child care in cook county - Illinois Action for Children

I N T R O D U C T I O NFamilies and Child Carein Cook CountyMore than one million childrenunder the age of 13 live in CookCounty. A large proportion, andperhaps a majority, of these childrenreceive regular care from someoneother than their parents or guardians:from another relative, a friendor neighbor, a family child carehome, a child care center, or apark district or other after-schoolprogram.EXAMINING COOK COUNTY CHILD CARE BY REGIONThroughout this Report we divide Cook County into six regions to show howgeographic differences can affect parents’ success in finding child care.CHICAGOSUBURBAN COOK COUNTY1) North and Northwest 4) North and Northwest2) Central and West 5) West3) South and Southwest 6) South and SouthwestSee Appendix 1 for more detailed definitions of these regions.This 2010 Report of Child Carein Cook County examines the availabilityof child care to families indifferent parts of Cook County.We present the different settingsin which child care takes place,the number of children that can beserved in each type of care, andthe fees that parents pay to differenttypes of providers. We report theexperiences of some parents whoseek referrals to child care providersand examine the dilemmasthey face in choosing a providerand the compromises they makeas a result.Chicago and Suburban Cook RegionsNorth & Northwest Suburban CookNorth & Northwest ChicagoCentral & West ChicagoA NOTE ON SUPPLYAND DEMANDWest Suburban CookWhile we subtitle this report“Elements of Child Care Supply andDemand,” we want to caution readersthat the factors that determinethe supply of and demand for childcare are numerous and complex.We cannot simply compare thenumber of child care slots and thenumber of children in need of care.Appendix 2 provides a detaileddiscussion of the various elementsthat influence both child care supplyand demand and explains why anSouth & Southwest ChicagoSouth & Southwest Suburban Cook3