The report uses several key indicators to track the condition of children over time. If we don't improve upon the current state of child care, we will not only undermine welfare reform and weaken the future work force, but we also will end up putting tens of thousands of children in harm's way. And the study documents a growing need for after-school programs for some 3.5 million young children who are left by themselves until their parents return from work. Even when parents can find child care, it is often substandard. One multistate study cited in the report found that only one out of 12 infant and toddler rooms at child care centers provided developmentally appropriate care, and 40 percent were deemed a potential threat to children's health and safety.
Success begins from the start, but so does failure.
Nurturing, high quality child care puts children on the road to success. A study in Minneapolis found that one-quarter of the former welfare recipients on the waiting list for child care went back on public assistance because child care never materialized. But child care complications affect all working families, not just welfare mothers. The number of children in working poor families has risen in the 1990s in spite of the current strong economy. These families have at least one parent who works 26 weeks or more and whose family income was below poverty level.