Cost and Quality in Child Care

[摘要] Over the last 20 to 30 years, an increased proportion of mothers are participating in the labor force and an increased number of preschool children are placed in nonfamilial care, primarily because less care is given now by relatives.1 In 1990, 43% of children age 3 years and over were enrolled in child-care centers and 17% in family child care, while 16% were cared for by relatives.Responding to this demand, the supply of child care has increased. By 1990, 80 000 unregulated child-care centers served between 4 million and 5.1 million children; 118 000 regulated child-care centers served 700 000 children; and 685 000 to 1.2 million nonregulated homes cared for 3.4 million children.2,3 However, access to child-care services is still limited. Fewer than 10% of centers have vacancies for infants, and parents spend 5 weeks on average to locate child-care services for their children.With these striking changes in demand and supply and with continued shortages, it is remarkable that the cost of child care and the salaries of teachers have remained constant during the last 15 years. The average yearly salary for teachers was $11 500 in 1990.2 Although low teacher salaries subsidize the cost of child care, the average annual cost of child care is $3150, or 10% of average family income.1 For lower-income families (incomes under $15 000), this expense represents as much as 23% of their family income.These low salaries for child-care-center teachers surely influence the quality of services. Annually, 25% of child-care-teachers turn over, and the rate of turnover is 50% in half the centers in the country.2

[学科分类] 儿科学