To help parents make sensible and trustworthy choices in the potentially overwhelming world of child care options, a Cornell University expert has co-authored a new handbook that gives parents the tools to collect and assess information on child care.

The book is Child Care That Works: A Parent's Guide to Finding Quality Child Care, (Houghton Mifflin, 1997: $14), co-authored by Moncrieff Cochran, professor of early childhood development at Cornell and a member of the board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and Eva Cochran, the coordinator of the Continuing Education Child Care Training Project at Tompkins Cortland Community College and former director of the Day Care and Child Development Council of Tompkins County, N.Y. and the Cornell Infant Care Center. Together, the husband/wife team has more than 50 years of child care knowledge and experience.

"Child care comes in so many shapes and sizes that parents often feel overwhelmed," said Moncrieff Cochran, also executive director of the Cornell Early Childhood Program, a network of faculty, policy-makers and practitioners jointly engaged in projects aimed at strengthening community supports for families with young children. He is also the editor of the International Handbook of Child Care Policies and Programs (Greenwood Press, 1993).

"The book is one way to share with parents what we have learned over the years about how to find and assess different types of child care, how to handle children's reactions to child care and parents' typical feelings of guilt and anxiety as well as how to build fruitful partnerships with child care providers," Moncrieff Cochran explained. "We also spell out how parents can be assertive and persistent in keeping care that fits their particular needs." The book also discusses how parents can advocate for higher quality child care.

The 344-page easy-to-read paperback, complete with chapter notes, index, checklists, suggested reading and sample questions to ask, offers practical advice, encouragement and information for parents so they may be well prepared to make the best child care decision possible.