The States of Child Care

As the U.S. economy continues to falter and families face ongoing wage stagnation and widening income inequalities, there is an urgent need for a better, integrated approach to child care. This accessible, up-to-date account of the chronic issues plaguing child care reform offers viable solutions drawn from a model state child care system in North Carolina. Original data from interdisciplinary research illustrates the complex landscape of U.S. child care, as well as the ambiguous relationship society has with the sobering statistic that 64% of women with children under 6 are employed and in need of reliable, high-quality care of their young children.

Book Features:

• The history and demographics of U.S. child care policy.
• Analysis of several persistent forces impeding the emergence of a national child care system.
• Contemporary ideas about motherhood, employment, and child care for pay.
• An extensive review of research on child care and child development.
• Recommendations focusing on policy integration and workforce development.

Sara Gable is an associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the University of Missouri.

“In The States of Child Care, Sara Gable gives voice to the perspectives of parents, practitioners, and advocates to help readers deepen their understanding of our past, what needs to change in the present, and what strategies they can use to make progress now.”
—From the Foreword by Marcy Whitebook, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, Berkeley, CA

"The value of Gable's approach is its wide appeal to the policy world, to researchers and students of human development, and to the general public who uses child care."
—Carollee Howes, director, Center for Improving Child Care Quality, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies

“Making the case that the early care and education system needs stronger infrastructure and support, the book speaks to the challenges in finding viable solutions. Gable provides comprehensive descriptive accounts of the challenges faced by mothers and care providers, and the commentary provided by focus group participants highlights the contradictions and complications entrenched in family life and the child care work force."
—Beth Blue Swadener, professor, Justice & Social Inquiry, and associate director, School of Social Transformation. Arizona State University