EMBARGOED UNTIL: 10 A.M. EDT, OCTOBER 8, 1997 (WEDNESDAY) Public Information Office CB97-165 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Lynne Casper 301-457-2416 Economic Conditions Can Influence Married Fathers' Caring for Preschoolers, Census Bureau Reports Among the 6.3 million married-couple families with preschoolers whose mothers worked in the fall of 1993, 25 percent of the fathers provided care. That figure is down from 30 percent in 1991, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The report, "My Daddy Takes Care of Me! Fathers as Care Providers," P70-59, also found that the proportion of fathers who were primary care providers— those who cared for preschoolersduring more of the mothers'working hours than any other care provider was 19 percent in 1993, compared with 22 percent in 1991. Evidence suggests that "these declines were driven by changing economic conditions rather than fathers becoming less interested in taking part in their children's lives," said Lynne Casper, the report's author. "In 1991, when we were in the midst of a recession, more fathers were unemployed or working part time, meaning more were available to care for their children while the mother was at work. Also, in tough economic times, families tend to have less income an parents may have been more motivated to find a way for the father to provide care, saving the money they otherwise would have spent on a child-care provider." Other findings about married fathers with preschoolers whose mothers were employed in 1993 include: - Fathers not employed, with a part-time job or working evening or night shifts were more likely to take care of their preschoolers while their wives worked than those employed, with a full-time job or working a day shift. - Poor fathers were almost twice as likely as non-poor fathers to care for their preschoolers, 43 percent and 24 percent, respectively. - The greater the number of preschoolers in the family, the more likely the father provided care. Among families with only one preschooler, 23 percent of fathers were care providers compared with 33 percent of fathers in families with two or more preschoolers. - Fathers working in service occupations, such as police, firefighters and security personnel were about twice as likely as those in any other occupation to be taking care of their preschoolers. - Thirty-three percent of Northeastern fathers cared for their preschoolers, compared with 27 percent in the Midwest and West and 18 percent in the South. - Thirty percent of veterans provided care, compared with 24 percent of non-veterans. The report is the first on child care from the Census Bureau to use the father, rather than the child, as the unit of analysis. The data presented here were collected in a sample survey— th Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) with interviews in approximately 37,000 households nationwide and are subject to sampling variability, as well as reporting and coverage errors. A faxed copy of the report may be obtained by calling the Public Information Office's 24-hour Fax-On-Demand service on 1-888-206-6463 and request document no. 1254.-X-The Census Bureau -- pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In over 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
