مراقبت از کودکان در خط فقر

Child care services will be critical to successful efforts to “end welfare as we know it.” Rather than focusing attention on the nonworking poor, this paper argues that attention should be focused upon the needs of working-poor and working-class families, who may be former welfare families. The paper presents data from the National Child Care Survey 1990 and A Profile of Child Care Settings that describe the child care needs and arrangements of working and nonworking-poor and working-class families relative to middle-class families; constraints on their use of care, including the availability, cost, and quality of programs; and preferences. Finally, it discusses the implications for public policy.