For Profit Organizations Maintaining Status Quo

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Last year was a disappointing one for the for profit child care industry. At the outset of the year, executives of the 40 largest for profit organizations were very cautious in making projections for 2002 - forecasting a 2-3% increase in capacities. Looking back, it appears that even these modest projections were too optimistic.


For example, the six largest for profit organizations - KinderCare Learning Centers, La Petite Academy, Children's World Learning Centers, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Childtime Learning Centers, and the Knowledge Learning Corporation - as a group, grew by less than one half of one percent in 2002. The majority of the remaining centers in "The Exchange Top 40" (see page 20) failed to meet their expansion goals for 2002.

The tragic events of 2001 had a ripple effect carrying into early 2002 that generated challenges for all businesses in America. The ongoing problem for the child care industry is ...