A ssessing the New Federalism is a multiyear Urban Institute project designed to analyze the devolution of responsibility for social programs from the federal government to the states, focusing primarily on health care, income security, employment and training programs, and social services. Researchers monitor program changes and fiscal developments. In collaboration with Child Trends, the project studies changes in family well-being. The project aims to provide timely, nonpartisan information to inform public debate and to help state and local decisionmakers carry out their new responsibilities more effectively.Key components of the project include a household survey, studies of policies in 13 states, and a database with information on all states and the District of Columbia, available at the Urban Institute's Web site (http://www.urban.org). This paper is one in a series of occasional papers analyzing information from these and other sources. WHO'S CARING FOR OUR YOUNGEST CHILDREN? CHILD CARE PATTERNS OF INFANTS AND TODDLERSL parental arrangements, we look at the percentages of children in two or more arrangements each week. We then examine how these aspects of care vary for different subgroups of this population based on the child's age and race, the mother's education, family structure and income, and parent availability.These data provide valuable information on the choices that families make about the care and education of their youngest children. They do not, however, provide information about the extent to which these choices are made due to parental preferences or constraints, nor do they suggest that membership in a particular demographic subgroup accounts for the variation in patterns. Findings Child Care Patterns of All Infants and Toddlers of Employed MothersG Seventy-three percent of infants and toddlers of employed mothers are primarily cared for by someone other than a parent while their mother is working. G Twenty-seven percent are cared for by relatives; 22 percent are cared for in centers; 17 percent are cared for in family child care settings; and 7 percent are in the care of nannies or baby-sitters. G Thirty-nine percent of infants and toddlers of employed mothers are in care fulltime. The average time in nonparental care per week for infants and toddlers of employed mothers is 25 hours.GThirty-four percent of infants and toddlers of working mothers are in two or more nonparental arrangements. G Center care increases for young children of working mothers between infancy (under one year of age) and two years of age (15 versus 27 percent). Relative and parent care decrease for young children between infancy and two years of age (32 versus 23 percent for relative care and 33 versus 26 percent for parent care). GThe use of full-time nonparental care increases between infancy (under one year of age) and two years of age (32 versus 43 percent). G Placement in two or more nonparental arrangements increases between infancy (under one year of age) and two years of age (28 versus 38 percent). Different...

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THE URBAN INSTITUTE D epression in parents poses serious risks to millions of children in the United States each day, yet very often goes undetected and untreated. The risk can be very great for babies and toddlers, who are completely dependent on their parents for nurturing, stimulation, and care-and for poor families that do not have the resources to cope with depression. But depression is treatable and opportunities to reach these families and connect them to help already exist within multiple systems. In this brief, we take a first-time national look at the characteristics, access to services, and parenting approaches for infants living in poverty whose mothers are depressed (we focus on mothers as they are often the primary caregivers). We also identify current service systems that could intervene and help depressed mothers find support.

An abused or neglected child enters kinship foster care when a child welfare agency places the child with a relative and a court makes that relative responsible for the child's care. Data from the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) indicate that 405,000 children lived in kinship foster care in 2002. 1 While kinship foster care offers children family support, the relatives they live with are frequently poor and face hardships themselves, and children in kinship foster care often do not receive important protections and services.