One of the most important decisions employed parents make is arranging for someone to care for their children while they are working. Reliable, quality care is especially important for preschoolers because young children are dependent on caregivers to fulfill their basic needs and to keep them from harm. Affordability is also an important consideration and for many parents child care is a costly expense. In this report, we examine who pays for child care and how much it costs.

According to the Survey of Income and Program Participation, in the fall of 1993 there were 9.9 million children under 5 who were in need of child care while their mothers were at work. Relatives (41 percent), organized child care facilities (30 percent), and family day care settings (17 percent) were among the principal child care arrangements used for preschoolers while their mothers were at work (figure 1).

Others in Series

Publication

Beyond Poverty, Extended Measures of Well-Being: 1992

November 1995

This brief report uses data collected in the SIPP to present measures of material well-being for all persons in families.

Publication

What's It Worth? Field of Training and Economic Status: 1993

March 01, 1990

This report presents data from the SIPP on the educational attainment and associated social, economic, and demographic characteristics of the population.

Publication

Who's Minding Our Preschoolers?

March 1996

In this report, we examine how working parents arrange care for their preschoolers.

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Related Information

Child Care Publications

Survey of Income and Program Participation Publications

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