With one out of every two American mothers returning to paid employment before her baby’s first birthday the call for high-quality affordable child care is being heard with increasing frequency and urgency. Many employed parents complain that licensed child care is too expensive and that they must make do with informal arrangements of uncertain quality and dependability. For some mothers, the high cost of child care discourages them from seeking employment; other women remain childless or limit the size of their families for the same reason. In a recent report, Who Cares for America’s Children? Although the report’s policy goals are all equally admirable, they may not, in fact, all be achievable. Indeed, the NRC’s recommendations for child care workers potentially conflict with its other two makr do day care workers make good money accessible and affordable care. Dau of child care policy must, at the outset, address two conflicting economic issues: the high cost ...