Type Of Child Care Arrangement Research Articles

Early Childhood Care Trends and Associations with Child Health Well-being in China: Evidence from the CHNS 1991 to 2011 Data

It has become increasingly common for young children to be taken care of by multiple caregivers in China after the socio-economic reforms. Complex migration patterns and high female labour force participation have led to children receiving care from various individuals in different contexts. However, little is known about how childcare arrangements are associated with child health well-being. This study examines various early childhood caregivers and their influences on children’s physical health in China. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS 1991–2011) with 3,470 children aged 2 to 6, we first identified different types of childcare arrangements in and outside of the household based on who provides the care, where they provide the care, and the intensity of the care. Then we examined the relationship between various childcare arrangements and health outcomes for children. Overall, household members undertook early childhood care tasks in China, with an increase in grandparents as primary caregivers between 1991 and 2011. The proportion of children receiving formal childcare fluctuated around 20% during this period. The findings suggest that: 1) primary caregiver in the household other than parents is not associated with undesirable physical health outcomes; 2) formal childcare outside the household is associated with higher height and lower BMI scores; 3) primary caregivers in the household, particular grandparents, moderate the association between childcare arrangements outside the household and children’s health outcomes. It yields an implication that early childhood care policies incorporating multiple caregivers would benefit children’s well-being in China.

Migrant-native differentials in the uptake of (in)formal childcare in Belgium: The role of mothers’ employment opportunities and care availability

Objective: we explore migrant-native differentials in the uptake of formal and informal childcare and whether this is induced by lower demand for childcare versus differential access to (in)formal childcare compared to natives.
 Background: The rise in female labour market participation in recent decades has challenged parents to negotiate work and family responsibilities and organise childcare. Belgium is among the European countries with the highest availability of formal childcare, but maternal employment and uptake of childcare are substantially lower in migrant populations.
 Methods: Combining linked microdata from the 1991 and 2001 censuses with contextual data on childcare availability at the municipality level, we use multinomial logit models to study childcare use and type of childcare arrangement among parents having a young child in 2001. As access to childcare and maternal employment are mutually endogenous, we use estimated employment opportunities.
 Results: We find considerable migrant-native differentials in childcare use, as well as substantial differences between first and second generation migrants. Second generation mothers of Turkish, Moroccan and Eastern-European background are less likely than natives to use childcare, and more likely to rely on informal arrangements if childcare is used. Controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and differential availability of (in)formal childcare largely accounts for differences in childcare use, but Turkish and Moroccan women remain less likely to use care and first generation Turkish mothers remain more likely to use informal care as opposed to formal childcare.
 Conclusions: While differences in socio-demographic characteristics, labour market opportunities and availability of (in)formal care provide a partial explanation, partial migrant-native differentials in childcare use persist for specific groups, suggesting that other factors inhibit the uptake of formal childcare.

Grandparents on the move: a multilevel framework analysis to understand diversity in zero‐generation care arrangements in Switzerland

AbstractAmong the various forms of transnational grandparenting is the engagement of the so‐called zero generation – the transnationally mobile parents of adult migrants – in caring for their grandchildren abroad. It constitutes a distinct kind of intergenerational solidarity within transnational families. By taking migrant families in Switzerland as a case in point, in this article we attempt to broaden the existing research by adopting a comparative, qualitative approach towards understanding the commonalities and differences of childcare organization involving grandparental support in European and non‐European transnational families. By taking into account the main objective and the temporality of grandparents' visits in Switzerland, we identify six different types of childcare arrangements. While these arrangements are shaped by the discriminatory Swiss migration regime, several other institutional, familial, and individual factors help to promote or impede them, or to change their dynamics. Thus, we introduce an innovative, multi‐level, analytical approach towards studying the various ways in which the parents of adult migrants of different nationalities take part in the transnational circulation of care.

