Family day care: State of the art

While public emphasis in the past was on the development of center-based child care, many working parents today remain reluctant to put their infants and preschoolers into formal day care settings. Since the majority of these parents cannot afford to have full-time sitters come into their homes, neighborhood homes have sprung up in which someoneprefers to stay at home to care for the children of others, who can then go out to work. Thus, the growth of family day care.Mary Clurman is Program Coordinator for Apple Pie Family Day Care, Essex County, NJ, and Employee Child Care Consultant to Muhlenberg Hospital, Plainfield, NJ.     

Family day care: Where it's at-updated New York City

Almost five years ago, (November 1974)Day Care and Early Education surveyed the state of family day care in a series of four articles entitled “Family Day Care: Where It's At.” In one of these articles, Betti Whaley, then Commissioner of the New York City Agency for Child Development, reported on that city's system for serving working mothers and providing children with the best possible home care. The following article on the present situation in New York City, and several others to appear in future issues, will provide an update on what has happened in family day care around the country since 1974, review the pros and cons of this type of day care, and consider prospects for the future. Stephen Ruffins is Director of Family Day Care (FDC) for the New York City Agency for Child Development (ACD). Carabelle McNeill is Director of Social Service/Parent Involvement at ACD From 1972 to 1975, Ms. McNeill, as ACDFDC Liason, coordinated the transfer and integration of each of the three FDC programs into the administrative aegis of ACD.