This definition includes kindergarten and the primary grades as well as the wide array of programs in centers, family child care homes, and schools providing care to children prior to public school entry and before and after the school day. Programs outside of K-12 public education have the greatest difficulty in meeting the criteria of good quality, equitable compensation, and affordable access. Many families cannot pay the full cost of quality care, and the ongoing commitment from public and private contributions is seldom guaranteed. While good child care promotes children's development and learning, poor-quality child care places children at risk.
Compensation is also inadequate in most early childhood programs.
Affordability is also an issue, especially for working families who need full-day services for their children. Striking differences exist in the child care costs as a proportion of family income. Clearly, the problems of inadequate quality, inadequate compensation, and lack of affordable access continue to be major issues in the provision of early childhood services. The ability of many early childhood programs to provide high-quality services is in jeopardy because they lack sufficient resources to fully cover the costs of quality. As a result, the development and well-being of millions of children may be at risk.