The impact of after-school childcare arrangements on the developmental outcomes of low-income children

Even though after-school programs (hereafter ASPs) and other types of childcare arrangements have long been implemented, childcare for school-aged children remains a patchwork made up of ASPs, relative care, parental care, and self-care, also with many families opting to use some combination of these types of care. Few studies, however, have examined the impact of various childcare arrangements for school-aged children aside from those focused substantially on ASPs.This study aims to examine how five different after-school childcare arrangements, ASPs, relative care, parental care, self-care, and combinations of care, are related to the academic and behavioral outcomes among low-income, school-aged children.The present study utilized data from the National Household Education Survey Programs: after-school programs and Activities (2005) (NHES: ASPA). Multivariate logistic regressions were conducted using 717 low-income households with children who utilized one of five childcare arrangements. Children's academic performance—academic scores and whether having schoolwork problems or not—and their behavioral outcomes that included whether having behavioral problems or not and whether having experience of suspension, detention, or expulsion, were examined.Findings from the study indicate that, compared to children in ASPs, those in relative care and parental care had better academic performance (fewer schoolwork problems). Parental care was also positively associated with children's behavioral outcomes (fewer behavioral problems).The study demonstrates that relative and parental care have a more positive association with children's developmental outcomes, compared to ASPs. Based on the study findings, practice and policy implications are discussed for low-income children's development. Several methodologies are also suggested for future research.

Disposable Mothers: Paid In-Home Caretaking and the Regulation of Parenthood

Recent custody decisions in the United States have treated paid in-home caretakers as substitutes for parents who are either unavailable or unable to care for their children. They have created a legal category of “nanny” that detaches primary caretaking from the caretaker and attributes care provided by in-home caretakers to paying parents. This category fits well with the legal regime of parental exclusivity, which promotes a nuclear family model, and with cultural norms that encourage parents to utilize intensive, developmentfocused childrearing methods. This Article argues that this new approach rests on flawed and potentially harmful assumptions about parenting and caretaking. Detaching the care from the caretaker is artificial and contradicts the well-established judicial and legislative view that performing hands-on caretaking tasks over time creates a parent-child bond. Attributing paid caretakers’ labor to hiring parents is unjust: it devalues care work, renders paid caretakers disposable, and places the majority of parents, who cannot afford in-home caretaking, in a disadvantageous position. Furthermore, it endangers the feminist effort to promote policies that allow women to better combine motherhood with workforce participation. This Article urges readers to rethink conventional understandings of parenting and caretaking and to recognize the price that the current legal approach exacts—and who pays it. † Graduate Fellow, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, Columbia University. Columbia Law School, J.S.D. expected 2009; Columbia Law School, LL.M. 2005; Tel Aviv University School of History, M.A. 2004; Tel Aviv University Law School, LL.B. 1999. I have benefited enormously from the comments on previous drafts of this Article by Anthony Colangelo, Hanoch Dagan, Ariela Dubler, Cynthia Estlund, Jeff Fagan, Katherine Franke, Marie-Amelie George, Haider Hamoudi, Alice Kessler-Harris, Bill McAllister, Faina Milman, Elizabeth Scott, and Dani Lainer-Vos. I am immensely grateful to Carol Sanger, who time and again helped me work through the hardest parts of the argument and never ceased to be a source of insight and support. I am also indebted to Gideon Benari, Lisa Ford, and Sagi Schaefer for their tremendous editorial work and substantive comments. An earlier version of this Article was presented at the Columbia Law School J.S.D. Workshop, Columbia Law School Associates-in-Law Workshop, and ISERP Graduate Fellows Workshop. I thank the participants for their insights and engagement with my argument. SCHAEFER 1.29.08 1/29/2008 12:27:29 PM 306 Yale Journal of Law and Feminism [Vol. 19:305 INTRODUCTION 307 I. THE “NANNY CASES” 310 A. Rewarding Parents for Employing In-Home Caretakers 310 B. Ordering Parents To Employ In-Home Caretakers 313 C. Conclusion 317 II. EXCLUSIVE FAMILY AND CHILD CARE 318 A. Exclusive Family Doctrine 319 B. Paid In-Home Caretakers and the Exclusive Family 322 C. In-Home Caretaking as the Foil to Other Types of Child Care Arrangements 328 1. Day Care 329 2. Kin Care 331 D. Conclusion 335 III. IDEAL AND PRACTICE IN IN-HOME CARETAKING 336 A. Childrearing Ideology: From Intensive Mothering to Concerted Cultivation 336 B. Paid In-Home Caretaking Meets Concerted Cultivation 340 C. Conclusion 347 CONCLUSION 349 SCHAEFER 1.29.08 1/29/2008 12:27:29 PM 2008] Disposable Mothers 307

Screen-viewing among preschoolers in childcare: a systematic review.

