Most families need child care for their young children. Many children are left unsupervised or in poor quality child care and may be vulnerable to psychological and physical risks that affect their development and safety. Most state and local regulations are limited and do not ensure that all child care programs are of good quality. Kindergarten teachers are concerned that many children entering kindergarten are not prepared to participate in learning and social activities in the classroom. Many children and families in the United State are poor, even when both parents or a single head of household are employed.
Poverty rates remain inexcusably high, especially for children.
For single parent families, financial resources are often limited by multiple factors, including, in many cases, failure of non-custodial parents to pay child support. Governmental funding for child care is inadequate. Many families, particularlyp low income and single parent families, cannot afford good quality child care. Child care costs for infants are often higher than costs for toddlers and preschoolers, and many child care facilitiesp cannot offer infant programs because of personnel costs. The high cost of child carep results in a system in which low income families have few child care choices.