Report: A Study to Determine the Feasibility of Establishing an Alternative Child and Adult Care Food Program Eligibility Process for Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregivers in Colorado

Young girl in a gray hoodie eating a peach outdoors with green grass in the background.

Family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) caregivers are a critical part of Colorado’s early-childhood ecosystem — yet many are locked out of federal nutrition support. This new feasibility study explores how the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) can be made more accessible for these license-exempt caregivers. The study examines legal frameworks, caregiver experiences, and system design, and recommends a streamlined registration pathway that reduces administrative burden. By removing the linkage between CACFP eligibility and state subsidy programs, this model could help FFN providers serve healthier meals and strengthen community-based care.

Over the past several months, the Home Grown team has worked with provider leaders and our advisory communities to develop a set of principles for what a universal child care system should look like when it fully includes home-based child care. The result is our first draft of a shared vision: Universal Child Care, Built From Home.
Home Grown has established and will lead the Nourishing Care Community of Practice (CoP) for state policy advocates who work across care, food, and economic stability issue areas
En julio de 2026, el Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos publicó las actualizaciones anuales obligatorias de las tasas de reembolso para el CACFP.