Sharon Jackson runs a home-based childcare program in Millbrook, Alabama. She cares for infants and toddlers on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., extends her hours into the evening as late as 11 p.m., and provides all-day care at least one weekend a month for children whose parents report for duty at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery. She is also licensed for overnight care and provides it when needed.
The 74 reports that care outside standard hours is known as nontraditional hour care. It is generally defined as care before 7 a.m. and after 6 p.m. on weekdays, and any time on weekends. According to a report from the Urban Institute, a social policy research nonprofit, about 40% of children under age 6 with working parents spend at least part of their week in this type of care. The report, which analyzed National Survey of Early Care and Education data, found it more common among children from low-income families, children in single-parent or nonparent households, and infants and toddlers.
Desiree Reid has been a licensed home-based childcare provider in the Bronx, New York, for about a decade. Before that, she worked as a financial manager, a job that sometimes required late nights and weekends, and she needed similar care for her son. Reid said that when she opened her program, parents who worked shifts began asking for later pickups. Rather than have them leave work, she extended her hours.