Reports child care trends based on surveys of child care organizations and consulting groups. Trends discussed include those which relate to (1) the demand for child care services; (2) employers' role in child care; (3) types of child care service; and (4) providers of child care. (SM)

Describes common mistakes to be avoided by child care directors in early childhood catalog purchasing. Notes roadblocks to successful purchases, including failing to check out seller's reliability, comparing prices without including shipping costs or considering product quality, failing to anticipate needs, ordering from outdated catalogs, failing…

While the nation's six largest for-profit child care organizations followed the same path of rapid growth in the 1970s and 1980s, slower growth in the 1990s has led the chains in different directions. Two organizations plagued by heavy financial losses have greatly reduced their expansion, while others have focused on moderate growth or…

Attempts to clarify commonly held misconceptions about nonprofit child care that concern its degree of subsidization by public funds, the economic level of its clientele, its size and management, and the wages of its workers. Discusses effects of recent federal action on nonprofit care. Tables provide data relating to nonprofit and other forms of…

Discusses several strategies recommended by small business experts to help for-profit and non-profit child care centers survive a financial crisis. Strategies include: identifying the source of the problem, monitoring cash flow, reducing or deferring expenditures, expediting regular income and exploring new sources of income, patiently working…