ermany, have formulated and implemented effective programs to deal with this problem, others, such as the United States, appear to be floundering in a sea of indecision (Bertman, 1991).
Emphasis in the provision of care services for the elderly is all too often placed on institutional care only. Institutional care, however, is extremely costly, and it is not always in the best interests of the elderly person. For each of these reasons, elder care is being provided increasingly by the children of the elderly, either in the elderly person's home or in the child's home (Grotz, 1991). As much as money, time becomes a significant factor for the child providing care for an elderly parent or other elderly relative.
Major changes have occurred in the demographics of the American workforce in the past 20 years. In the mid 1960s, women workers accounted for approximately one third of all American workers. In the early 1990s, this proportion is one half (Carlson, 1990). On the one hand, the demand for child day care is up significantly, as a result of the increased numbers of women working, while on the other hand, the numbers of neighborhood women available to provide child day care is down significantly for the same reason (Wash and Brand, 1990).
In contemporary American society, it is necessary for all adults in a majority of the country's households to work outside of the home, if an acceptable standard of living is to be maintained (Belsky, 1990). When pre school age children are present in these households, the problems become exacerbated. As a point of fact, 57 pe
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