Trends, 1997: Economic Security: ES3.5 Child Care

ES 3.5

CHILD CARE

The child care needs of American families have been increasing over the past several decades as mothers have moved into the labor force in ever greater numbers. Child care that is reliable and of high quality is especially important for infants and preschoolers because they are dependent on caregivers for their basic needs and safety. Yet the quality of care varies substantially in the United States.²⁵ Research has clearly demonstrated that child care quality can have substantial impacts on the development of a young child's personality, cognitive skills, social skills, and well-being.

Child Care Centers and Preschools. As shown in Table ES.3.5.A, working mothers with preschool children have increasingly chosen care provided in day care centers and preschools. In 1965, only 8 percent of mothers working full time chose day care centers and preschools for child care. By 1993, 34 percent did so. Similarly, for children whose mothers worked part time, use of child care centers and preschools increased from 3 percent in 1965 to 23 percent in 1993.

Child Care in a Non-Relative's Home. For children of full-time working mothers, care in a non-relative's home peaked at 27 percent in the mid-1980s, then declined to 18 percent by 1993. Similarly, for children whose mothers worked part time, care in a non-relative's home peaked at 19 percent in 1982 and has since declined to 14 percent.

Care by Fathers and Other Relatives. The fraction of children of full-time working mothers cared for by fathers or other relatives in the child's home was 28 percent in 1993 — exactly the same as in 1965. The fraction of children of part-time working mothers cared for by fathers or other relatives in the child's home was 38 percent in 1993 — about the same as in 1977 and slightly higher than in 1965.

Child Care Arrangements by Various Child and Family Characteristics. Table ES.3.5.B presents 1993 estimates of the distribution of child care types used by all working mothers (regardless of hours worked) by child's race/ethnicity, age, mother's marital status and educational attainment, poverty status, monthly income, and AFDC program participation status. The information in this table indicates the following:

Prior to age 3, the most common arrangement for child care is in another home by either a relative or non-relative. Forty percent for children under age one and 37 percent of children ages 1-2 whose mothers are employed are in this kind of care arrangement.
For children ages 3-4 whose mothers are employed, the most common arrangement for care is child care centers and preschools. Thirty-nine percent of children are in this care arrangement. Twenty-four percent are cared for by a relative or non-relative in another home. Hispanic families, however, are much less likely than white and black non-Hispanics to use day care centers and preschools.
Children with mothers of higher socioeconomic status are the most likely to be receiving care from a day care center or preschool. For example, 20 percent of poor children under age 5 receive care from such sources, compared to 31 percent of non-poor children. Only 20 percent of children whose mothers have less than a high school diploma receive care from a day care center or preschool, compared to 36 percent of children whose mothers have a college degree. In contrast, 52 percent of children of poor mothers are cared for by relatives compared with only 40 percent of children of non-poor mothers, and 54 percent of children of mothers without a high school diploma are cared for by relatives compared with only 31 percent of children of mothers with a college degree.
Children whose families participate in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program appear somewhat less likely than other children to attend day care centers or preschools (26 percent for participants versus 30 percent for nonparticipants). They are also less likely to be cared for by their fathers (5 percent for participants versus 16 percent for nonparticipants). However, 40 percent of children in AFDC families are cared for by other relatives compared with only 24 percent for children whose families do not participate in AFDC.

Table ES 3.5.A Percentage of Children Under Age Five with Employed Mothers in Differing Child Care Arrangements, by Employment Status, 1965-1993

	1965^a,b	1977^b	1982^b	1984-85	1988	1991	1993
Mother Employed Full - Time
Day care center or preschool	8	15	20	30	31	28	34
Non-relative care in provider's home	20	27	25	27	27	21	18
Grandparent/other relative in relative's home	18	21	21	16	14	14	17
Father in child's home	10	11	11	10	8	15	11
Other care in child's home	37	18	16	13	13	15	15
Other care outside child's home^c	7	8	7	4	7	7	5

