older children, because fewer organized child care facilities admit infants and very young children, primarily due to the cost involved in hiring enough workers and adapting facilities to care adequately for babies. In addition, many parents prefer, if possible, to keep their infants in a home environment as long as possible. Also,

 

TABLE 3.5 Prevalence of self-care among grade school-aged children, by selected characteristics, 2005
[Numbers in thousands, except for percents]
Characteristics	Child 5 to 8 years			Child 9 to 11 years			Child 12 to 14 years
	Total	In self-care		Total	In self-care		Total	In self-care
		Number	Percent		Number	Percent		Number	Percent
SOURCE: “Table 4. Children in Self-Care, by Age of Child, Employment Status of Mother, and Selected Characteristics for Children Living with Mother: Spring 2005,” in Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2005, U.S. Census Bureau, February 2008, http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/child/ppl-2005.html (accessed November 2, 2008)
Total	14,889	284	1.9	12,097	1,196	9.9	12,584	4,135	32.9
Living with father only	527	16	3.0	522	60	11.5	683	254	37.2
Living with mother	14,362	269	1.9	11,575	1,135	9.8	11,901	3,881	32.6
Marital status of mother
Married	10,590	172	1.6	8,363	754	9.0	8,435	2,698	32.0
Widowed, separated, divorced	1,844	57	3.1	1,959	270	13.8	2,306	862	37.4
Never married	1,928	40	2.1	1,253	111	8.9	1,160	320	27.6
Race and Hispanic origin of mother
White alone	11,182	209	1.9	9,037	958	10.6	9,256	3,138	33.9
Non-Hispanic	8,624	161	1.9	7,052	829	11.8	7,398	2,694	36.4
Black alone	2,082	37	1.8	1,843	130	7.1	1,867	518	27.7
Asian alone	563	10	1.8	392	17	4.3	395	87	22.0
Hispanic (of any race)	2,774	53	1.9	2,100	132	6.3	2,004	482	24.1
Age of mother
15–24 years	664	5	0.8	80	14	17.5	37	9	24.3
25–34 years	6,238	105	1.7	3,528	320	9.1	2,145	587	27.4
35+ years	7,460	159	2.1	7,967	802	10.1	9,719	3,286	33.8
Education level of mother
Less than high school	1,662	18	1.1	1,369	70	5.1	1,314	254	19.3
High school graduate	3,766	97	2.6	2,995	263	8.8	3,350	1,058	31.6
Some college	5,200	83	1.6	4,442	525	11.8	4,605	1,516	32.9
Bachelor's degree or higher	3,734	70	1.9	2,769	278	10.0	2,632	1,053	40.0
Employment status of mother
Employed	9,285	208	2.2	7,931	889	11.2	8,459	3,149	37.2
Not employed
In school and not in labor force	363	9	2.5	274	19	6.9	197	48	24.4
Looking for work	783	4	0.5	553	69	12.5	458	112	24.5
Not in labor force	3,932	48	1.2	2,816	159	5.6	2,786	572	20.5
Family poverty level
Below poverty level	2,543	62	2.4	2,070	175	8.5	1,963	450	22.9
At or above poverty level	11,498	199	1.7	9,229	948	10.3	9,767	3,387	34.7
100–199 percent of poverty level	3,493	59	1.7	2,629	190	7.2	2,606	671	25.7
200+ percent of poverty level	8,006	139	1.7	6,600	759	11.5	7,160	2,716	37.9
Missing	320	9	2.8	275	13	4.7	171	44	25.7

many mothers view center-based programs, which often have an educational focus, as most appropriate for older preschoolers.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT CHILD CARE

Preschool Child Care

RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES . In 2005 African-American mothers of preschoolers relied more heavily on relatives to provide child care than did other mothers. More than one out of four (27.7%) African-American preschoolers were cared for by relatives in that year, compared to 21% of non-Hispanic white preschoolers, 21.2% of Hispanic preschoolers, and 21.3% of Asian-American preschoolers. (See Table 3.6.) Non-Hispanic white preschoolers (54.8%), African-American preschoolers (54.1%), and Asian-American preschoolers (46%) were all more likely to be cared for by nonrelatives or in center-based programs than were Hispanic preschoolers (35.6%).

