Parents' selections of child care arrangements involve complex decisions made in the context of child and family needs, resources and constraints. This study analyzed data from a survey of low-income parents to examine the factors associated with the type of care arrangement used most often. We employed Bayesian estimation methods to account for the interrelated nature of parental employment and child care decisions. We incorporated parental preferences for characteristics of child care to predict the type of care setting based on a factor analysis of parent responses about the importance of different care characteristics. (author abstract)