Regional Child Care Trends: Comparing Georgia to Its Neighbors.

N

47

Policymakers

Budgets; Child Care; Child Care Centers; Child Care Quality; Comparative Analysis; Compensation (Remuneration); Delivery Systems; Demography; Family Child Care; Infant Care; Labor Turnover; National Standards; Preschool Teachers; Public Policy; Tables (Data); Trend Analysis

Georgia; United States

As child care becomes an increasingly important public policy issue on the national level, there is emerging concern about Georgia's readiness to meet the needs of its children in care. This study documented the state of child care in Georgia in comparison to other states, to national averages, and to national standards. A group of 12 comparison states were selected based on geographic proximity, similar population size, previous application in national child care studies and databases, and economic characteristics. Data were collected through several national government databases and through private and state agencies or programs engaged in monitoring child care issues. Findings were categorized in the areas of state demographic information, condition of state child care systems, state child care spending, child care costs, and child care quality. Among the findings are the following: (1) Georgia women exceed the national average in workforce participation, increasing demand for child care; (2) Georgia lags significantly behind the other states in providing child care subsidies to families whose children are at highest risk of poor outcomes and in setting standards to improve quality; (3) with 25% of Georgia children living in poverty, the cost of high quality care would be prohibitive for families even if it were widely available; and (4) Georgia ranks poorly on measures of child care quality, particularly on child to staff ratios, although the state performs relatively well in the area of wages for child care workers. (A summary of results and a delineation of data sources are appended. Contains 21 endnotes.) (KB)

2004

ED481259