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.).

"While most mothers or pre-school aged children are challenged in finding and securing adequate child care, research suggests that those living in rural areas have fewer child care choices, with center-based care being the least commonly available option." --[P. 1]

In today’s fast-paced world, the luxury of being a stay-at-home parent is rare. You need reliable, nurturing care for your child…but how do you decide which options are best? With 25 years’ professional experience in preschool childcare, Alice Carrillo provides an invaluable guide to assessing childcare providers in Home Childcare vs. Childcare Centers. Observations are included to give parents information about both strategies, as well as tips on what to look for when visiting a provider, and what questions to ask. The book also includes interactive art activities, a sample monthly curriculum, outdoor and indoor activity suggestions, songs and nursery rhythms that are suitable for sharing with a childcare provider, or enjoying at home with your preschooler. Home Childcare vs. Childcare Centers is the perfect guide for any parent who is worried about leaving their child with a family member, a neighbor, or even a nanny. You’ll be given all the tools you need to choose the right care for your child.

Caregivers living in rural areas face daunting obstacles. In addition to the isolation and anxiety that many caregivers across the country experience, rural caregivers must also cope with limited access to uncoordinated resources and severe shortages of trained professionals. Although many research, policy, and practice upgrades have been made in response to caregivers’ general concerns, the specific problems facing the rural caregiver have been less frequently addressed. Focusing on what is known as well as what is needed – and zeroing in on major subgroups within this diverse population – Rural Caregiving in the United States replaces misconceptions of the nonurban experience with real-life issues, findings, and solutions. For example, this pioneering volume: Covers a broad range of issues unique to rural caregiving, including research, education/training, policy, and practice. Identifies specific needs related to education, training, and support for rural caregivers. Examines both the positive and negative effects of rural living on caregivers as well as patients. Discusses the importance of in-home care in lieu of scarcer forms of for-profit care (e.g., hospitals). Addresses not only discrepancies between rural and urban health care systems but racial and ethnic disparities within rural health care. Explores the advantages of using information technology to address rural health care limitations. Rural Caregiving in the United States offers uniquely knowledgeable perspectives to researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in the caregiving fields, including psychology, social work, nursing, gerontology and geriatrics, medicine, public health, public policy, and educational policy.

Families, communities and societies influence children's learning and development in many ways. This is the first handbook devoted to the understanding of the nature of environments in child development. Utilizing Urie Bronfenbrenner's idea of embedded environments, this volume looks at environments from the immediate environment of the family (including fathers, siblings, grandparents and day-care personnel) to the larger environment including schools, neighborhoods, geographic regions, countries and cultures. Understanding these embedded environments and the ways in which they interact is necessary to understand development.