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School Age Child Care: In the United States, there are increasing group day care facilities, particularly under programs such as "Head-Start" and "Get Set," which have the objective 'of breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. These group day care centers may be called day nurseries, day care centers, child care centers, or nursery schook Not all nursery school age child cares are true day care centers, but any good day care program for children of nursery school age child care age will have an educational component in its program indistinguishable from that of a good nursery school age child care. Because sound early childhood education is an important feature of a good day nursery as well as of a good nursery school age child care, the distinction between the two kinds of programs tends to blur.
This definition is problem-focused, emphasizing prevention and remedy. It recognizes the value of strengthening a child's own home where possible. Where this is not possible, a variety of substitute living situations is provided.
Child welfare services are directed to the social problem of deprivation of parental care. As the accompanying chart illustrates, they are designed to help with society's child-rearing task in three important ways: (1) to substitute for parental care either partially or wholly according to a child's individual needs; (2) to supplement the care that a child receives, or to compensate for certain inadequacies or limitations in parental care; and (3) to support or reinforce the ability of parents to meet their children's needs.
Service designed to substitute for natural parental care, either partially or completely, is still the predominant child welfare service. Of the total number of children receiving child welfare services in the United States, more than half are receiving service away from their own homes and their own families.
Substitute care programs include foster family care, institutional care, and adoption.
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