This policy brief examines who is taking care of preschoolers of employed mothers in rural America. While most rural families choose home-based child care (such as relatives or informal nonrelated care providers), formal care (such as in day care centers) has positive benefits to a child's development. The brief recommends that programs are needed that either make formal care more affordable and accessible in rural communities, or that train home-based care providers to provide quality care. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 11 endnotes.).

Economic, social, and health indicators show that as many as one-quarter of rural children face problems usually attributed only to inner cities. Rural children are poorer than other American children and are less likely to have access to health insurance, health services, child care, government aid, or adequate housing. This book provides abundant statistical data (in text and tables) on various aspects of poverty in rural America as it affects children. It contains the following chapters: (1) Rural Children and Families: Who They Are; (2) The Rural Economic Landscape; (3) Child Poverty in Rural America; (4) Public Cash and Food Assistance for the Rural Poor; (5) the Health of Rural Children; (6) Rural Child Care and Early Childhood Education; (7) Rural Education; and (8) Rural Housing. Each chapter highlights problems faced in rural areas and makes frequent comparisons with urban data. The chapter on education discusses higher costs and limited curricula of rural schools, teacher experience and turnover, achievement scores, dropouts, youth outmigration, educational attainment, and college enrollment. Most chapters contain specific suggestions for national, state, and local governments and private entities to improve the plight of rural children. Sidebars highlight successful programs benefitting poor rural children. The appendix contains 13 additional tables that provide key state facts about children and the issues covered. (KS)

"A compilation of policy-relevant research by a multidisciplinary group of scholars on the state of families in rural America in the twenty-first century. Examines the impact of economic restructuring on rural Americans and provides policy recommendations for addressing the challenges they face"--Provided by publisher.

Abstract: Changes in welfare laws have lead to a growing number of mothers returning to the workforce, creating a growing need for stable non-maternal child care arrangements for young children. Finding and maintaining stable child care arrangements can be especially problematic for low-income women living in rural areas of the country. Accessibility and availability may be especially limited to these families due to factors such as irregular work schedules and financial constraints. The goal of the present study was to better understand what factors contribute to mothers' decisions to change their child care arrangements. Data from a national research endeavor called Rural Families Speak (N = 474) were utilized. The present study (N = 249) focuses on a subsample of those women. Inclusion required women to have at least one child 5 years old or younger. Data were collected from families with an income at or below 200% of the poverty line and who were living in rural counties with population centers of less than 20,000. Results indicated that the most utilized type of care was informal care (40.7%). More stability than was hypothesized was found with 67% of families who reported no change in child care arrangements. Most mothers (86.4%) changed child care arrangements because of some precipitating event. Of the 81 cases experiencing change, 45.7% indicated that the change in their child care arrangements was related to their employment. Three reasons given for changes in care were work related; the mother got a job or began attending school (23.5%), the mother stopped working or attending school (14.8%), or a change in the mother's work schedule (5%). Interview transcripts revealed seven non-work related categories of responses when considering what specifically motivated mothers to change child care arrangements including; the person who was currently providing child care became unavailable or unwilling to continue, financial considerations, and moving from the area. In light of these findings, current policies were discussed and changes were suggested that may encourage more stable child care for young children.