But soon the baby was demanding all her time and work was suffering. She's not alone. The need is greatest for children age 2 and under, only one in six of whom receive the needed care. The child-care programs that do exist are prohibitively expensive.
Many parents depend on informal child-care providers in their families or neighborhoods.
Pay for child-care workers is dismal and turnover is high. More than three out of 10 child-care positions in the county are vacant at any one time. Those who suffer the most with this system are children. Even up to the age of 5, the loss of a person whom the child has learned to trust to be there crushes that child. They develop an inability to form relationships.