child care in cook county - Illinois Action for Children

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IV. Family Dilemma:Finding the Right ProviderFigure IV-1. Reasons Parents Chose Their New Provider, by Child AgeSource: Illinois Action for Children Resource and Referral Program, FY200980%■ Birth to 2 ■ 3 to 5 ■ School Age40%23% 26% 28% 32% 33% 34% 34% 35%29%27%37%28%24%19% 18%68%44% 44%60% 59%0%9% 7% 6% 5% 7% 9%Affordability Clean and Educational Experienced Location Schedule Warm & Caring Small Group OtherSafe Environment Caregiver Environment SizeEnvironmentThe story of parents’ search forchild care goes well beyond criticalquestions of the parents’ workschedules, the region where theparents live or work, the child’s age,and the type of child care settingthat parents want for their child.Each child is a specific individual andhas individual needs that parentshope the right provider can meet.Figure IV-2. Types of Special NeedsSource: Illinois Action for Children Resource and Referral Program, FY200920016810010178665775142A.WHAT DO CHILDREN NEED?We have limited data on the individualneeds that parents most seek toaccommodate. One good piece ofinformation about what parents lookfor in a provider comes from a surveyof parents who use the IllinoisAction for Children Resource andReferral program. As part of thesurvey, parents were asked tocheck the top three reasons whythey chose their new child careprovider. Figure IV-1 shows the topreasons of the 1,344 respondentsin 2009 based on their child’s age.The predominant reason for all agegroups was the location of care,followed by a warm and caringenvironment. An educational environmentwas important, particularly0Developmental Asthma/ Autism Physical Emotional/ Special OtherDelays Severe Behavioral HealthAllergiesNeedsfor children under age 5, as was aclean and safe environment for allage groups. About one quarter offamilies said they based their decisionon affordability of care.B.SPECIAL NEEDSIn addition to every child’s individualneeds, some children have specialneeds. In 2009, parents requestedreferrals from Illinois Action forChildren for 463 children with oneor more special needs. Of all childrenwith a special need, 36 percenthad a developmental delay and22 percent had asthma or severeallergies. Figure IV-2 shows thenumber of children with each typeof need.Illinois Action for Children askedparents what problems, if any, theyencountered while seeking childcare. Only 34 percent of familieswith no children with specialneeds encountered problemswith finding care as compared to45 percent of families with a childwith special needs.23
The 2010 Report of Child Care in Cook CountyIn addition, 44 percent of familieswith no child with special needssaid they had found care, comparedwith 38 percent of families with childrenwith special needs. Familieswith children with special needs weremore likely to say they were stillundecided about the care they woulduse. Figure IV-3 presents the resultsof families’ search for child care.C.LANGUAGE NEEDSA parent’s ability to communicateeasily with his or her child careprovider is important, as parentsand providers need to shareinformation about a child’s health,well-being, and development. Acommon language is likely to fostera parent’s sense of trust of the childcare provider as well as a willingnessto become involved in thechild’s program.Fifteen (15) percent of the CookCounty population speaks limitedEnglish, with the majority of those(63 percent) speaking Spanish. 16In 2009, 10 percent of familiesusing Illinois Action for Children’sreferral service sought a providerwho could speak a language otherthan English, the predominantlanguage being Spanish.Figure IV-3. Follow Up Survey: Ability to Find Child CareSource: Illinois Action for Children Resource and Referral Program, FY20097%5%34%32%44%38%Keeping Did Not Find Found No Decided NotFormer Care, Still Care Decision to UseCare Looking Child Care■ Families with no children with special needsIf families with limited Englishlanguagecapacity want to communicatewith their child care providerin their native language, their childcare options will narrow. Of theproviders who are on the IllinoisAction for Children Referral database,19 percent of licensed homeproviders reported they can fluentlyspeak a language other than English,while 43 percent of centers saidthey have a staff member who speaksa language other than English. Incenters, though, that particularperson may not be the staff memberwho cares directly for the child.8%17%3% 5%■ Families with children with special needs24
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 24 and 25: II. Family Dilemma: Access to Avail
Page 26 and 27: III. Family Dilemma: Finding Child
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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