Consumer Awareness. . The Concept . . One of the most challenging tasks facing new parents is arranging for care for their babies. Most families have precious little time to explore or weigh their options. The majority of infants in the United States begin some kind of regular child care in their first year of life-often in the first three months.. . Unlike most other industrialized countries, the United States has no "system" of early care and education. Parents who need or want child-care services can choose among public, for-profit, and not-for-profit settings. They can select religious or secular programs. They can opt for out-of-home care in child-care centers or family child-care homes, they can arrange for care by relatives, or they can hire a caregiver to provide care in their own home. . . The overriding concern of most parents, as they search for child care, is safety. Many parents simply assume that all child-care programs are regulated and that basic safeguards and quality standards will protect their children from harm. They may not realize that about 40 percent of early care and education programs, including family child-care homes, church-based programs, part-day programs, and school-based programs, are legally exempt from state regulation.. . Parents may need help recognizing the ingredients of high-quality programs-especially the "behind-the-scenes" elements that may not be obvious to consumers. It is easy to see whether a center is clean, or whether group size is small, but equally important factors like staff turnover or training may be less apparent. Parents may also need help obtaining objective information about programs so that they can assess the alternatives. In many cases, helpful information may exist in the form of professional ratings of programs, facility licensing reports, reports on the accreditation status of programs, and program ratings by parents of "graduates." But many parents may find it difficult to access or evaluate these data.. . Effective consumer awareness efforts depend on the participation of individuals and organizations in various walks of life. The media have a strong role to play, as do community organizations and religious groups. Parent education programs and family support programs can help parents make good decisions on behalf of their young children. Employers should recognize that they have a stake in reliable care for the children of their employees and can support consumer awareness by giving workers time to find, monitor, and take part in their children's early care and education programs.