Abstract
Recent public policy changes have focused attention on the child care needs of families who are struggling to become or remain economically self-sufficient. This review essay describes public policies designed to assist low-income families, and it examines the ways in which the child care problems those families face differ from those of more advantaged families. Studies of child care choices show that low-income families value the same child-oriented characteristics of child care arrangements as do more advantaged families, but their choices are limited by pressing adult needs for care of acceptable quality that is affordable, available at odd hours, and offered at accessible locations. Steps that child care professionals can take to work with public agencies and low-income parents to address the child care needs of this vulnerable group are discussed.
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Larner, M., Mitchell, A. Meeting the child care needs of low-income families. Child Youth Care Forum 21, 317–334 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00757382
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00757382