facts and nonpartisan perspectives on the issues

IN THIS ISSUE

Child Care

The declining economy has meant intensified election-season interest in the issues that affect family budgets, like housing and health care. Child care costs also put substantial pressure on family resources, with very limited public programs to ease the way for low-income workers and their children. At the same time, many states are showing signs they may expand their early education offerings. Candidates vying for the votes of working families are likely to address child care concerns on the campaign trail.

For stories or segments on child care for working families, or on the policy responses from lawmakers, Urban Institute experts are available for interviews. They can offer facts and nonpartisan perspectives for columns, articles, and broadcast reports.

Read more in the reports listed below, or listen to Ajay Chaudry in the podcast at right.

KEY FACTS

• In 2005, 11.3 million children under age 5 with employed mothers received child care, including 3.6 million attended day care centers, Head Start, or other prekindergarten programs; 2.3 million were cared for in homes—either their own or someone else's—by nonrelatives; 2.8 million had more than one arrangement; and 1.3 million had no regular child care plan.
• A 2006 study found that a family with a 4-year-old child could expect to pay between $3,016 to $9,628 a year in child care costs.
• In 2006, nearly 1.8 million children received care subsidized by the federal Child Care and Development Fund, the largest federal source of child care help for families.
• Major studies have found that about 10 to 20 percent of private-market child care arrangements are of low quality overall.
• The average hourly wage for child care workers was $9.05 in 2006.
• An estimated 45 percent of parents miss work at least one day every six months because of a breakdown in their child care arrangements.

Additional analysis is available in UI reports:

• Meeting Responsibilities at Work and Home: Public and Private Supports—Pamela Winston
• Early Care and Education for Children in Low-Income Families—Gina Adams, Martha Zaslow, and Kathryn Tout
• Child Care Centers, Child Care Vouchers, and Faith-Based Organizations—Monica Rohacek, Gina Adams, and Kathleen Snyder
  
  

UI in the News

Day Care Concern Is Not Child's Play, USA Today—quotes UI expert

Child Development Program Puts Students First, The Gazette (Md.)—cites UI research

For Most Kids It's Back to School Time Long before Labor Day -- and Summer's Barely 2 Months, The San Francisco Chronicle—cites UI research

Decision Points '08 is published weekly by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan social and economic research organization.
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