BackgroundScreen-viewing is one of the most common sedentary behaviors among preschoolers. Despite the high prevalence of sedentary behaviors in childcare, little research exists on the context and/or type of activities that account for these particular behaviors. Accordingly, if the amount of screen-viewing accumulated by preschoolers in childcare is not considered, researchers may be underestimating total screen time among this population, as only a portion of their day is being captured (i.e., the home environment). This systematic review provides a synthesis of research on the levels of screen-viewing among preschool-aged children (2.5-5 years) attending childcare (i.e., centre- and home-based childcare). This review also examined the correlates of screen-viewing among preschoolers in this setting. To provide additional contextual information, availability of screen activities was used to help ameliorate the understanding of preschoolers’ screen-viewing behaviors in childcare.MethodsTwelve electronic databases were searched to retrieve relevant articles for inclusion (dating from 2000 onwards). Additional studies were identified via manual searching techniques (i.e., hand searching and citation tracking). Only English, published peer-reviewed articles that examined preschoolers’ screen-viewing behaviors in childcare (i.e., rates of screen-viewing and access to/opportunities for related activities) were included. No restrictions to study design were applied.ResultsSeventeen international studies (4 experimental; 12 cross-sectional; 1 mixed-methods) published between 2004 and 2014 were examined. Of those, eight studies reported rates of screen-viewing and found that preschoolers spent approximately 0.1 to 1.3 hrs/day and 1.8 to 2.4 hrs/day engaged in this behavior in center- and home-based childcare, respectively. High staff education (negative association) and type of childcare arrangement (notably, home-based childcare in comparison to center-based childcare; positive association) were identified as two correlates in relation to preschoolers’ screen-viewing in childcare. Nine studies spoke to the availability of screen-viewing activities in childcare, and found the childcare environment to be conducive to this behavior.ConclusionsDespite some variability, preschoolers appear to engage in somewhat high levels of screen-viewing while in childcare, particularly within home-based facilities. This paper also highlighted the conduciveness of the childcare environment with regard to screen-viewing among preschoolers. Additional exploration into the correlates of screen-viewing in childcare is required. (PROSPORO registration: CRD42013005552).

Costs of and Satisfaction With Child Care Arrangements for Parents of Children With Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

Child care arrangements, costs, and satisfaction among parents of children with emotional or behavioral disorders were examined as compared with parents of children with other disabilities. The current study used a large, nationally representative, and community-based sample of approximately 3,000 parents of children with disabilities aged 3 to 5 years. Results indicate that parents of children with emotional or behavioral disorders did not appear to have significantly different types of child care arrangements or levels of satisfaction with these arrangements as compared with parents of children with other disabilities. Parents of children with emotional or behavioral disorders did appear to spend significantly more on child care as compared with parents of children with other disabilities. Parents of children with emotional and behavioral disorders spent $570 a year as compared with children with other disabilities. The overarching implication for policy would appear to be that special child care subsidies or more publicly fund child care services for parents of children with emotional or behavioral disorders should be provided.

Associations between Birth Health, Maternal Employment, and Child Care Arrangement among a Community Sample of Mothers with Young Children

Although a large body of literature exists on how different types of child care arrangements affect a child's subsequent health and sociocognitive development, little is known about the relationship between birth health and subsequent decisions regarding type of nonparental child care as well as how this relationship might be influenced by maternal employment. This study used data from the Los Angeles Families and Neighborhoods Survey (L.A.FANS). Mothers of 864 children (ages 0–5) provided information regarding birth weight, maternal evaluation of a child's birth health, child's current health, maternal employment, type of child care arrangement chosen, and a variety of socioeconomic variables. Child care options included parental care, relative care, nonrelative care, and daycare center. Multivariate analyses found that birth weight and subjective rating of birth health had similar effects on child care arrangement. After controlling for a child's age and current health condition, multinomial logit analyses found that mothers with children with poorer birth health are more likely to use nonrelative and daycare centers than parental care when compared to mothers with children with better birth health. The magnitude of these relationships diminished when adjusting for maternal employment. Working mothers were significantly more likely to use nonparental child care than nonemployed mothers. Results suggest that a child's health early in life is significantly but indirectly related to subsequent decisions regarding child care arrangements, and this association is influenced by maternal employment. Development of social policy aimed at improving child care service should take maternal and family backgrounds into consideration.

