HOW DO MOTHERS CHOOSE CHILD-CARE - ALTERNATIVE CULTURAL MODELS IN POOR NEIGHBORHOODS

The dominant focus on structured variation in parents' actions across vertically defined social classes (from the inequality or the culture- of-poverty perspective) continues to eclipse recent work on between-fa mily variability within poor communities. Yet new research is emphasiz ing the variety of cultural models, kin supports, and parenting practi ces that circulate in low-income neighborhoods. This article details h ow 14 working-poor mothers act from a variety of cultural models or ta cit pathways pertaining to one basic element of inner-city life: ''cho osing'' an acceptable child care arrangement. It summarizes the surfac e-level paths that the women followed over a three-year period, includ ing sources that informed their initial choice of child care, reaction s to their care providers, and reasons for withdrawing from the arrang ements. It then discusses how alternative cultural models, which vary by ethnic group, guided the decisions or drifts of these working-poor women as they moved their children into day care, returned to work, an d pulled away from welfare.