Child Care

Introduction

Child care should play an essential role in your PreK-3rd Grade system. This page is intended to benefit all players your P3 work, from providers to policymakers. Below are some key findings from the publication, Early Childhood Program Participation, From the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2012."1

  • Approximately 60 percent of children 5 and younger not enrolled in kindergarten were in at least one weekly nonparental care arrangement, as reported by their parents. Among children in a weekly nonparental care arrangement, 56 percent were attending a day care center, preschool, or prekindergarten (center-based care); 42 percent were cared for by a relative (relative care); and 24 percent were cared for in a private home by someone not related to them (nonrelative care).
  • Among children with relative care, the primary caregiver for 78 percent of children was grand parents in the primary relative care arrangement, compared to 11 percent who were cared for by aunts and uncles and 10 percent whose care was provided by other relatives.
  • Approximately 95 percent of children ages three to five who were not yet in kindergarten had parents who read to them in the past week; 83 percent had parents who told them a story; 98 percent had parents who taught them letters, words, or numbers; 94 percent had parents who sang songs with them; and 86 percent had parents who worked on arts and crafts with them.

Information and Resources

Documents

Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care Project: Promote Family Engagement
Click Here, CLASP, November 2013

1 Mamedova, S. and Redford, J. (2013). Early Childhood Program Participation, From the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2012 (NCES 2013-029), National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
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