Taxpayers may also qualify for the credit if they must provide a caretaker for a disabled or infirm spouse or parent, for example.

Many people are caring for a chronically ill or disabled spouse, parent, or other family member.

For example, a recent A.A.R.P. poll showed that 72 percent of Americans preferred home health care to a nursing home for a frail, ill or disabled spouse.

The woman, who was attempting to care for both the child and her disabled spouse, said she was overwhelmed by her responsibilities and needed to place the child in foster care.

The same kinds of effect can be seen in studies of families with disabled young adults (Hirst, 1984) and a disabled spouse (Martin and White, 1988).

Services outside the home qualify if they involve the care of a qualified child or a disabled spouse or dependent who regularly spends at least eight hours a day in the taxpayer's home.

A 1993 survey by the New York-based Families and Work Institute found that about 7 in 100 American workers care for disabled spouses, relatives and friends over the age of 50.

Tensions develop because the disabled spouse carries less weight in the household, shares in fewer activities and withdraws or becomes moody, angry or critical, Professor Edwards said.

The time limit does not apply to about a fifth of the cases: exemptions are provided for age, for a disabled spouse or child, or for other causes, both permanent and temporary.

Typically, they live alone or with a disabled spouse, struggling on a fixed income without nearby family members and, though not critically ill, can little manage what once came easily.