POVERTY MAKES A DIFFERENCE . In 2005, 85.3% of preschoolers whose mothers worked full time (35 hours or more each week) and 69.7% of preschoolers whose mothers worked part time were regularly in nonparental care. (See Table 3.6.) However, the type of care varied by the income levels of these families. A substantial number of children from low-income families are cared-for in unregulated home-based settings. Gina Adams, Kathryn Tout, and Martha Zaslow note in Early Care and Education for Children in Low-Income Families (January 12, 2006, http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411482_early_care.pdf) that “several observational studies have found unregulated home-based care of lower quality than regulated home-based settings in which low-income children participate. Studies question specific aspects of quality, such as prolonged exposure to television, missed opportunities for learning, and health and safety issues.” In “Snapshots of America's Families III: Children in Low-Income Families Are Less Likely to Be in Center-Based Child Care” (January 27, 2004, http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310923_snapshots3_no16.pdf),

 

TABLE 3.6 Percentage of preschool children by type of care arrangement and child and family characteristics, 1995, 2001, and 2005
Characteristic	Parental care only			Type of nonparental care arrangement
				Total in nonparental careb			Care in a homea						Center-based programc
							By a relative			By a nonrelative
	1995	2001	2005	1995	2001	2005	1995	2001	2005	1995	2001	2005	1995	2001	2005
—Not available.
a Relative and nonrelative care can take place in either the child's own home or another home.
b Some children participate in more than one type of nonparental care arrangement. Thus, details do not sum to the total percentage of children in nonparental care.
c Center-based programs include day care centers, prekindergartens, nursery schools, Head Start programs, and other early childhood education programs.
d In 1995 and 2001, the 1977 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: white, black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. For data from 2005, the revised 1997 OMB standards were used. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: white, black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native and respondents with two or more races. For continuity purposes, in 2005, respondents who reported the child being Asian or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander were combined. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
e Refers to adults' relationship to child and does not indicate marital status.
f Children without a mother in the home are excluded from estimates of mother's highest level of education and mother's employment status.
SOURCE: Adapted from “Table FAM.3.A. Child Care: Percentage of Children Ages 0–6, Not Yet in Kindergarten by Type of Care Arrangement and Child and Family Characteristics, 1995, 2001, and 2005,” in America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2008, http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables.asp (accessed November 2, 2008)
Total	39.9	38.8	39.2	60.1	61.2	60.8	21.1	23.1	22.3	18.0	16.3	13.9	30.5	33.4	36.1
Age
Ages 0–2	50.5	48.0	49.3	49.5	52.0	50.7	22.5	23.3	22.0	18.9	18.0	15.6	11.9	16.5	19.6
Ages 3–6, not yet in kindergarten	25.9	26.3	23.6	74.1	73.7	73.7	19.4	22.7	22.7	16.9	14.0	11.7	55.0	56.3	57.1
Race and Hispanic origind
White, non-Hispanic	38.3	38.4	37.2	61.7	61.6	62.8	17.9	20.3	21.0	21.3	18.7	17.0	32.9	35.1	37.8
Black, non-Hispanic	34.2	26.1	30.1	65.8	73.9	69.9	31.4	34.6	27.7	11.6	12.9	10.2	33.0	40.2	43.9
Asian	41.8	43.2	43.5	58.2	56.8	56.5	26.6	22.9	21.3	9.1	8.7	9.0	29.6	34.1	37.0
Hispanic	53.7	52.0	50.5	46.3	48.0	49.5	23.4	22.9	21.2	11.8	11.8	10.4	17.0	20.7	25.2
Poverty status
Below 100% poverty	50.4	45.3	49.2	49.6	54.7	50.8	23.2	27.4	23.3	10.0	10.6	8.0	23.5	26.9	28.3
100–199% poverty	47.7	46.3	47.2	52.3	53.7	52.8	23.0	22.5	23.5	13.3	12.6	9.3	23.7	27.8	29.4
200% poverty and above	29.9	32.7	31.6	70.1	67.3	68.4	19.1	21.4	21.4	25.1	20.5	18.3	37.9	38.7	42.2
Family type
Two parentse	42.0	42.7	42.9	58.0	57.3	57.1	17.2	19.0	18.8	19.2	16.2	14.1	29.9	32.3	34.4
Two parents, married	—	42.2	41.8	—	57.8	58.2	—	18.4	18.6	—	16.6	14.2	—	33.1	35.8
Two parents, unmarried	—	47.3	53.0	—	52.7	47.0	—	24.4	20.4	—	12.4	13.0	—	25.0	21.7
One parent	33.0	26.5	24.9	67.0	73.5	75.1	33.3	36.6	36.0	15.2	17.3	13.4	32.4	36.1	42.3
No parents	45.3	17.9	33.1	54.8	82.1	66.9	17.4	38.5	28.3	10.8	9.2	10.0	30.5	47.9	43.6
Mother's highest level of educationf
Less than high school	61.7	55.5	63.7	38.3	44.5	36.3	19.8	21.7	16.1	6.6	8.3	5.5	15.7	20.8	18.9
High school diploma or equivalent	43.7	42.3	44.4	56.3	57.7	55.6	23.4	26.2	24.1	15.0	13.3	9.9	26.0	28.1	30.7
Some college, including vocational/technical/associate's degree	34.1	36.7	36.5	65.9	63.3	63.5	23.6	25.3	25.8	19.3	15.4	14.5	33.5	35.3	35.2
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.7	31.3	30.5	72.3	68.7	69.5	15.2	16.9	19.1	28.4	23.6	19.2	42.7	42.1	45.8
Mother's employment statusf
35 hours or more per week	11.9	14.8	14.7	88.1	85.2	85.3	33.4	34.0	31.8	31.7	26.2	23.3	38.9	42.1	47.6
Less than 35 hours per week	24.9	29.0	30.3	75.1	71.0	69.7	30.1	31.6	30.5	25.6	19.9	18.0	35.0	35.6	37.8
Looking for work	57.6	57.3	53.3	42.4	42.7	46.7	16.3	16.7	20.7	3.7	9.6	7.5	24.7	24.5	23.3
Not in the labor force	67.7	67.6	66.1	32.3	32.4	33.9	7.2	7.0	7.8	5.5	4.8	3.6	22.0	24.1	25.8

