Compare with Minnesota

It's always interesting to me how people manage childcare in other states.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota
Dec. 5
PRNewswire

For most Minnesota families with young children, child care arrangements are complex, with most relying on acombination of child care providers to meet their day-to-day needs. A recentstatewide study of 1,363 families with children 12 and younger found:
-- Parents turn most often to family and friends to care for their children
-- Compared to five years ago, more preschoolers are in child care centers, which tend to be more structured and oriented toward learning
-- Child care costs take an average of 28 percent of low-income families' monthly paychecks (10 percent is widely considered "affordable")

Three out of four Minnesota families use child care for their children under age 13, and those children spend an average of 24 hours per week in child care.

The new report by Wilder Research, commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, paints a detailed picture of child chare costs, satisfaction, and choices for families throughout the state.

Child Care Use in Minnesota: 2004 Statewide Household Child Care Survey updates a similar study done five years ago.

"As we work to implement policies and develop practices that affect Minnesotans, particularly families with lower incomes who use child careservices, it is important that we periodically conduct surveys to understand the child care use patterns and reasons parents are choosing certain arrangements for their children," said Charles E. Johnson, the MinnesotaDepartment of Human Services' assistant commissioner of Children and FamilyServices.

"Information from this study and others will help us make more informed decisions to better serve Minnesotans and help meet their basic needs."

Child care through relatives and friends

The study found that relatives and close friends are the most common childcare providers in the state, serving as the only or the main arrangement for46 percent of children age 12 and younger. "In many ways this is a positive choice for parents, especially for their younger children," said Richard Chase, the Wilder Research scientist who ledthe study. "They have someone they know and trust, and someone who can transmit their family and cultural values to the children."

Higher participation in preschool programs

Another positive finding compared with five years ago is an increase in participation of 3- and 4-year-olds who are regularly in settings that are geared to help them learn and develop socially, such as preschool, nursery school, Head Start, or child care centers. "This makes a lot of sense given the growing awareness about theimportance of school readiness," Chase said.

Child care challenges for low-income families

Minnesota families with low incomes (at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline or about $38,700 for a family of four) have childcare challenges, the study found. They more often report having little or no choice in their child care arrangements (38 percent, compared to 27 percent ofother families). They give lower quality ratings to their child care than other parents. Child care problems prevented 36 percent of low-income parents from accepting or keeping a job in the past year, compared to 14 percent of other parents, the study found. And while the average out-of-pocket cost for Minnesota families using child care for one or more children is 10 percent of their income -- which is considered affordable -- the families making less than $20,000 a year are paying 28 percent of that income for child care.

"However, this research shows that families with publicly subsidized childcare fare much differently than other low-income families," said Chase. "When it comes to choice, affordability and parents' perception of quality, their experience is much more similar to middle-income and higher-incomeMinnesotans."

SOURCE Wilder ResearchWeb Site