Here, I'm with my kids. My little one has gone there since I started. We do pay a portion of child care, but it's nothing compared to full price. Experts note that the creation of day care jobs may offer part of the answer to women trying to move from welfare to work. Roughly half of the four million mothers and nine million children on welfare are expected to lose part or all of their benefits in the coming years as a result of welfare cuts, according to Deborah Weinstein, an analyst for the Children's Defense Fund in Washington.
Observers caution, however, that day care itself is no panacea.
The wages of child care providers are now so low that, in fact, this work may not contribute to women's economic independence. However, after looking at dozens, she chose Childspace, partly because of the low turnover. Teachers tend to stay at the school. Last year a new worker cooperative, the Magic Years, opened in Richmond, Calif., and another is slated to open in Denver. Discussions are currently under way in several other cities, including New York.