Jeffrey Capizzano and Gina Adams find that preschoolers from lower-income families (families with an income less than 200% of the poverty line) were less likely to be in center-based care (24.9%) than children from higher-income families (31.2%). The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics indicates in America's Children in Brief that data support this conclusion. In 2005, 42.2% of preschoolers from families whose incomes were above 200% of the poverty line were in center-based care, compared to 29.4% of children from families with incomes 100% to 199% of the poverty line and 28.3% of children from families with incomes below the poverty line. (See Table 3.6.)

Capizzano and Adams suggest the lower percentage of low-income children in center care reflects the lower cost of home-based care. At the same time, they argue there is evidence that quality, center-based care plays a big role in helping preschoolers make a successful transition to school and that low-income children are in large part missing this opportunity. In Key Facts: Essential Information about Child Care, Early Education, and School-Age Care (2003), Karen Blank, Karen Schulman, and Danielle Ewan also stress the

importance of providing low-income families with child care assistance to help their children succeed.

FORMAL CHILD CARE FACILITIES

Even though no comprehensive data exist on the types or quality of child care facilities in the United States, the National Association for Regulatory Administration estimates in The 2005 Child Care Licensing Study Executive Summary (2006, http://www.nara.affiniscape.com/associations/4734/files/Executive%20Summary.pdf) that in 2005 there were 335,520 licensed child care facilities in the United States, including 105,444 licensed child care centers and 213,966 licensed family child care homes. More than nine million children are taken care of in these licensed facilities, and over 70% of these children are in center-based programs. Many more unlicensed child care facilities exist, but because they are not regulated, no reliable statistics are collected.

