Washington, D.C. is a city that is in transition. The District of Columbia’s population has been declining for several decades. The diversity of the population, e.g., race/ ethnicity, living arrangements, geography has increased, however. The District’s child population is a big part of the change. Whole the under age 18 population decreased, the number of births to D.C. residents increased. Child care in the nation’s capital, like the nation in general, is essential. the increased labor force participation of mothers, increased poverty rates, and the increasing evidence of positive effects of preschool on poor children, has made understanding the demographics of children and their families very necessary.