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Care for Children and Youth in Rural Areas

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Rural Caregiving in the United States

Part of the book series: Caregiving: Research, Practice, Policy ((CARE))

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Abstract

Each week in the United States an estimated 6.4 million children under 5, or 55% of infant and preschool-aged children spend time being cared for by someone other than their parents (Johnson, 2005). Another 7.4 million are in the care of relatives. Many of these children enter non-parental care by 11 weeks of age and are in care for close to 30 h a week. In 2001, 8.6 million rural children in elementary school were in before and/or after school care (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). For infants and school-aged children, relative care is the most frequently used child-care arrangement. Some research indicates that this pattern of relative care use is even more prevalent in rural areas (Hunts and Avery, 1998). Therefore, for a significantly large number of rural families, child care provided by a relative is an important daily occurrence of family caregiving.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A comprehensive list of rural initiatives and agencies to improve the quality and quantity of child care can be found at The National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center (http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/rural.html).

  2. 2.

    http://familiesandwork.org/sparking/home.htm.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, 290 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Susan K. Walker Ph.D.

  2. Development & Learning Consultant with ChildWise Resources, 41 Central Avenue, Westerville, OH, 43081, USA

    Kathy L. Reschke Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Susan K. Walker Ph.D.
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  2. Kathy L. Reschke Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Susan K. Walker Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Suzanne Vitale Clinical Education Comple, Western Kentucky University, 14th Street 104, Bowling Green, 42101, Kentucky, USA

    Ronda C. Talley

  2. Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 62901, Illinois, USA

    Kathleen Chwalisz

  3. College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Newton Road 50, Iowa City, 52242, Iowa, USA

    Kathleen C. Buckwalter

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Walker, S.K., Reschke, K.L. (2011). Care for Children and Youth in Rural Areas. In: Talley, R., Chwalisz, K., Buckwalter, K. (eds) Rural Caregiving in the United States. Caregiving: Research, Practice, Policy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0302-9_4

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