In 2005, 50.7% of all children aged two and under and 73.7% of all children aged three to six spent time in non-parental care each week. (See Table 3.6.) Their care providers are major influences in their lives. Many working parents discover that quality and affordable care is very difficult to find. In some communities, child care is hard to find at any cost. Shortages of child care for infants, sick children, children with special needs, and for school children before and after school pose problems for many parents.

Regulations and Quality of Care

Federal assistance to low-income families to pay for child care eroded in the late twentieth century at the same time that the government imposed requirements that more low-income parents work. The 1996 welfare reform law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, eliminated the guarantee that families on welfare would receive subsidized child care and replaced it with the Child Care and Development Block Grant to states. Even though the legislation gave states wide discretion in the use of these funds, it also imposed penalties if states failed to meet criteria for getting low-income parents into the workforce.

This legislation pushed the issue of regulation of child care facilities to the forefront. In 1989 the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) initiated the Study of Early Child Care. This comprehensive ongoing longitudinal study was designed to answer many questions about the relationship between child care experiences and children's developmental outcomes. The 1999 phase of the study examined whether the amount of time children spent in child care affected their interactions with their mothers. The results showed that the number of hours infants and toddlers spent in child care was modestly linked to the sensitivity of the mother to her child, as well as to the engagement of the child with the mother in play activities. Children in consistent quality day care showed less problem behavior, whereas those who switched day care arrangements showed more problem behaviors. Children in quality care centers had higher cognitive and language development than those in lower-quality centers.

The second phase of the study, The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development: Findings for Children up to Age 4 1/2 Years (January 2006, http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/upload/seccyd_051206.pdf), found that the quality of child care had an impact on children's social and intellectual development. The study defined a better quality of care as care that met ideal adult-to-child ratios, maintained ideal group sizes, and had well-trained child care providers. It also focused on the quality of children's actual day-to-day experiences in child care, observing children's social interactions and their activities with toys.

The study found that children who were in higher-quality child care had better cognitive function and language development in the first three years of life, as well as greater school readiness by age four and a half. Children in higher-quality care were also more sensitive to other children, more cooperative, and less aggressive and disobedient than were children in lower-quality care. Lastly, the study found that children who were cared for in child care centers rather than in home-based care had better cognitive and language development, but also showed somewhat more behavior problems both in the child care setting and once they began kindergarten.

Child Care during Nonstandard Hours

Many parents choose to have one parent work non-standard hours to allow both parents to provide child care at different times of the day. According to the BLS, in the press release “Workers on Flexiblke and Shift Schedules in May 2004” (July 1, 2005, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/flex.pdf), in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 27 million workers, or 27.5% of all fulltime wage and salary workers, worked flexible hours and were able to vary their work hours to fit their schedules. That number was more than twice as many workers as in May 1985, but down from a high of 28.6% in May 2001. Flexible schedules were most common among management (44.7%) and professionals (31.5%), and were more common among non-Hispanic white (28.7%) and Asian-American (27.4%) workers than among African-American (19.7%) and Hispanic workers (18.4%). By contrast, the percentage of those who worked an evening or overnight shift had fallen from 18% in 1991 to 14.8% in 2004. When asked why they worked a non-daytime schedule, 8.2% of shift workers answered they did so for better family or child care arrangements.

THE COST OF CHILD CARE

In 2008 the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) published Parents and the High Price of Child Care: Update 2008 (http://issuu.com/naccrra/docs/price_report_2008), which surveyed child care costs across the country. The survey shows that the average yearly cost for child care in a child care center for a four-year-old ranged from $4,475 in Arkansas to $10,787 in Massachusetts. For an infant, annual costs jumped to $5,231 in Alabama and $14,591 in Massachusetts. Child care in urban care centers was so expensive that it could cost more than public college tuition.

