Child Care Policy Research

This paper reviews current policy issues in child care in the United States. Recent statistics on the demand for and supply of child care in the United States from national surveys show that, even though there may be selective shortages, overall there is an adequate supply of child care for preschoolers. Today, the most important issues are not supply per se but the quality and cost of care, and freedom of choice. The paper describes the market for child care from the point of view of the somewhat conflicting interests of parents, providers, children, and government. It focuses on the trade‐off between quality and cost, the effects of child care on children, the role of the government, and the effects of federal intervention. Finally, the nature of policy research is discussed with reference to the papers in this journal issue.