Mother Employed Part - Time
Day care center or preschool	3	9	8	17	17	15	23
Non-relative care in provider's home	8	16	19	14	17	13	14
Grandparent/other relative in relative's home	9	13	16	16	11	11	13
Father in child's home	23	23	21	22	27	29	25
Other care in child's home	24	20	20	18	14	17	15
Other care outside child's home^c	33	19	26	13	14	15	10


Notes: ^aData for 1965 are for children under 6 years old. ^bData for 1982 and earlier are based on survey questions that asked about care arrangements for youngest child in the family. Percentages for 1982 and earlier have been recalculated after removal of cases in "don't know" category. ^cIncludes children who are cared for by their mother at work, or in kindergarten or school-based activities.
Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-70, No. 9, P-70, No. 30, and P-70, No. 36, Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Winter 1984-1985, 1988 and 1991, 1987, Table 3; 1992, Table 1; and 1994, Table 1; Series P-23, No. 117, Trends in Child Care Arrangements of Working Mothers, Table A; and Series P-70, No. 53, Who's Minding Our Preschoolers?, Table 1: U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

Table ES 3.5.B Percentage of Children Under Age Five with Employed Mothers in Differing Child Care Arrangements, by Selected Characteristics, 1993
		Day care center^a	Father in child's home	Other Relative in child's home	Non- relative in child's home		Relative in another home	Non- relative in another home	Mother cares for child^b	Other care Arrange- ments^c
		______	_______	_______	_______		______	_______	_______	_______
All preschoolers		30	16	10	5		15	17	6	1
Race/ethnicity
	White, not Hispanic	31	17	7	5		14	18	7	1
	Black, not Hispanic	33	9	18	1		21	14	3	2
	Hispanic^d	21	15	16	7		23	13	3	2
	Other	24	18	18	7		13	13	5	2

Age of child
	Less than 1 year	19	17	10	6		18	22	7	0
	1-2 years	24	17	11	5		18	19	5	0
	3-4 years	39	14	9	4		12	12	7	2

Marital status
	Married, husband present	30	19	7	5		14	16	7	1
	All other marital statuses^e	29	3	20	5		20	17	3	1

Educational attainment
	Less than high school	20	17	20	5		17	15	6	1
	High school, 4 years	27	17	11	3		20	16	6	1
	College, 1-3 years	32	16	8	4		15	16	8	1
	College, 4 or more years	36	14	7	8		10	19	5	1

Poverty level^f
	At or below poverty	20	16	14	7		22	12	8	1
	Above poverty	31	16	9	5		15	17	6	1

Monthly family income^f
	Less than $1,200	20	16	11	6		23	15	8	1
	$1,200 to $2,999	26	20	9	3		19	15	8	1
	$3,000 to $4,499	29	18	10	4		14	19	5	1
	$4,500 and over	39	10	10	7		11	17	4	1

Program Participation
	AFDC recipient	26	5	18	6		22	16	8	0
	AFDC nonrecipient	30	16	9	5		15	17	6	1

^aIncludes day care centers, nursery schools, and pre-schools.						^dPersons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
^bIncludes mothers working at home or away from home.						^eIncludes widowed, separated, divorced, and never married.
^cIncludes preschoolers in kindergarten and school-based activities.						^fOmits preschoolers whose families did not report income.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-70, No. 53, Who's Minding Our Preschoolers? Table 2.

²⁵Whitebook, M., Phillips, D., and Howes, C. 1989. National Child Care Staffing Study. Oakland, CA: Child Care Employees Project; and Hayes, C.D., Palmer, J.L., and Zaslow, M.J. (Eds.). 1990. Who Cares for America's Children? Child Care Policy for the 1990s. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

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Table ES 3.5.A Percentage of Children Under Age Five with Employed Mothers in Differing Child Care Arrangements, by Employment Status, 1965-1993

Table ES 3.5.B Percentage of Children Under Age Five with Employed Mothers in Differing Child Care Arrangements, by Selected Characteristics, 1993

Table ES 3.5.A
Percentage of Children Under Age Five with Employed Mothers in Differing Child Care Arrangements, by Employment Status, 1965-1993

Table ES 3.5.B
Percentage of Children Under Age Five with Employed Mothers in Differing Child Care Arrangements, by Selected Characteristics, 1993