Caregiving Arrangements by Employed Women With Children Under 1 Year of Age

Data from a nationally representative sample of 55,000 households were used to examine the effects of selected background variables on the use of substitute care by employed women with infants under 1 year old. The employment rate for mothers and children under 1 year old was 40.8%, which represents an increase of 40.4% since 1977. For the sample as a whole, less than 10% of the infants were in center-based care. The majority of infants were cared for by relatives or the mother herself. Although all of the background variables (maternal race, maternal marital status, maternal education, family income and location of residence, full- or part-time employment) were significantly related to choice of substitute caregiving arrangements, the degree of association was only modest. The results are discussed in relation to research carried out on the effects of substitute care.