Excerpts from the introduction:
Parents in the labor force face numerous decisions when balancing their work and home life, including choosing the type of care to provide for their children while they work. Deciding which child care arrangement to use has become an increasingly important family issue as maternal employment has become the norm, rather than the exception. Child care arrangements and their costs are significant issues for parents, relatives, care providers, policy makers, and anyone concerned about children. This report, which is the latest in a series that dates back to 1985, describes the number and characteristics of children in different types of child care arrangements in the spring of 2011. Additional historical data are also presented to provide a fuller picture of trends in child care usage in the United States.