How a licensing worker sees it

Conclusion

The future of any society must depend upon its commitment to the nurture of its youngest members. Recent startling increases in the numbers of working mothers and the growing isolation of the family unit challenge our social institutions to take new forms in support of families. Since a very high percentage of the children of working mothers are cared for in family day care arrangements, our response to this challenge is of critical importance. At this moment, we are not succeeding in our programs for licensing family day care. New ideas are being proposed, but little testing is being done, either of full licensing or any alternative.

We know that the parents of young children today have less community and family support than ever before, and that children in family day care need community concern. There are not proved answers on the most effective ways to protect children and support parents. This article has offered some directions in the hope that the urgency of the task will inspire further work leading to even more solid conclusions.