child care in cook county - Illinois Action for Children

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II. Family Dilemma: Access to Available Child Care SlotsTable II-5. Full-Time Child Care Center Slots in Cook County by AgeSource: Illinois Action for Children Resource and Referral Program, June 2009N & NW West S & SW SuburbanN & NW C & W S & SW Chicago Suburban Suburban Suburban CookAge Chicago Chicago Chicago Total Cook Cook Cook Total TotalInfant 275 617 688 1,580 1,404 374 1,145 2,923 4,503Toddler 450 788 960 2,198 1,746 536 1,527 3,809 6,0072-year-old 1,334 1,538 2,889 5,761 2,680 882 2,221 5,783 11,5443- to 4-year-old 3,543 2,901 5,607 12,051 4,670 2,318 4,136 11,124 23,1755-year-old to K 2,341 2,024 3,966 8,331 3,523 1,528 2,794 7,845 16,176School-Age: Before or After School 2,929 2,393 3,280 8,602 7,122 1,551 2,830 11,503 20,105School Age: Summer Only 2,856 3,193 6,252 12,301 3,656 760 1,981 6,397 18,698Total 13,728 13,454 23,642 50,824 24,801 7,949 16,634 49,384 100,208C.CENTER SLOTS BY AGESome parents have more difficultyfinding child care because of theages of their children. This sectionexamines the number of children ineach age group that Cook Countychild care centers can serve. Homechild care providers have more flexibilityin the ages of children theycan enroll and the ages of childrenthey serve change frequently. Forthis reason we do not provide comparabledata for child care homes.In 2009, 1,207 child care centerslisted with Illinois Action for Childrenreported the number of childrenthey serve per age group. Table II-5shows the distribution of 100,208known slots in licensed and licenseexemptchild care centers amongthe different age groups in the sixregions of Cook County. 13 Overall,the total age-identified center slotsare split in a fairly equal mannerbetween Chicago and suburbanCook County regions.It is often noted that infant care andschool-age care are among themost difficult for parents to find.Table II-5 confirms this notion. Witha total of 4,503 slots, fewer placesexist for infants than any other agegroup under school age. The situationis similar for toddlers. Chicagohas only half as many infant andtoddler slots as suburban CookCounty; in Chicago there are moreslots for two-year-olds than forinfants and toddlers combined. Thislimited supply of infant and toddlerslots is not surprising, as it is costlyfor centers to provide care for thisage group. Many families withinfants and toddlers look to familychild care homes for this care; however,even family child care homes,understandably, are limited by law tocare for no more than three childrenunder age 2 at one time unless anassistant is present.Programs for school-age children,with a total of 20,105 beforeandafter-school slots, have the lowestnumber of slots per age. There arealmost twice as many slots listed forjust three-year-olds through five-yearoldsas there are for the entire schoolagegroup, ages 6 through 12. The19situation is similar for school-agesummer care. The North andNorthwest suburban region doesparticularly well in providing beforeandafter-school slots compared toother regions. Note, however, thata significant number of school ageproviders are not licensed by DCFSand, if they do not list their programwith Illinois Action for Children, maygo uncounted.D.REFERRALS GIVENTO PARENTS IN 2009BY CHILD AGEParents looking for child care oftenseek referrals from Illinois Actionfor Children’s referral service.As in previous years, child carereferrals were most often requestedfor children under age 2—morethan one-third of all requests. Theproportion of requests for infantcare was particularly high in theNorth and Northwest Chicago andthe Central and West Chicagoregions. See Table II-6 for the break -down of referral requests by childage and region.
The 2010 Report of Child Care in Cook CountyTable II-6. Requests for Child Care by AgeSource: Illinois Action for Children Resource and Referral Program, FY2009N & NW West S & SW CookN & NW C & W S & SW Suburban Suburban Suburban CountyAge Chicago Chicago Chicago Cook Cook Cook TotalUnder 2 1,315 792 1,452 495 438 374 4,86650% 45% 40% 39% 36% 30% 41%2-year-old 347 263 512 171 150 173 1,61613% 15% 14% 14% 12% 14% 14%3- to 4-year-old 445 321 703 326 289 305 2,38917% 18% 19% 26% 24% 25% 20%5-year-old & K 137 92 230 62 93 84 6985% 5% 6% 5% 8% 7% 6%School-Age 392 303 763 205 233 297 2,19315% 17% 21% 16% 19% 24% 19%Total 2,636 1,771 3,660 1,259 1,203 1,233 11,762100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%BEST AND WORST REGIONS FOR FINDING INFANT CARE IN 2009A family looking for infant care in a center or licensed home willlikely have the greatest success in finding care if they live in theSouth and Southwest suburban region of the county. This regionhas a low number of infants per infant slot, both in centers and inlicensed homes, making it easier for families to find care.The North and Northwest Suburban region also fares well ininfant center care. However, for a family priced out of thistype of care, there are relatively few licensed home optionsin the region.Infant care is most scarce in the North and Northwest Chicagoregion. Here center infant care is more than twice as scarceas in any other region, and licensed home care for infants isless abundant than almost all other areas.Families in South and Southwest Chicago will have an easiertime finding licensed home care than families in other regions,but will face some challenge finding center infant care.Number of Infantsper Center SlotNumber ofInfants perLicensed HomeProviderNorth and Northwest Chicago 60 44Central and West Chicago 18 18South and Southwest Chicago 27 12North and Northwest Suburban Cook 11 67West Suburban Cook 21 23South and Southwest Suburban Cook 9 14Note: The number of infants per region is from the 2000 Census anddoes not reflect population changes over the last nine years.20
Page 1 and 2: child care in cook county:elements
Page 4: ContentsExecutive Summary . . . . .
Page 8 and 9: I N T R O D U C T I O NFamilies and
Page 10 and 11: IntroductionGABRIELLE AND SHAWN HAR
Page 12 and 13: B.TRENDS IN CHILDCARE RATESLike mos
Page 14 and 15: I. Family Dilemma: Child Care Affor
Page 20 and 21: In 2009, there were 1,456 full-time
Page 22 and 23: II. Family Dilemma: Access to Avail
Page 26 and 27: III. Family Dilemma: Finding Child
Page 28 and 29: IV. Family Dilemma:Finding the Righ
Page 30 and 31: V. Public Dilemma: Who Needs ChildC
Page 32 and 33: V. Public Dilemma: Who Needs Child
Page 34 and 35: VI. Child Care Choices ofCook Count
Page 36: ConclusionFinding the right child c
Page 40 and 41: A P P E N D I X 1The Six Cook Count
Page 42 and 43: A P P E N D I X 2The Demand for and
Page 44 and 45: A P P E N D I X 3Sources for Data o
Page 46: 4753 north broadway, chicago, illin

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