BUILD Initiative Blog | Supporting Family Child Care in the Time
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Supporting Family Child Care in the Time of COVID-19

More children, including infants and toddlers, are cared for in home-based settings than in centers. These include Family Child Care and Family, Friend, and Neighbor options. Home-based settings offer many advantages for families such as cultural and linguistic affinity, non-standard work hour availability, care for mixed-age/sibling groups, and a home-like environment. In addition, home-based child care meets the needs of many low-income families who often work shift, hourly, or “gig” economy jobs.

Many family, friend and neighbor caregivers see themselves as just taking care of their grandchildren or helping out their neighbors. Yet these children need to be prepared to enter school with the same knowledge and set of skills as their peers with more formal child care experiences. 

States participating in the BUILD Initiative are expanding access to learning opportunities for family, friend and neighbor caregivers in ways that are inclusive and responsive to the strengths and needs of diverse families. The approaches used are more voluntary and supplementary than the regulatory, directive programs developed for formal caregiving.

By supporting family, friend and neighbor caregivers, BUILD state leaders increase children’s language and literacy skills, social skills, health, and social-emotional development. The BUILD Initiative believes this effort needs to continue.

Right now, however, after years of a decline in the number of home-based child care providers, the ones that remain have to choose between closing their doors and risking financial ruin or keeping them open for essential workers at the risk of their and their family’s health. Several organizations have produced tools for supporting family child care providers in this unprecedented time.

Expanding on BUILD’s earlier library of resources for supporting quality family child care, we have listed new ones below. We will share additional resources as they become available on the BUILD Family Child Care page. 

ALLIANCE FOR EARLY SUCCESS

ALL OUR KIN

HUNT

 HOME GROWN

 NAEYC

 NATIONAL WOMEN’S LAW CENTER

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR FAMILY CHILD CARE

OPPORTUNITIES EXCHANGE

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

STATE SPECIFIC INFORMATION

California

Illinois

  • Recent guidance is specific and clear about inclusion of licensed and license-exempt home-based child care

Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan

Washington

  • Child Care Aware of Washington and Child Care Resources: Recommendations for State Policy inclusive of needs of home-based child care and the families that choose these providers

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

Alliance for Early Success 

Tom Copeland

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