What is Family Child Care?

Family child care is child care provided in the caregiver's home, rather in a child care center or the child's home. It is the most widely used type of out-of-home care for young children in the United States. Virtually all family child care providers are women; the majority are married; and some care for their own young children in addition to the children of others. Many parents are able to arrange family child care services in their own neighborhoods with persons they already know or soon get to know on a personal, informal basis.

Myths and Realities

Family child care has been neglected and frequently misunderstood by early childhood professionals as well as by the public. For many years there was a belief that once there were enough "good child care centers," family child care would simply disappear.

This attitude has kept family child care from getting the attention and support it deserves. Family child are has unique characteristics that make it the preferred option of many parents. We hope that this brief fact shield will clarify some of the common misconceptions about family child care.

Myth #1: Family child care providers are just "babysitters" working for "pin money."

Traditionally, family child care has not been viewed as a "real" job, but rather as a variation on the traditional female role of caring for children at home. The typically low earnings of family child care providers, and the fact that many are married and dependent upon the earnings of their spouses to make ends meet, have reinforced this view. Moreover, until recently, many states required women applying for family child care licenses to show that they had another source of income from a working husband, social security, or the like. This requirement officially confirmed the second-class status of family child care as an occupation.

Reality: Family child care is a "real" and demanding occupation. Being a family child care provider "requires the wisdom of a parent, the knowledge of a social worker, the skill of a pediatrician, the tact of a mediator, the patience of a saint; not mention the savvy of an entrepreneur running a small business." (June Solnit Sale, 1998) Caregivers work longer hours than the parents who purchase their services and assume responsibilities that equal those in more highly paid professions.

The earnings of family child care providers are not merely "pin money." Although the majority of family child care providers do have employed spouses, their own earnings make an important, and often essential, contribution to household income. For significant numbers of providers without other household income, family child care provides a living.

Myth #2: Family child care is an undesirable and inferior substitute for center-based care.

For many years, family child care was officially treated as form of custodial care. Licensing for family child care in many states was handled by local welfare departments along with licensing for foster care. This placement in the regulatory system made family child care seem custodial and of lesser educational value than center-based care.

Reality: Research has shown that family child care has unique qualities that make it the preferred arrangement of many parents, especially for infants and toddlers. Those special qualities include:

• A familiar, informal home environment;
• A small number of other children in care;
• Flexible hours;
• The consistence of a single caregiver;
• The opportunity for a close relationship with the caregiver;
• Close proximity to home, school, or place of work;
• The availability of care for all children in the famliy--infant, toddler, preschooler, and school-age children;
• Reasonable prices compared to other options;
• A greater likelihood of accepting mildly ill children than other options;
• A greater likelihood of accepting special needs children.

Myth #3: The only way to guarantee quality family child care is through strict regulation.

Traditionally regulation, through periodic inspection and licensing, has been government's primary tool for promoting adequate quality child care. However, many family child care providers are exempt from state licensing laws. Others operate outside these laws without fear of detection and, sometimes, without knowledge of their existence.

Reality: Regulation is necessary to provide basic standards concerning the health and safety of children in family child care, but it does not ensure high quality care. Regulation is effective when used in combination with other methods for establishing high quality care that promote children's physical, social, emotional and cognitive development.

Effective strategies for promoting high quality family child care include the following:

• Investing in training and other forms of supports for providers;
• Subsidizing provider income in order to attract and retain qualified people;
• Raising the reimbursement rate for subsidized care;
• Educating parents and potential funders about why the costs of quality care are necessarily high, and why investing in it should be a priority;
• Educating parents about what to look for in family child care;
• Advocating for family child care supports at the city, state and federal level.