Supporting Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregivers

1
Supporting Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregivers

• Findings from
• a Survey of State Policies
• Toni Porter and Shannon Kearns
• Institute 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

2
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?

3
Methodology

• 2004 telephone survey with state child care
  administrators
• Telephone interviews with program operators
• Verification of data
• Review of selected training curricula

4
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.

5
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
  providers home?

6
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 childrens health
  in these settings?

7
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?