Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care To Promote Education, Support Families, and Build Communities.

Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care To Promote Education, Support Families, and Build Communities. Joan Lombardi. Philadelphia: The Century Foundation: TempleUniversity Press, 2003. 230 pp. $18.95 (soft cover). Unlike most bookson "designing" national child care reform, this book does notoffer quick and easy fixes. Joan Lombardi, a leading advocate in thefield of early childhood care issues, provides the reader withdocumented information about what was and is currently available for theAmerican family American Family is a photographic artwork exhibition by Ren��e Cox. See alsoAn American Family, a 1973 documentary broadcast on PBS , a 2002-2004 PBS drama starring Edward James Olmos and Constance Marie. regarding child care ... and what needs to be done.Citing statistics and vignettes about care-giving situations in theUnited States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Lombardi makes clear that transforming the vision ofhigh-quality, affordable child care for all children will be a difficultjob. She endorses making the issue of high-quality child care an item inthe public school arena, yet recognizes the unlikelihood of thishappening under the current conditions. The book looks back to the history of early child care in theUnited States, and offers suggestions for redesigning child care asearly education and family support, redefining education after school,rekindling the community's commitment to children, and sending outthe call for investment and reform. In the final chapter, Lombardi pleads: "In the 21st century,we need to usher in Verb 1. usher in - be a precursor of; "The fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in the post-Cold War period"inaugurate, introducecommence, lead off, start, begin - set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. a [third] phase, one that recognizes that child careis a public good with long-term implications for children." Sheoffers several recommendations: 1) provide paid parental leave parental leaven.A leave of absence granted to a parent to care for a new baby. as achoice during the first year of a baby's life, 2) developearly-learning programs that are accessible to all, 3) createneighborhood after-school programs accessible to all, 4) expand upon andreform child care assistance to parents, 5) develop a community supportsystem, and 6) strengthen the professional development systems for earlychildhood and after-school staff. Each recommendation is accompanied byrecommended strategies that will be well-supported by early childhoodprofessionals. The detailed notes and exhaustive documentation at the end of thebook attest To solemnly declare verbally or in writing that a particular document or testimony about an event is a true and accurate representation of the facts; to bear witness to. To formally certify by a signature that the signer has been present at the execution of a particular writing so as to Lombardi's tenacious te��na��ciousadj.1. Clinging to another object or surface; adhesive.2. Holding together firmly; cohesive.tenaciousviscid; adhesive. stand against those opposed toa national child care agenda. Reviewed by Judy Williston, Professor ofTeacher Education, Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University,mainly at Ypsilanti, Mich.; coeducational; founded 1849 as a normal school, became Eastern Michigan College in 1956, gained university status in 1959. , Ypsilanti