In 2024, Home Grown created the Home Grown Emergency Fund for Severe Weather and National Disasters to support home-based child care providers impacted by these events. This work provides an overview of the first emergency fund for severe weather and national disasters specific to HBCC programs in the United States, summarizing findings from a 2025
The Home-Based Child Care Research Initiative at Erikson Institute, with support from Home Grown, developed the Provider Voice in Home-Based Child Care Networks Scale (PV-HBCCN). This scale measures providers’ perceptions of how well they are included as equal decision-makers in services and operations of home-based child care networks. The PV-HBCCN is an easy-to-use survey measure
Home Grown partnered with the Home-Based Child Care Research Initiative at Erikson Institute to create Getting to Impact in Home-Based Child Care: Evaluating Implementation, Outcomes, and Long-Term Effects. This paper presents a broad overview of evaluation and its application to Home-Based Child Care Networks. It is intended to help networks consider the types of evaluations
In 2022, the Home-Based Child Care Research Initiative at Erikson Institute and Home Grown developed the Home-Based Child Care Network (HBCCN) Benchmarks, an evidence-based framework for high-quality home-based child care networks. The framework consists of 11 benchmarks with related indicators that help HBCCNs assess and enhance the ways they support home-based child care providers. To
This implementation guide is intended to be used by public leaders at the state level responsible for child care and food program administration and by community organizations and advocates working on behalf of vulnerable children and families. The guide offers a pathway toward realizing the goal of family, friend and neighbor (FFN) caregiver participation in
The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is designed to reimburse child care programs for healthy meals and snacks served. But eligibility for participation and successful documentation of compliance with program requirements has been a challenge for the estimated 5 million family, friend and neighbor (FFN) caregivers who look after 11.5 million children.
Employers are increasingly aware of the relationship between child care and employment: Without reliable, affordable, accessible child care, parents simply cannot participate in the workforce. There are opportunities for employers to become more engaged in supporting their teams and communities in accessing high-quality child care. This Home Grown resource, Opportunities and Approaches for Employers to
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.
This report explores the unique role and challenges faced by immigrant Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers in Colorado, who provide essential child care for over half of the state’s children under age five. Despite their importance, these caregivers face significant obstacles in accessing federal support through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which reimburses child care providers for nutritious meals served to children. Many immigrant FFN caregivers, who are often license-exempt and care for children informally, face barriers to CACFP access, including fears of deportation, bureaucratic complexity, and language barriers.