Child Care Safety

Child care safety refers to children's safety from injury or death from accidents or acts of violence, or from emotional or sexual abuse, while in child care settings. Child care is defined as paid care provided by nonrelatives.

Nearly 8 million children of employed mothers in the United States are in some form of child care provided by nonrelatives. Despite this large enrollment in child care, little has been known until recently about children's level of safety in care, as no national government or private agency collects data on injuries or fatalities in child care. Whereas extensive research exists on issues such as airline safety and risks posed in the nuclear or chemical industries, much less is known about safety issues in human services.

The United States lacks a developed child care system, instead relying on a patchwork of arrangements differing in their level of formality and government oversight. Child care arrangements involve nannies or babysitters in children's own homes, 7 percent; family day care providers in the caregivers' homes, 27 percent; and children enrolled in child care centers, 66 percent. Care in the child's home involves the least regulation, with parents hiring caregivers on their own and with no caregiver licensing or required training. Family day care homes may be regulated but may also be exempt because of small size or may operate underground. Child care centers are more formal organizations, the great majority licensed and inspected by the states and with professionally trained directors.

These markedly different organizational types of child care lead to different patterns of risk. This in turn suggests that researchers studying safety in human services can benefit from considering organizational factors that affect the routine circumstances in which care is offered.