NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Harold Liebowitz is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Harold Liebowitz are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided by the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ford Foundation.
Additional copies of this report are available from:
Board on Children and Families
National Research Council
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Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in the United States of America
Copyright 1995 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
STEERING COMMITTEE ON CHILD CARE WORKSHOPS
JACK SHONKOFF (Chair),
Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University
LARRY BUMPASS,
Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin
ALETHA C. HUSTON,
Human Development and Family Life, University of Kansas
DONNA KLEIN,
Work-Life Programs, Marriott International, Washington, D.C.
REBECCA MAYNARD,
Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
EVELYN MOORE,
National Black Child Development Institute, Washington, D.C.
DEBORAH STIPEK,
Graduate School of Education, University of California at Los Angeles
JOEL J. ALPERT (Liaison),
Institute of Medicine Council
RUTH T. GROSS (Liaison),
Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Institute of Medicine
BOARD ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
SHELDON H. WHITE (Chair),
Department of Psychology, Harvard University
JACK P. SHONKOFF (Vice Chair),
Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University
JOMILLS H. BRADDOCK II,
Department of Sociology, University of Miami
DAVID V.B. BRITT,
Children's Television Workshop, New York City
LARRY BUMPASS,
Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin
PEGGY DAVIS,
Clinical Law Center, New York University
FERNANDO A. GUERRA,
San Antonio Metropolitan Health District
BERNARD GUYER,
Department of Maternal and Child Health, Johns Hopkins University (on sabbatical)
ALETHA C. HUSTON,
Human Development and Family Life, University of Kansas
RAY MARSHALL,
LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas
ROBERT MICHAEL,
Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago
PAUL NEWACHECK,
Institute of Health Policy Studies and Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco
JULIUS B. RICHMOND,
Department of Social Medicine, Harvard University Medical School
TIMOTHY M. SANDOS,
City Council, Denver, Colorado
LISBETH B. SCHORR,
Harvard Project on Effective Services, Harvard University
CAROLE SIMPSON,
ABC News, Washington, D.C.
DEBORAH STIPEK,
Graduate School of Education, University of California, Los Angeles
DIANA TAYLOR,
Women's Health Program, Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco
GAIL WILENSKY,
Project Hope, Bethesda, Maryland
JOEL J. ALPERT (Liaison),
Institute of Medicine Council
ANN L. BROWN (Liaison),
Commission on Behavioral and Social Science and Education
RUTH T. GROSS (Liaison),
Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Institute of Medicine
DEBORAH A. PHILLIPS, Director
ANNE STEWART, Consultant
ANNE BRIDGMAN, Program Officer for Communications
DRUSILLA BARNES, Administrative Associate
Preface
Child care has become a fact of life for American families. Most children now enter child care during the first year of life and spend a substantial amount of time prior to school entry in the care of adults other than their parents. The implications of this profound shift in childrearing for children's health and safety, emotional security, and preparation for school are far-reaching. Child care also lies at the core of current debates about welfare reform and school readiness, and so it has moved to center stage in the larger arena of discussion about federal policy for children and families.
The National Research Council's Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy previously convened a Panel on Child Care Policy to synthesize and critically assess data and research that can inform the future design of our nation's child care system. The report of the panel, Who Cares for America's Children? (Hayes, Palmer, and Zaslow, 1990), made recommendations for policy and programs in the areas of funding, Head Start expansion, government and employer roles, quality standards, and parental leave.
In the intervening five years, major new federal child care legislation focused on low-income families has been enacted, use of child care has continued unabated, and substantial new research has been conducted on a range of issues not fully considered in the 1990 report. What does research now tell us about patterns of child care use among low-income families
and the factors that affect these patterns? What is the range of quality that characterizes today's child care arrangements, with what effects on children? What is known about the role of child care in families' efforts to prepare for and maintain paid employment? What are the local impacts of federal child care subsidies? What role are they playing in families' efforts to find affordable child care that also safeguards the security and well-being of their children?
These and other questions are the subject of this workshop report issued under the auspices of the Board on Children and Families' Steering Committee on Child Care Workshops. The board is a relatively new entity of the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, which through their many committees and boards are deeply involved in applying scientific knowledge to social and health policies. As part of the commitment to improving the life chances of all children and youth, the Board on Children and Families provides a scientific forum for increasing the understanding of the many complex issues that affect our youngest citizens.
Jack Shonkoff, Chair
Steering Committee on Child Care Workshops