COST IS THE DAY CARE RUB

Most of Orange County’s households that need day care services are getting them the old-fashioned way--paying for them. Among those residents who have children living at home and in need of day care, the majority, 53%, take the children outside the home to a paid provider and 27% pay someone who comes into their homes. The rest are getting the care outside the home at no fee (11%), in-home for free (5%) or have no day care arrangement (4%).

Among those using day care, opinions are generally favorable as to the quality and convenience of the service. The biggest problem would seem to be cost--two-thirds say the service places at least “some” financial burden on the household. Here are the questions and the results:

Those with children in their households requiring day care were asked: “What kind of day care are you currently using?” Inside the home for a fee: 27% Outside the home for a fee: 53 Inside the home at no cost: 5 Outside the home at no cost: 11 Not using day care: 4 Those saying they were using some form of day care were then asked three follow-up questions. Here are the results:

“How satisfied are you with the quality of the day care you are using?” Very Satisfied: 67% Somewhat Satisfied: 29% Somewhat Dissatisfied: 2% Very Dissatisfied: 2%

“How satisfied are you with the convenience of the day care you are using?” Very Satisfied: 68% Somewhat Satisfied: 25% Somewhat Dissatisfied: 5% Very Dissatisfied: 2%

“How much of a financial burden do day care need place on your household?” A lot: 40% Some: 27% A little: 17% None: 16% Source: Orange County Annual Survey by Mark Baldassare, UCI