ABSTRACT
In reviewing child-care arrangements used by employed parents over the last 30 years, three factors struck me. First, child-care centers, while the most visible source of paid care for children, are not the most prevalent form of care. In fact, 70 percent of child care provided to children of employed parents occurs not through childcare centers or school programs, but through the informal networks and arrangements of relatives, family child care, nannies, and employed mothers themselves (Table 8.1). Second, the proportion of children cared for by paid, homebased workers (family child-care workers, and nannies/au pairs) nearly equals the proportion of children receiving paid care in centers. While 43 percent of children received paid care in centers in 1994, 41 percent of children received paid care in homes from family child-care workers and nannies/au pairs (see Chart 8.2). Third, among the three primary forms of paid care for children (center care, family child care, and nannies/au pairs), the proportion of children cared for in centers and by nannies/au pairs varied dramatically between 1965 and 1994. In contrast, family child care remained a very stable source of care for the children of employed parents with family child-care workers providing nearly 16 percent of care in 1965 and 15 percent of care in 1994 (Table 8.1).
