Family child care providers have a unique ability to celebrate special holidays for the children they care for throughout the year. For Lunar New Year 2025, we spotlighted some of the celebrations happening in HBCC around the country.
At Home Grown, our work and focus are unchanged in 2025: We are working for a future where all children thrive and where the adults closest to our children, namely their parents and care providers, are valued and supported. Learn more about how we plan to persist in our mission.
Home-based child care providers share how they rest and care for themselves during the often busy and demanding holiday season.
Licensing is critical infrastructure in the child care system: Through licensing, family child care providers are publicly recognized as child care professionals. In recognition of the important impact of state licensing policy and practice on family child care, Home Grown brought together its first-ever Family Child Care Licensing Work Group. The Work Group consisted of
In many states, family, friend and neighbor caregivers are exempt from licensing regulations and operate outside of publicly funded payment systems. The recommendations presented here emerged from focus groups conducted to learn how networks are responsive to the strengths and needs of the FFN sector.
Emergency funding is deeply ingrained in the work of Home Grown. Home Grown has developed a national team of organizations and partners to design and set up of the Home Grown Home-Based Child Care Emergency Fund for Severe Weather & National Disaster Response.
Home-based providers earn the lowest wages in the child care system and they are often left out of policy discussions and loan forgiveness programs, contributing to ongoing financial strain. This new fact sheet sheds light on the earning challenges for family child care providers.
Many leaders credit home-based child care providers with raising them up and saving their careers. In celebration of FFN Appreciation Week, we spoke with three distinguished leaders in the child care sector to hear how their experiences with FFN care shaped who they are today.
Deborah Young, a grandmother from Boulder, Colorado, has spent decades caring for children and empowering communities. Her community-driven approach focuses on connection, trust, and collective wisdom to nurture both children and communities. Read more about Deborah’s life and work here.
Black home-based child care providers, who are often overlooked but vital to their communities. These caregivers not only nurture children but also provide education and resources to families in need. Despite their essential work, they face significant challenges, including low wages and outdated reimbursement systems.
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