Question:
What are the most prevalent forms of child care?
Response:
In 2005, about 57 percent of children ages 3 to 5 and not yet enrolled in kindergarten were enrolled in a center-based program. Some 23 percent of 3- to 5-year-olds who were not yet enrolled in kindergarten received care from relatives and 12 percent received care from nonrelatives.
Child care arrangements of 3- to 5-year-old children who are not yet in kindergarten, by age and race/ethnicity: 2005 | ||||
Characteristic | Percent in nonparental arrangements | Percent with parental care only | ||
Relative care | Nonrelative care | Center-based programs1 | ||
Total | 22.6 | 11.6 | 57.2 | 26.3 |
Age | ||||
3 years old | 24.0 | 14.4 | 42.5 | 33.4 |
4 years old | 20.8 | 9.2 | 69.2 | 20.6 |
5 years old | 23.8 | 9.9 | 68.7 | 20.4 |
Race/ethnicity | ||||
White | 21.4 | 15.0 | 59.1 | 24.1 |
Black | 25.0 | 5.2 | 66.5 | 19.5 |
Hispanic | 22.6 | 8.1 | 43.4 | 38.0 |
Other | 26.4 | 8.1 | 61.5 | 24.7 |
1Center-based programs include day care centers, nursery schools, prekindergartens, preschools, and Head Start programs.
NOTE: Column percents for nonparental and parental care do not add to 100 percent because some children participated in more than one type of nonparental care arrangement. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Digest of Education Statistics, 2007 (NCES 2008–022), Table 43.
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