Supporting Family, Friend and Neighbor

CaregiversFindings from

a Survey of State Policies

Toni Porter and Shannon KearnsInstitute for a Child Care Continuum

Bank Street College of Education

Produced in Collaboration with Child Trends and the National Association of State Child Care Administrators, an affiliate of the American Public Human Services Association

Research Questions

• How do states define home-based child care that is exempt from regulations for family child care?

• What kinds of requirements do states impose on family, friend and neighbor caregivers who provide child care for subsidized children?

• What kind of special initiatives do states fund to improve the quality of care that these caregivers offer?

Methodology

• 2004 telephone survey with state child care administrators

• Telephone interviews with program operators

• Verification of data• Review of selected training

curricula

Outcomes

• Responses from 48 states*• Comprehensive data on state

policies for family, friend and neighbor care

• Current information on 23 state-funded specific initiatives to improve quality in this type of care

* Tennessee and Vermont did not respond.

Implications

• There is wide variation in state regulations for home-based care that is subject to regulation and care that is exempt from it.

What is the purpose of creating two different categories of care that is offered in the provider’s home?

Implications

• There is little uniformity or consistency in states’ requirements for providing child care to subsidized children in family, friend and neighbor care.

Which requirements are effective in reducing the incidence of harm or protecting children’s health in these settings?

Implications

• There is little evaluation of the efforts that states use to improve quality in family, friend and neighbor care.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of these initiatives? What are their effects on caregivers’ practice?

How, if at all, can supports for family, friend and neighbor care be integrated into systemic efforts to improve child care quality?