Improving Day Care

Changing economic and household arrangements are creating a new kind of vulnerability for many young families today. Not long ago the daytime care and nurturing of young children was centered in the household. Today more women with young children are entering the paid labor force either of necessity or by choice. About one-third of the women with preschool children work full time, and when those working part time are included, the proportion is more than half.

Although the number of licensed day-care centers has grown rapidly during the past decade, the growth in supply has not fully met the needs of either two-earner families or single-parent households. Nor has enough attention been paid to the quality of day care. In addition, the average cost of child care, an estimated $3,000 per year (full time), is beyond the means of many lower-income families, even with existing Federal assistance programs and the child-care tax credit.

America has not had as much experience with day care as with child health and nutrition, which makes it more difficult to offer social policy recommendations. Yet there is an urgent need for comprehensive policy in this area: Our society places a high value on the proper care and nurturing of children; good day-care services play an important role in helping parents earn the income that is necessary to a stable household; and there is a widespread need for day care among families at all income levels.

The goals of such a policy should be to increase the availability of quality day care, to help families with financial need defray the cost, and to assure the safety and well-being of children without unnecessarily impeding the provision of adequate care. Meeting these goals will require the participation of federal, state, and local governments, as well as private-sector employers, voluntary associations, and families.

Some families currently receive assistance with day care from their employers,