2009 Avalability of Child Care
Only 46% of Long Island’s children under the age of 6 are in a formal, regulated child care program.
|
 |
Why is this important?
Child care enables parents to be employed and productive, thus reducing welfare and improving the economy. It prepares children for school, and when provided in a high quality program it can reduce grade repetition, drop-out rates and juvenile delinquency. Early education for children in poverty and those with developmental delays and non-English speaking parents can lower future costs that the public schools would otherwise assume.
Over the past decade new brain research has demonstrated return on investment from high quality preschools. Studies have demonstrated that children in higher quality programs perform better cognitively and socially while in child care, during transition to school and through second grade, and that at-risk children are affected more by the quality of the child care experience than children from middle and upper-income families. Hence, the availability of sufficient, high quality programs is critical as a component of Long Island’s economy, educational system and as a way to meet the needs of working parents.
How are we doing?
Demand for child care: There are 133,185 children under the age of 6 on Long Island where there is no one in the household over the age of 16 as an available caregiver. These children require child care in order for their parents to work.
Supply of child care: There are an estimated 61,841 children who could be served in the formal, regulated market of child care programs on Long Island. This means that only 46% of children under the age of 6 can be served by programs that offer some oversight of health and safety standards and the provision of several quality standards. Thus, the majority of Long Island’s preschoolers, 54%, are in the unregulated market of child care (e.g., friends, family and neighbors), and there is no data about whether these environments are safe, nurturing or educational.
Of the children in child care programs, 59% spend their day in child care programs, including Head Start. Care in the home of a regulated provider with either 6 children or 12 (family child care or group family child care) accounts for 21% of the children. The part-day programs offered by preschools, nursery schools and pre-kindergarten programs can serve 18% of the children needing care, with the obvious need for other care for the rest of the day. A little more than one percent of children are with family members or neighbors who register with the county and can receive government reimbursement for taking care of eligible children. While many more grandparents and neighbors provide such care, many parents are ineligible for government subsidies or the provider does not want to report the income and isn’t identified to the county agencies. This group of family members and neighbors constitutes much of the informal market of care.
For parents who work full-time, it is difficult to use the 21% of regulated care that is available for less than three hours per day (e.g., nursery schools and pre-K programs) and if they do use it, they must rely on other child care options for the balance of the day. The Child Care Councils also report that parents will have a hard time finding infant care on Long Island as well as care during evenings, weekends or on a rotating basis.