Does universally accessible child care protect children from late talking? Results from a Norwegian population-based prospective study

This study examines the association between type of child care arrangement at age 1, 1.5 and 3 years and late talking (LT). The data were from 19,919 children in the population-based prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and included information about child care arrangement, LT and a variety of covariates. Attendance at universally accessible child care at 1.5 and 3 years of age was related to a reduced risk for LT, even after controlling for covariates, including early social communication skills before entering child care. However, type of child care at one year of age did not predict LT. Children attending centre care full-time at age three years showed less LT than children attending centre care part-time, whereas no such relationship was found for children at age 1.5 years or for children attending family day care. The results indicate that high-quality universal child care protects children from LT.

Using Kin for Child Care: Embedment in the Socioeconomic Networks of Extended Families

This exploratory analysis offers a new explanation of why African American and Mexican American mothers who are employed are more likely than Anglo American mothers to use childcare arrangements with relatives. In-depth interviews with 31 racially diverse employed mothers revealed race and ethnic differences in views of the appropriateness of using kin-based care. The analysis shows how decisions to use kin-based child care are shaped not by only the individual needs of the family that requires child care, but also by how families with young children are embedded in the socioeconomic networks of the extended family and take the economic needs of the members of their extended families into account when making childcare arrangements. Key Words: child care, extended family networks, familism, race, racial ethnic, relatives. Childcare arrangements are an essential element of parental employment. Patterns of usage of different types of childcare arrangements have changed significantly in the last 30 years. Particularly noticeable is the diminishing use of relatives as the most common source of child care. Since 1958, the percentage of child care arrangements with relatives both inside and outside the child's home made by employed mothers for their infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children has halved, from 42% to 21% of all childcare arrangements in 1990 (Hofferth, Brayfield, Deich, & Holcomb, 1991; Lajewski, 1959). The only type of relative care that has not declined in the last thirty years is care by fathers, which remains steady at I I%. In contrast, the use of family daycare homes and childcare centers has more than tripled, from 17% in 1958 to 59% in 1990 (Hofferth et al., 1991; Lajewski, 1959). Despite these trends, parents continue to express a strong preference for care by relatives, especially for their infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Yet the perception that relative care is an ideal substitute for parent care may exceed real preferences. Fewer parents actually use relative care than report a preference for it (Crispell, 1994). In a recent national childcare survey, half of those who actually use relative care report that it is not their first choice of type of care-the preference for relative care was surpassed by the preference for quality child care (Hofferth et al., 1991). Clearly, the actual use of relative care is based on a variety of reasons other than that the care is perceived as the ideal substitute for parent care. Descriptive studies of maternal and family characteristics associated with a greater likelihood of the use of relatives for child care have found that the use and preference for relative care is positively associated with the belief that parents should be caring for their own children (Hertz & Ferguson, 1996; Kuhlthau & Mason, 1996), the close proximity of relatives (Benin & Keith, 1995; Jayakody, Chatters, & Taylor, 1993; Kuhlthau & Mason, 1996; Lamphere, Zavella, Gonzales, with Evans, 1993; Parish, Hao, & Hogan, 1991; Roschelle, 1997b), lower family incomes (Crispell, 1994; Gerson, 1993; Hofferth et al., 1991; Kuhlthau & Mason, 1996; Leibowitz, Waite, & Witsberger, 1988; Stegelin & Frankel, 1993), lower maternal education (Folk, 1994; Hofferth et al., 1991), single parenthood (Folk, 1994; Oliker, 1995), families with younger children, especially under age two (Hofferth et al., 1991; Kuhlthau & Mason, 1996), and families with fewer children (Benin & Keith, 1995). Another common finding is that the rate of relative care is higher for Black and Hispanic families than for White families (Benin & Keith, 1995; Folk, 1994; Hofferth et al., 1991). However, it is unclear if this finding holds when the mother's employment status and the use of kin for regular, employment-related child care are controlled. Some studies find that employed mothers of color are more likely to use kin for child care than are White employed mothers (Folk, 1994; Keefe, 1996; Lamphere et al. …

Effects of concerns about child care among single, employed black mothers with preschool children.

This study investigated whether differences in child care arrangements and mothers' attitudes about leaving their child in nonmaternal care were associated with maternal psychological well-being and perceptions of children in a sample of single, employed, low-income, Black mothers who were former welfare recipients. Feelings of discomfort with regard to nonmaternal care were associated with higher levels of maternal depressive symptomatology, which, in turn, predicted more negative perceptions of children. Preference for employment and increased working hours were associated with greater life satisfaction. Maternal education and the gender of the child were important moderating variables. Type of child care arrangement was nonsignificant. Policy implications are discussed.

