Webinar: Network Benchmarks and Indicators

On Wednesday, September 14th at 3:00-4:00 Eastern (12:00-1:00 Pacific) Home Grown and the Erikson Institute hosted a session on the newly released Network Benchmarks and Indicators. Together, the benchmarks and indicators represent a picture of what a high-quality network strategy can look like. In this session we explored the 11 quality benchmarks, their development from research and best practice, and potential use cases for administrators, funders, network staff, and supporting organizations.

Panelists for this discussion include:

  • Juliet Bromer, Research Professor, Herr Research Center, Erikson Institute
  • Marina Ragonese-Barnes, Research Analyst, Herr Research Center, Erikson Institute
  • Toni Porter, Early Care and Education Consulting
  • Kristy Smith, Associate Director: Home-Based Child Care Team, Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood
  • Sara Mickelson, Director, Early Childhood Initiatives Harris County Office of County Administration
  • Natalie Renew, Executive Director, Home Grown
  • Karen Tylek, Director of Program Operations, Home Grown
Home Grown 100 days

Making Sense of This Moment: How Is Home-Based Child Care Doing 100 Days Into the Trump Administration?

In the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, we saw sweeping changes to many aspects of American policy and many more have been proposed. This blog post lays out key information to support you in making sense of this moment and taking action to protect yourself and your community and to impact the outcome of the proposed actions. 
Gunawardena Family Child Care in Altadena, California after the Los Angelos fires.

Up in Flames: It’s a Long, Hard Road to Recovery for Altadena Family Child Care Providers

In January 2025, Home-based child care Francisca Gunawardena provider lost everything in the Los Angeles fires. Today, Francisca is still trying to figure out how to move forward.
M. Robinson -IMG_4247

Inspirando la pasión por la naturaleza a través del juego en el cuidado infantil en el hogar

Los educadores de la primera infancia, incluyendo a los proveedores de cuidado infantil a domicilio, en todo el país están explorando maneras de dar vida al mundo natural como aula para los niños. Hablamos con tres proveedores que compartieron cómo incorporan el juego basado en la naturaleza en sus programas.