Chapter 2 Determining the Need for Child Care
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centers of their own. They serve as resource centers to help match families with
providers. Sophisticated services utilize computerized listings of licensed programs.
The family’s address, employer, work hours, main route to work, and other pertinent
data can all be considered in identifying appropriate providers.
Many American families move around frequently. Finding child care in a strange
city can be extremely difficult. Many employers help to support the cost of informa-
tion and referral services because they help employees make an easier adjustment to a
new location.
Summary
Before you invest the time and money needed to open a successful center, you
must become aware of the needs of the families in your area. You must have informa-
tion about work hours, family income patterns, numbers of eligible children, and the
types of services that parents prefer. Other helpful information includes locations of
the major community employers and already existing child care programs. The more
you know about a community and its families, the more likely you are to be able to
open a successful program.
Child care is available in many different forms. Home-based care is usually used
for young children and when a small group is preferred. Center-based care is most
often used for preschoolers and before- and after-school care.
As the needs of families have changed, new forms of child care have become
available. Drop-in care and sick child care are becoming more widely available.
Families have also found that information and referral services can help them match
their needs with appropriate services.
Many different kinds of programs are available, but it is important that they all
provide quality care. Children from families of varying income levels can benefit from
carefully organized, developmentally appropriate programs.
Terms
networking
home-based care
center-based care
latchkey children
early childhood programs
laboratory schools
parent cooperatives
behaviorist programs
Review
1. Describe the characteristics of a community of which you need to be aware
before planning to open a child care center there.