Child Care

Quick Facts

A successful work and family agenda requires a deep understanding of the challenges faced by American workers. National statistics on work and family issues help facilitate an understanding of the challenges facing working families today. These can be used to push for changes at the workplace. Here are some quick facts on Child Care.

Two working parents has become the norm in the United States and, along with it, the need for decent, quality child care. Good child care is hard to find and it can also be expensive, leaving parents to create a patchwork of caregivers during working hours.

48% of employed families with children under 13 pay for child care.
Low-income families spend 14% of their earnings on child care while families at or below the poverty line pay 18%.
73 % of children under age 5 with working parents are in non-parental care.
33% of school age children are in an organized program during the summer, while another 33% are in the care of a relative.
Over one in ten children aged 6–12 are in self-care during the summer (alone or with a sibling under 13).
Children from higher income families are much more likely to be in center-based care, while children from lower income families are more likely to be cared for by a relative.
Over 76% of both men and women consider laws to improve the quality and affordability of child care to be important.