ACF Banner
[NCCIC header image][NCCIC Header Image]

Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care: Strategies and Resources

Many children are being cared for by family, friends, and neighbors (FFN) in home settings. FFN care is also known as kith and kin care or informal care, as opposed to care provided in more formal center-based and family child care settings. The following are examples of national and State initiatives, as well as additional resources for information about FFN care. These examples do not include all national and State efforts, but are meant to represent a range of approaches taken to improve FFN care quality. NCCIC does not endorse any organization, publication, or resource.

National Initiatives

  • Early Head Start Enhanced Home Visiting Pilot Project (EHVP)
    Funded by the Head Start Bureau, the EHVP began in 2004 with 23 Early Head Start programs participating with the objective to develop and implement strategies for improving the quality of infant and toddler child care provided by Early Head Start kith and kin caregivers. The pilot is being evaluated by collecting information from three main sources: interviews and focus groups conducted during two rounds of site visits to pilot sites; a management information system designed for use by the pilot sites, and observational assessments of caregiving environments. More information is available at www.mathematica-mpr.com/earlycare/homevisiting.asp.
  • National Alliance for Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care (NAFFNCC)
    NAFFNCC is a workgroup initiated by the Institute for a Child Care Continuum, Bank Street College of Education, that helps influence FFN policies, enhance providers' access to services, and increases the awareness of the role FFN providers play in the child care system. For more information, visit www.bnkst.edu/naffncc/ or call 212-875-4624.
  • Sparking Connections, Families and Work Institute (FWI)
    Sparking Connections is a demonstration and evaluation project of FWI. It is a three-phased, 4-year national initiative to demonstrate and evaluate strategies to support FFN caregivers through partnerships with retailers and other nontraditional partners. The Sparking Connections National Consortium—a 2-year evaluation and demonstration project (Phase II)—began in December 2003 following the publication of FWI’s Sparking Connections report. More information is available at www.familiesandwork.org/sparking/home.htm.
    • Sparking Connections Phase II: A Multi-Site Evaluation of Community-Based Strategies to Support Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregivers of Children: Part I: Lessons Learned and Recommendations (2006), by Nina Sazer O’Donnell, Moncrieff Cochran, Kristi Lekies, David Diehl, Taryn Woods Morrissey, Nancy Ashley, and Paula Steinke, is available at http://familiesandwork.org/eproducts/sparking-phase2.pdf.

State Initiatives

California

  • Crystal Stairs’ License-Exempt Assistance Project (LEAP)
    Crystal Stairs, Inc., a child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agency, operates LEAP, a training and support program designed to reach out to nonlicensed relative or nonrelative caregivers. The project offers support and technical assistance to providers who wish to obtain their child care licenses and offers training and workshops related to enhancement of child development and running a child care business. For more information, visit www.crystalstairs.org or call 323-299-8998.

Hawaii

  • Tūtū and Me
    Tūtūs (i.e., grandparents) are the primary caregivers for approximately 20 percent of Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian children through age 5. Tūtū and Me—a free, mobile early childhood and parent-education program—is designed to help elderly caregivers of Native Hawaiian children be effective in preparing these children for school. Tūtū and Me is supported by the Partners in Development Foundation. For more information, visit http://tutuandme.org or call 808-524-7633.

Kansas

  • Kansas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (KACCRRA)
    Relative Care Provider Outreach Project
    KACCRRA instituted a Relative Care Provider Outreach Project, funded by the Kansas Health Foundation. Through this project, relative child care providers received training and education through home visits. The project included the following activities: identifying relatives providing child care to a member(s) of their family, contacting each of the providers by letter, following up with telephone calls, and offering to bring a child care gift package to their homes. During home visits, project staff discussed providers’ daily child care routines, child development topics, developmentally appropriate activities for children, and other topics. For more information, visit www.kaccrra.org or call 785-823-3343.

Minnesota

  • Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral Network
    Many Minnesota families use some form of FFN care on a regular basis, and many rely on it exclusively for caring for children younger than 13. Research shows that child care arrangements are a factor in school readiness. Meanwhile, there is interest in improving the quality and safety of government-subsidized care for children from low-income families. To better understand some of the issues involved, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) conducted several formal studies.

    The following resources provide results from these studies:

    • Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregivers: Results of the 2004 Minnesota Statewide Household Child Care Survey;
    • Family, Friends and Neighbors Caring for Children Through the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program: A Survey of Caregivers and Parents;
    • Observations of Family, Friend and Neighbor Care in Minnesota (briefing paper);
    • Observations of Family, Friend and Neighbor Care in Minnesota (full report); and
    • Families, Friends and Neighbor Child Care Providers in Recent Immigrant and Refugee Communities.

    These resources are available at www.mnchildcare.org/issues/?id=143.

  • Resources for Child Caring
    FFN providers can apply for grants to help pay for training and items directly related to improving the quality of their care. More information about the Family, Friends and Neighbor (FFN) Incentive Grantis available at www.resourcesforchildcare.org/index.cfm?page=grants or by calling 651-287-6919.

Washington

  • Child Care Resources (CCR)
    CCR is a CCR&R agency in Seattle/King County. Among its resources for providers, CCR has information about informal child care, including Taking Care of Children: Resource Guide for Informal Child Care Providers. This booklet is available at
    www.childcare.org/ffn-care/FFN-Resource-Guide_English.pdf. It is also available in Amharic, Chinese, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Additional information about CCR’s resources for informal child care providers, including an introduction to this type of care and State definitions, is available at www.childcare.org/providers/index.htm or by calling 206-329-1011.

Additional Resources

Updated October 2008

 
PDF Icon Need Adobe Reader?