Living Today: Issues of modern living

MOMS, GRANDPARENTS AND DADS

Mothers, followed by grandparents and then fathers are the leading child care providers for preschoolers based on 1997 data, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

More than one-third of preschoolers -- 7.2 million -- have no regular child-care arrangement and presumably are under maternal care, the Census Bureau says.

Among the nation's 19.6 million preschoolers, grandparents take care of 21 percent, 17 percent are cared for by their father, 12 percent are in day-care centers, 9 percent are cared for by other relatives, 7 percent are cared for by a family day-care provider in their home, and 6 percent received care in nursery schools or preschools.

"Only 15 percent of grandparents were paid for taking care of their preschool-age grandchildren, with payments averaging $40 per week. Day-care centers received twice that amount, averaging $83 per week," says Census Bureau analyst Kristin Smith.

SUPERCENTERS GAINING

A study by Information Resources Inc. finds consumers are heading for supercenters in greater numbers, although they still prefer buying their meat and produce at traditional grocery stores.

Convenience is a major determinant of where consumers spend their grocery dollars, according to Michael Sansolo, of the trade group Food Marketing Institute. "Supercenters have been an enormous growth format over the past seven or eight years," Sansolo says.

The IRI survey finds supercenters gained 5 million new customers in 2001, cannibalizing both shopping trips and dollars spent at grocery outlets.

Fifty-four percent of shoppers said they frequent supercenters for the convenience of buying everything in one place. Location also ranked high when it came to choosing where to shop.

(Thanks to UPI's Marcella S. Kreiter)

MORE CHILDREN COULD HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE

Nearly 5 million children in the United States who currently lack health insurance are eligible for low-cost and free health care coverage through the State Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid, but are not enrolled.

A report by the Urban Institute says of the 8 million currently without health insurance, more than half are needlessly uninsured. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 8 out of 10 uninsured children are in working families. Three-quarters of these families do not have access to an employer-provided health plan that covers children.

Covering Kids, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, works to connect uninsured children to low-cost and free health care coverage programs available in every state and the District of Columbia. During the third annual Back-to-School enrollment drive, Covering Kids coalitions will hold more than 1,000 outreach events coast to coast to reach families.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE

A study based on focus group research conducted in March 2002 in California indicates voters of color strongly support full public funding of elections.

The study by Lake Snell Perry & Associates finds people of color view campaign finance as a bedrock equality issue and they favor providing candidates with fair and equal access to media.

"It is clear from these findings that campaign finance is a major civil rights issue of our time," says Eva Paterson, of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights for the San Francisco Bay Area, a co-sponsor of the study.

The findings likely will bolster efforts in a number of states to create voluntary full public funding systems and free media time for candidates for state elections, says Stephanie Wilson, of the Fannie Lou Hamer Project, a national grassroots organization that redefines campaign finance on civil rights grounds.