Shortage of Child Care Reported

12/06/2004

Shortage of Child Care Reported

"A mistake in judgment isn't fatal, but too much anxiety about judgment is." - Pauline Kael in I Lost It at the Movies

Shortage of Child Care Reported

A report of the Institute for Women's Policy Research found an enormous gap between the early care and education needs of working mothers and the availablity of such care. From a low of 53 percent in California to a high of 75 percent in South Dakota, women with children under six are now working, depending on others to look after their young children. This widespread need for affordable high quality early care and education is not being met according to the report, The Status of Early Care and Education in the United States: A State by State Overview.

The report found that "early care and education programs...are unevenly funded and administered, and vary in quality and accessibility." The report concludes that quality care and education are widely available in many industrialized countries, but a system "to allow parents to keep working and better prepare children for school and life is not yet available to parents around the United States."

To download this complete report, go to http://www.iwpr.org/

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