Universal Access to Good-quality Education and Care of Children From Birth to 5 Years

CHILDREN IN EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS All families with children need child care at one time or another, and increasingly, parents seek child care so they can work outside of the home. During the past two decades, the proportion of mothers of young children entering the labor force nearly doubled, reaching 68% in 1992, with a concomitant dramatic increase in the number of children younger than 5 years who receive some form of out-of-home child care. Currently, about 80% of children entering school have had regular care in either child care centers (nonresidential settings that provide care and education for any number of children), nursery schools or preschools, their own homes, the homes of relatives, or, most frequently, family day cane homes (the homes of the care givers in which care and education are provided for either a small [1 to 6] or large [7 to 12] number of children). The types of child care arrangements and the extent to which they are used vary according to the child's age and the income, education, and employment status of the parents. Older preschool children, children whose mothers have more than high school educations, and children whose families' incomes are higher are more likely to be enrolled in center-based care. Unemployed parents also tend to use care in centers rather than cane in the child's or another family's home, presumably because subsidized center-based child care programs are available for them. Overall, however, poor families are less likely to make use of preschool programs for their 3- to 4-year-old children than are more affluent families.

Child Care and Child Health: Use of Population Surveys

While the health of children in the US has been a long-standing issue, concern has heightened as children are increasingly found in some type of child-care arrangement. Trends in a number of social forces in the US have resulted in more children spending greater amounts of time in the care of someone other than their parents. As children move out of the home into group-care settings such as day-care centers on preschools, they are in contact with many more children and the possibility of exposure to a variety of infectious diseases. Several studies have examined childhood disease within the context of center-based care.1-3 However, most preschool children are not in center-based care.4 A more general study of the health of children in child care requires an approach that provides data on children in a variety of child-care arrangements and covers a broader age range than that found in most day-care centers. This paper argues that the population-based sample-survey approach to the study of the health of children in child care provides the necessary breadth. However, there is a clear need for improving measurement of critical variables. SOCIAL TRENDS While researchers increasingly have become concerned with the child-care arrangements of children of nonemployed women, it is the revolution in women's labor-force participation that has driven the increase in use of child care in the last two decades. Among children under 6 years of age, the percentage with mothers in the labor force has increased from 29% in 1970 to 53% in 1990.5,6

Child care quality and affordability: Are they compatible?

Mothers have traditionally been the primary caregivers of children under school age in the United States. Increasing numbers of parents are seeking part-time or full-time alternatives for assistance with parenting and child care outside of the home. The variety of types of child care arrangements has greatly increased in the past 50 years. This paper addresses quality child care, child care options and cost. Despite the increase in child care provided outside the home, parents often have difficulty distinguishing quality care from less than quality care. Two prime considerations are quality and affordability. This paper addresses the need for a comprehensive spectrum of policies and child care programs for families in various cultural, economic, and social environments.

Frequency and severity of infections in day care: Three-year follow-up

This study was undertaken to compare prospectively the frequency, nature, and severity of infections in children participating in three types of child care arrangements: home care, group care (two to six children), and day care (seven or more children). Children were enrolled at birth and observed for at least 36 months. The families were telephoned every 2 weeks to record on a standardized form the type and severity of illness during the previous interval. Children remaining in their original child care group for 1, 2, or 3 years were compared with regard to the frequency and severity of illness. Each child care group had the highest number of infections in year 2. Children in day care had more respiratory infections during each year than children in home care, but the magnitude of the differences decreased in year 3. When the child care groups were compared for the proportion of children with more than six illness per year or more than 60 days of respiratory illness per year, significant differences observed in years 1 and 2 for day care children compared with home care children were no longer significant in year 3. We conclude that there is a trend toward stabilized or decreased rates of infection, duration of illness, and risk of hospitalization for children remaining in day care for 3 years.

Children in self-care: An examination of research confounds

Families using self-care, in-home, and out-of-home child care arrangements were compared on a number of demographic variables. Certain variables (e.g., family income; marital status) were, as expected, related to the type of child care in use. However, one unexpected trend also was identified: regardless of the type of child care arrangement reported by parents, as the age of children increased across the out-of-home, in-home, and self-care family groups so too did the number of hours children spent at home alone. This trend is discussed in relation to two confounding areas of which researchers should be aware when conducting school-age child care needs assessment surveys and conducting self-care studies: (a) the context within which the self-care decision is made; and (b) the reasoning that goes into making the self-care decision.

