EMBARGOED UNTIL: APRIL 24, 1996 (WEDNESDAY) Public Information Office CB96-61 301-457-3030 301-457-4067 (TDD) Lynne Casper 301-457-2416 USE OF ORGANIZED CHILD CARE FACILITIES REACHES 30 PERCENT, PROPORTION OF PRESCHOOLERS CARED FOR BY FATHERS DECLINES, CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS EMBARGOED UNTIL: APRIL 24, 1996 (WEDNESDAY) - The use of organized child care facilities increased to 30 percent of all arrangements used in 1993, while care by fathers decreased, according to a new report entitled, "Who's Minding Our Preschoolers?" (P70-53), released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. The proportion of preschoolers with working mothers who were cared for in organized facilities jumped from 23 percent in 1991 to an all-time high of 30 percent in 1993. This followed a period of decline, between 1988 and 1991, when the proportion of preschoolers who were cared for in organized child care facilities dropped from 26 to 23 percent. Meanwhile, the proportion of preschoolers who were cared for by their fathers declined from 20 percent in 1991 to 16 percent in 1993. This followed a significant increase in care by fathers during the 1988 to 1991 period, when the proportion rose to 20 percent in 1991. The report's author, Lynne Casper says, "The 1993 data suggests that the increases in care by fathers previously noted between 1988 and 1991 was not the result of a growing social trend for fathers to become more involved in the rearing of their children, but apparently an outcome driven more by the economy and the attendant economic circumstances of families with young children." The report also revealed that the proportion of children cared for by family day care providers sharply fell from 24 percent in 1988 to 18 percent in 1991, and remained at that level in 1993. Other highlights include: - In the fall of 1993, there were 9.9 million children under age five who were in need of child care while their mothers were working. Of these children, almost half (48 percent) were primarily cared for by relatives. The majority of preschoolers who were cared for by relatives were cared for by either their grandparents or their fathers, each accounting for a third of the care provided by relatives. - Children in families receiving some kind of public assistance were more likely to be cared for by relatives than were children in families not receiving these benefits (57 percent vs. 46 percent). - Sixty percent of all child care for preschoolers in poor families was provided by relatives, compared to only 46 percent in non-poor families in 1993. - Preschool children of mothers employed full time were less likely to be cared for by relatives (42 percent) than were children of mothers employed part time (58 percent). In addition, child care provided by the father also was less frequent when the mother worked full time (11 percent) than part time (25 percent). - In 1993, families in the South were more likely to choose organized child care facilities and less likely to choose relatives as primary care providers for their preschoolers than in any other region in the country. In contrast, families residing in the Northeast were the most likely to call on relatives to provide care for their preschoolers. - African American (50 percent) and Hispanic (57 percent) children were more likely to be cared for by relatives while their mothers were working, than were White children (45 percent). As in all surveys, the data in this report are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.-X-Editor's note: media representatives may obtain copies of the report from the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670; or e-mail: pio@census.gov; or contact Fax-On-Demand at 301-457-4178, Document No. 1139. Other orders should be directed to the bureau's FastFax: 1-900-555-2Fax (there is a nominal fee); Customer Services Branch on 301-763-INFO(4636); or fax: 301-457-3842.
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