Promising Practices for High-Quality HBCC Networks: Supporting Family, Friend, and Neighbor Providers

Family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) providers represent the largest non-parental child care sector in the United States, with the numbers of providers and children in these care settings far outnumbering licensed family child care (FCC) or center-based settings. Yet despite the prevalence, little is known about the types of supports and resources that FFN providers value and the ways that home-based child care networks (“networks”) tailor support for this population of caregivers. This report highlights intentional network strategies to enhance opportunities for FFN providers, specifically, as well as the experiences of FFN providers who receive resources and supports from networks.

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.
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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.
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Inspiring A Passion for Nature Through Play in Home-based Child Care

Early childhood educators, including home-based child care providers, around the nation are exploring ways to bring the natural world to life as a classroom for children. We spoke with three providers who shared how they incorporate nature-based play in their programs.