Frequency and severity of infections in day care

This study was undertaken to compare prospectively the frequency, nature, and severity of infections experienced by children in three types of child care arrangements: home care, group care (two to six children), and day care (seven or more children). Children were enrolled at birth and observed for 12 to 18 months. At entry there were 159 children in home care, 40 in group care, and 45 in day care. The families were telephoned every 2 weeks to record on a standardized form the type and severity of illnesses experienced during the previous interval. Severe illnesses were defined by high fever, duration exceeding 10 days, or physician visit. Children remaining in their original child care group for at least 1 year were compared with regard to the frequency and severity of illness. Children in group care and day care were more likely than children in home care to experience at least six respiratory infections, more than 60 days of illness, and more than four severe illnesses (P less than 0.01). Similarly, life table analyses showed that children in home care had fewer episodes of infection than did children in day care (P less than 0.01). Although no children were hospitalized because of acute infections during the first year of study, hospitalization for myringotomy and tube placement occurred in 21% of children in day care and 3% of children in home care (P less than 0.01).

The Dynamics of Child-Care Use and Some Implications for Women's Employment

This study which presents information on day care use over time documents the frequent changes in day care arrangements made by mothers of preschool children and examines these changes for any patterns and for factors that may account for these patterns. It also presents evidence suggesting that certain patterns of day care use are conducive to womens continuous employment. The data come from a panel study that provides information at 3 points in time over a 4-year period for a sample of 410 mothers of preschool aged children. The sample consists of women who had their 1st single births in either July 1970 July 1971 or July 1972 and whose children were living with them at the time of the interview. All the women were between the ages of 15-29 at the time of their 1st birth. These mothers were interviewed 3 times from 1973 to 1976. 76% (310) of the mothers initially interviewed remained in the study through the 3rd interview. At all 3 interviews women who were working for pay either full-time or part-time or who were attending school were asked to provide information about the child care arrangements they used during work or school hours for each of their children. Of all the New York City mothers meeting the selection criteria 38% were black and 30% unmarried at the time of their 1st births. When these data were examined in a cross-sectional manner the findings were comparable to those from national child care studies even though this sample is a specialized one. Relatives provided a large proportion of the child care used although care provided exclusively by relatives decreased over the 3 interviews. Over the 4-year period the proportion of women depending exclusively on relatives for child care declined markedly from 62% at the 1st interview to 14% by the 3rd interview. In general the exclusive use of relatives was replaced by the use of some group form of child care (nursery school day care center kindergarten) and/or by the use of a combination of child care arrangements. The increased use of multiple child care arrangements was not explained by an increase in the family size of the respondents but the increased use of group care which itself was related to the use of multiple care arrangements was significantly related to the age of the oldest child. As children became old enough to use group facilities some of the child care provided by relatives was replaced by group forms of care. 1 finding from this study was that the use of a combination of arrangements was the only type of child care arrangement consistently related to a greater than average continuation of employment or schooling for mothers. In addition women who changed their child care arrangements from the 1st to the 2nd interviews were more likely to work or attend school at all 3 interviews than were women who did not change.

Cost, convenience and quality in child care demand

This paper presents an economic analysis of child care use by employed women with children under six years of age. Observations of actual child care choices are used to estimate the relative importance assigned by parents to cost, convenience and quality in child care. On the basis of these estimates, the chances that each type of child care arrangement will be used are predicted. Projections of child care use are presented for a range of potential costs, travel times, child-staff ratios, and family circumstances. This study is unique in employing information not only on child care arrangements already used, but also on the alternative arrangements available to individual families. The child care data were collected in a 1977 survey of New York City employees. Overall, the model correctly predicted 78% of the observed child care choices. The results of the analysis show strong effects of cost in child care choice. The demand for day care centers is especially sensitive to user cost; if centers were available free of charge, for example, there is a 65% chance that the average single working mother in the sample would use one. Travel time and child-staff ratios have small but statistically significant effects on the choice of child care arrangements. Weekend work schedules and presence of infants are also important choice factors. Once costs are accounted for, family income has no significant effect on the type of child care chosen.