Low-Income Families

NACCRRA notes in Parents and the High Price of Child Care that in 2008 a low-income family with two parents working full time, 52 weeks per year, at $5.85 per hour (the minimum wage after July 2007), earned $24,336 per year before taxes. These families spent an exorbitant proportion of their income on child care. For example, in New York, where the average annual cost of infant care was $13,437, the median income for single-parent families was $23,487. This family would spend 57.2% of its annual income on preschool care. Even in Nevada, where the cost of infant care averaged a relatively low $8,391, a single-parent family earning the median income of $26,170 would spend 32.1% of its annual income on child care.

In Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2005 Detailed Tables (February 28, 2008, http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/child/ppl-2005.html), the Census Bureau estimates that in 2005 the average married-couple family with a working mother with a preschool child spent 7.8% of its income on child care, whereas single mothers spent 13.5% of their family income on child care. Families in poverty in which the mother was employed paid an average of $82 per week in child care costs, 26.6% of the family income, compared to families not in poverty, who paid, on average, $132 per week, or 8.3% of the family income. Many poor and low-income families were forced to enroll their children in low-cost, and often poor-quality, child care centers. As a result, these children spent much of their day in unstimulating and possibly unsafe environments.

Government Assistance with Child Care

BLOCK GRANTS . In some cases, low-income and poor parents can receive government assistance in paying for child care. Recognizing that child care assistance helps contribute to a productive workforce, every state has a child care assistance program that subsidizes some child care using federal block grant money and state funds for those on welfare and for low-income working families. In some cases, parents receive a voucher that they can use to pay for a portion of child care costs; in other states, payments are made directly to the child care provider of the parents' choice. However, according to NACCRRA, in Breaking the Piggy Bank: Parents and the High Price of Child Care (February 2006, http://www.naccrra.org/docs/policy/Breaking%20the%20Piggy%20Bank_FINAL(printer).pdf), in 2005 17 states had waiting lists for child care assistance and Tennessee was no longer accepting applications even for its waiting list. Also, the income cut-off to even be eligible for assistance was extremely low. In other words, child care assistance is available to only a small percentage of those families who need it.

HEAD START . Perhaps the best-known and most successful government-funded child care program is Head Start, a federal program begun in 1965 under the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The free program provides early education, health care, social services, and free meals to preschool children in families whose incomes are below the poverty line or who receive public assistance. In “Head Start Program Fact Sheet” (February 2008, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/about/fy2008.html), the ACF states that Head Start operates in every state, and in fiscal year 2007 it served 908,412 children. The Children's Defense Fund reports in “Head Start Basics: 2005” (April 2005, http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/headstartbasics2005.pdf?docID=616) that the program has been shown to provide many benefits, including a greater likelihood that children will do well in school and graduate from high school.

TAX CREDITS . The Federal Dependent Care Tax Credit helps families by allowing them to claim an income tax credit for part of their child care expenses for children under the age of 13 that enabled parents to work outside the home. The credit is on a sliding scale, ranging from 20% to 35% of qualified expenses; therefore, lower-income families receive slightly larger credits. According to the Internal Revenue Service, in “Child and Dependent Care Credit” (2008, http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch32.html#d0e71607), in 2008 parents could claim up to $3,000 in qualified expenses for one child or $6,000 for two or more children.

FAMILY LEAVE. In 1993 Congress enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), requiring employers with 50 or more employees to give unpaid time off—12 weeks in any 12-month period—to employees to care for newborn or newly adopted children, sick family members, or for personal illness. The employee must be returned to the same position—or one equivalent in pay, benefits, and other terms of employment—and must receive uninterrupted health benefits. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that before this legislation, fewer than a quarter of all workers received family leave benefits and that most of those who did worked in establishments of more than 100 employees.

Jane Waldfogel states in “Family and Medical Leave: Evidence from the 2000 Surveys” (Monthly Labor Review,

September 2001) that in 2000, 17.9% of FMLA leave takers took their leave to care for a newborn, newly adopted, or newly placed foster child; 9.8% used it to care for a sick child; and 7.8% used it as maternity or disability time. Of all employees covered by the FMLA with children 18 months and younger, 45.1% of men and 75.8% of women had taken an FMLA leave in the previous 18 months.