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FAM3.A Child care: Percentage of children ages 0–6, not yet in kindergarten by type of care arrangement and child and family characteristics, 1995, 2001, and 2005

excel icon FAM3A Excel Table

  Type of nonparental care arrangement
    Care in a homea  
  Parental care only Total in nonparental careb By a relative By a nonrelative Center-based programc
Characteristic 1995 2001 2005 1995 2001 2005 1995 2001 2005 1995 2001 2005 1995 2001 2005
Total 39.9 38.8 39.2 60.1 61.2 60.8 21.1 23.1 22.3 18.0 16.3 13.9 30.5 33.4 36.1
Age
Ages 0–2 50.5 48.0 49.3 49.5 52.0 50.7 22.5 23.3 22.0 18.9 18.0 15.6 11.9 16.5 19.6
Ages 3–6, not yet in kindergarten 25.9 26.3 23.6 74.1 73.7 73.7 19.4 22.7 22.7 16.9 14.0 11.7 55.0 56.3 57.1
Race and Hispanic origind
White, non-Hispanic 38.3 38.4 37.2 61.7 61.6 62.8 17.9 20.3 21.0 21.3 18.7 17.0 32.9 35.1 37.8
Black, non-Hispanic 34.2 26.1 30.1 65.8 73.9 69.9 31.4 34.6 27.7 11.6 12.9 10.2 33.0 40.2 43.9
Asian 41.8 43.2 43.5 58.2 56.8 56.5 26.6 22.9 21.3 9.1 8.7 9.0 29.6 34.1 37.0
Hispanic 53.7 52.0 50.5 46.3 48.0 49.5 23.4 22.9 21.2 11.8 11.8 10.4 17.0 20.7 25.2
Poverty status
Below 100% poverty 50.4 45.3 49.2 49.6 54.7 50.8 23.2 27.4 23.3 10.0 10.6 8.0 23.5 26.9 28.3
100–199% poverty 47.7 46.3 47.2 52.3 53.7 52.8 23.0 22.5 23.5 13.3 12.6 9.3 23.7 27.8 29.4
200% poverty and above 29.9 32.7 31.6 70.1 67.3 68.4 19.1 21.4 21.4 25.1 20.5 18.3 37.9 38.7 42.2
Family type
Two parentse 42.0 42.7 42.9 58.0 57.3 57.1 17.2 19.0 18.8 19.2 16.2 14.1 29.9 32.3 34.4
Two parents, married — 42.2 41.8 — 57.8 58.2 — 18.4 18.6 — 16.6 14.2 — 33.1 35.8
Two parents, unmarried — 47.3 53.0 — 52.7 47.0 — 24.4 20.4 — 12.4 13.0 — 25.0 21.7
One parent 33.0 26.5 24.9 67.0 73.5 75.1 33.3 36.6 36.0 15.2 17.3 13.4 32.4 36.1 42.3
No parents 45.3 17.9 33.1 54.8 82.1 66.9 17.4 38.5 28.3 10.8 9.2 10.0 30.5 47.9 43.6
Mother’s highest level of educationf
Less than high school 61.7 55.5 63.7 38.3 44.5 36.3 19.8 21.7 16.1 6.6 8.3 5.5 15.7 20.8 18.9
High school diploma or equivalent 43.7 42.3 44.4 56.3 57.7 55.6 23.4 26.2 24.1 15.0 13.3 9.9 26.0 28.1 30.7
Some college, including vocational/technical/associate’s degree 34.1 36.7 36.5 65.9 63.3 63.5 23.6 25.3 25.8 19.3 15.4 14.5 33.5 35.3 35.2
Bachelor’s degree or higher 27.7 31.3 30.5 72.3 68.7 69.5 15.2 16.9 19.1 28.4 23.6 19.2 42.7 42.1 45.8
Mother’s employment statusf
35 hours or more per week 11.9 14.8 14.7 88.1 85.2 85.3 33.4 34.0 31.8 31.7 26.2 23.3 38.9 42.1 47.6
Less than 35 hours per week 24.9 29.0 30.3 75.1 71.0 69.7 30.1 31.6 30.5 25.6 19.9 18.0 35.0 35.6 37.8
Looking for work 57.6 57.3 53.3 42.4 42.7 46.7 16.3 16.7 20.7 3.7 9.6 7.5 24.7 24.5 23.3
Not in the labor force 67.7 67.6 66.1 32.3 32.4 33.9 7.2 7.0 7.8 5.5 4.8 3.6 22.0 24.1 25.8
Regiong
Northeast 43.3 35.8 38.3 56.7 64.2 61.7 21.1 27.0 21.0 15.1 15.9 15.1 30.4 35.5 37.9
South 34.3 37.0 38.0 65.7 63.0 62.0 24.3 22.9 22.3 16.0 14.1 11.1 35.2 36.4 38.8
Midwest 37.7 37.0 36.7 62.3 63.0 63.3 20.4 22.0 23.8 23.4 21.1 18.8 29.5 33.8 33.5
West 47.7 45.5 43.9 52.3 54.5 56.1 17.2 21.4 21.8 17.8 14.9 12.6 24.7 27.1 33.1
— Not available.
a Relative and nonrelative care can take place in either the child’s own home or another home.
b Some children participate in more than one type of nonparental care arrangement. Thus, details do not sum to the total percentage of children in nonparental care.
c Center-based programs include day care centers, prekindergartens, nursery schools, Head Start programs, and other early childhood education programs.
d In 1995 and 2001, the 1977 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. For data from 2005, the revised 1997 OMB standards were used. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native and respondents with Two or more races. For continuity purposes, in 2005, respondents who reported the child being Asian or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander were combined. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
e Refers to adults’ relationship to child and does not indicate marital status.
f Children without a mother in the home are excluded from estimates of mother’s highest level of education and mother’s employment status.
g Regions: Northeast includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Midwest includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES).