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cuny Graduate Center news
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First Comprehensive National Study Finds Centers
Safest Form of Childcare
Child care centers
are much safer than all other forms of child care, according
to a new national study.
Sociologists Julia Wrigley and
Joanna Dreby of the City University of New York Graduate
Center created a comprehensive database of child care
failures, including fatalities, between 1985 and 2003. They
found that child care is quite safe overall, and child care
fatalities are rarer than outside of paid care. But the
fatality rate for children who receive child care in private
homes is sixteen times higher than the fatality rate
for children in child care centers.
"While accidents
can happen anywhere, child care centers are almost 100%
protective against children's deaths by violence. They are
much safer than arrangements in private homes," explains
Wrigley.
? Infants are by far the most vulnerable
children in care. Their fatality rate from both accidents and
violence is nearly seven times higher than that of children
from one to four. Equally striking are differences in infant
fatality rates across types of care. The infant fatality
rate in the care of nannies or family day care providers is
more than seven times higher than that in
centers.
? Why are centers the safest form of
child care?
Wrigley and Dreby conclude that centers
are the safest form of child care because they afford children
multiple forms of protection. Most importantly, staff members
do not work alone. They have others watching them and helping
them cope with fussy infants or whining toddlers. This helps
them maintain their emotional control. It also helps identify
and remove unstable or volatile workers. Center teachers
also have more training than most caregivers in private homes
and they are supervised by professionally-trained directors.
Finally, centers control access by outsiders more effectively
to keep out people who might pose risks.
? These
protections help reduce risks of accidental deaths, such as
suffocation and drowning. But they are especially important in
preventing violent deaths. Not a single shaken baby fatality
was found in a child care center, while 203 were reported in
arrangements in private homes. ? The stress of infant
crying, in particular, can drive caregivers to impulsive acts
of violence. With little professional training, without
supervisors or coworkers, and often paid very little for long
hours of work, even some experienced caregivers can lose
emotional control. Once children are past the toddler years,
safety differences between centers and other forms of child
care diminish. | |
