When Churches Mind the Children: A Study of Day Care in Local Parishes

Reverend Dr. Eileen Lindner, at the National Council of Churches, led the first (and so far, only) comprehensive study of “day care in local parishes,” When Churches Mind the Children (Lindner, 1984). From an article by the author, at religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1390: "In 1982 the National Council of Churches conducted an extensive survey of church-housed child-care centers. By contacting every congregation in 15 of its 31 member denominations, the NCC Child Advocacy Working Group gained a clearer picture of the role of the church in providing child care. Some 28,000 congregations replied, and more than 1,500 agreed to supply detailed information through an extensive secondary questionnaire. The findings of this study, revealing the church’s major role in the provision of child care, ought to provoke discussion in both the religious and child-care communities. More than 18,000 church-housed programs have been identified, half of them operated by congregations and half functioning under a use-of-space agreement. A large majority of these centers -- 80 per cent -- are open for more than 30 hours per week, thus serving the needs of working parents. Virtually all programs -- 94 per cent -- report that they receive some subsidy from the host church. Over one third of the programs receive federal funds, an indication that many low-income children are being served. Only 16 per cent indicate that spiritual development constitutes a primary goal of the child-care program. While no accurate figures are available, we can conservatively estimate that approximately 40 per cent of all child care in the United States takes place in churches. Such a figure suggests the extent of the changes in American child-rearing practices. The recent history of child care as an ‘‘industry” further indicates some of the issues that now confront the church."