According to a study released by the
Rauch
Foundation in Garden City, the childcare industry on Long Island is
one of the largest. It employs more than 17,000 workers and receives
more than $600 million in revenue. Over 74,000 children are enrolled in
early childcare provided by 7,600 small businesses.
More Long Islanders now work in this industry than in aerospace (4,600),
hotels (5,500), home building (12,200), or landscaping, horticulture,
and greenhouses (14,700). The study defined the childcare industry to
include childcare centers, nursery schools, and family daycare
businesses, but not informal arrangements with relatives.
Since more than 65 percent of mothers on Long Island with children
under six are working, the importance of the childcare industry is
self-evident. Quality early childhood education and appropriate
developmental care are crucial. Therefore, the Child Care Councils of
Nassau and Suffolk Counties and the three Childcare Partnerships here in
Nassau, including our own, are dedicated to assuring that this industry
maintains high standards.
Rauch statistics: 70 percent of women who work, full and
part-time, have children under the age of 18. Thirty percent of them
have children under 5.
|
