Child care
Although general condition of the child care system can be applied to most of the cases and regions in Germany, there are noticeably big regional differences, especially between west and east Germany. The regional variations in child care supply reflect the fact that regulations are being made at the local community level. According to Tietze, Rossbach &amp; Roitsch survey in 1994, there are variations in the supply of day care services between rural and urban areas, with rural areas being at a disadvantage. In east Germany, there are much larger number of day care slots than in west Germany and higher rate of child care provision, as an inheritance from its former socialist German Democratic Republic. The opening hours of the day-care centers vary as well. In west Germany the opening hours of Kindergarten are short, only for half of the day; while in east Germany 97% of the kindergarten offers all-day care including lunch. Child care policies in Germany focus more on children's development and equal opportunities to succeed after kindergarten rather than focusing on helping to solve the compatibility of work and family for parents. Thus it explains the fact that Germany aims to provide high-quality early education for children but set the opening hours of day care centers to be short and not convenient to the working parents.