Includes bibliographical references and index.

"As the twenty-first century begins, the overwhelming majority of children in the United States are raised in households in which both parents work. Yet decent, affordable child-care is available to only a fraction of these families. As the population ages, one in four American families cares for elderly relatives, a responsibility that adult children shoulder with little or no help. Other families who must care for disabled adult members receive little support. And the situation is getting worse as employers demand longer hours and government safety nets become frayed.

This book combines the first systematic national research on how the need to meet family obligations is affecting working Americans of all social classes and ethnic groups with personal stories of the struggles of individual families."

"Heymann's research, documented here and illustrated with case histories, points to a widening gap between working families and the health and development of children. She demonstrates how a lack of essential services and support lead to increased school failure, deteriorating child health, and diminished chance of success for adults and children. Outdated labor policy and practice must be brought into this century, argues Heymann. Her findings make it amply clear that we cannot depend on corporations to provide care or to accommodate to family needs. We must create a national commitment to childcare (not unlike our mandate for universal education) and a guaranteed safety net for emergency care and special needs.

To do less is to abandon the precepts of equal opportunity on which America is founded."--Jacket.

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