Patterns of Child Care Use for Preschoolers in Los Angeles County

Child care has an important impact on children's development. High quality child care is especially important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. In this report we examine non-parental child care for children in Los Angeles County in 2000-2001, based on the first wave of the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey. In Los Angeles County, non-parental child care was used by only a minority (37 percent) of children ages 0 to 5 who were not yet in kindergarten or school. Among the target group for universal preschool (UPS) initiative (children 3 to 5) only 39 percent received any type of non-parental child care. Only about 14 percent of 0- to 5-year olds and 21 percent of 3- to 5-year olds attended child care centers or preschools at the time of the survey. If these figures continue to characterize preschools currently - as seems likely - than less than one quarter of the target age group for UPS is currently in center care. UPS is intended to be a voluntary program.