FAM3.B Child care: Percentage of children ages 3–5, not yet enrolled in kindergarten with employed mothers, in center-based care arrangements for any amount of time by child and family characteristics and region, selected years 1995–2019

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Characteristic 1995 2001 2005 2007 2012 2016 2019
Total 60.9 62.4 62.7 64.2 66.8 69.6 69.4
Race and Hispanic origina
White, non-Hispanic 61.7 63.2 63.5 67.9 71.5 74.8 74.6
Black, non-Hispanic 66.2 66.8 77.8 69.6 66.6 67.0 64.5
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic
Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic 57.2 69.7 74.7 74.5 72.0 63.6 70.8
Asian, non-Hispanic 75.2 75.4 75.0 65.3 72.1
Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic
Two or more races, non-Hispanic 62.3 67.0 55.1 56.7 60.4 65.0 63.8
Hispanic 45.0 51.7 48.2 48.0 56.2 62.4 64.0
Poverty status
Below 100% poverty 54.4 52.7 56.2 47.5 48.3 63.7 62.7
100%–199% poverty 51.0 56.2 50.0 54.7 55.4 53.5 52.2
200% poverty and above 66.6 67.2 69.2 72.3 76.8 76.6 76.2
Family type
Two parentsb 60.0 63.0 62.3 64.8 68.8 70.4 70.5
Two parents, married 63.8 64.0 66.6 71.3 72.6 73.6
Two parents, unmarried 53.1 45.3 42.2 47.3 55.3 48.1
One parent 63.6 60.6 63.3 62.4 60.8 69.8 67.8
No parents 62.2 68.9 69.8 48.5 44.4
Mother's highest level of education
Less than high school 30.5 42.5 34.8 38.4 39.2 43.9 44.9
High school diploma or equivalent 54.2 53.7 52.8 50.9 56.3 61.5 57.9
Some college, including vocational/technical/associate's degree 60.7 66.0 62.0 61.2 62.6 64.1 64.8
Bachelor's or higher degree 77.0 72.7 74.9 78.5 82.1 80.6 79.2
Regionc
Northeast 60.2 65.7 69.4 70.2 73.2 79.1 74.1
South 65.6 67.5 65.3 63.6 69.5 71.1 70.0
Midwest 58.5 58.0 57.1 68.9 64.8 69.5 69.7
West 56.2 57.0 59.4 55.0 59.6 61.3 64.7
— Not available.
‡ Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50% or greater.
a In 1995 and 2001, the 1977 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for data on race and ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. In 2005 and later years, the revised 1997 OMB standards were used. Under these standards, persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. In 2012, 2016, and 2019, children reporting as both Asian and Pacific Islander with no other races were included in Two or more races. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
b Refers to adults' relationship to child and does not indicate marital status. Data for 2007, 2012, 2016, and 2019 include same-sex parents.
c Regions: Northeast includes CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT. South includes AL, AR, DC, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, and WV. Midwest includes IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, and WI. West includes AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, and WY.
NOTE: Excludes children living in households with no mother or female guardian present. Center-based programs include day care centers, prekindergartens, nursery schools, Head Start programs, and other early childhood education programs. Prior to 2012, National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) surveys were administered by telephone with an interviewer. NHES:2012 used self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires that were mailed to respondents. For NHES:2016, all sampled households received initial contact by mail. While the majority of respondents completed paper questionnaires, a small sample of cases was part of a web experiment with mailed invitations to complete the survey online. For NHES:2019, the majority of data were collected using a web-based survey instrument that respondents accessed with credentials they received in a mailed invitation. Paper surveys were used for nonresponse follow-up and for a small experiment. Measurable differences in estimates between 2012, 2016, 2019, and prior years could reflect actual changes in the population, or the changes could be due to the mode change.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Surveys Program.

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