A Capsule History of For Profit Child Care

Summary of Article's First 150 Words

Total word count: 1268

Among many services offered in our society, child care is one of the most personal and emotion laden. I find it immensely healthy that most parents care enough about their child care decision to make it so. Were that it were universally true.

For decades, the nature of child care provider organizations reflected both this "personal" aspect and prevalent social values surrounding the child care decision. Families generally stayed intact. Most wives cared for their young children directly. Where that was not possible, families reached out to a relative or a small provider in their neighborhood. In certain large urban areas, social service agencies created child care programs for disadvantaged children.

Starting in the late 1960s, everything changed. It began with more women obtaining higher educations and being interested in putting this learning to use in the work world. Slowly, opportunities opened for women to ...