Congregations Caring for Children

Supporting Quality Family Child Care

Supporting Quality Family Child Care

Supporting Quality Family Child Care

Supporting Quality Family Child Care

Supporting Quality Family Child Care

Whether or not they choose to operate their own child care

centers, congregations may want to support quality family

child care in their communities. Family child care homes fill

an important niche in the spectrum of child care programs.

Many parents prefer these home settings to larger centers,

making availability and quality very important. The follow 

ing pages provide a brief overview of family child care, a

myriad of ideas for how congregations can partner with

family child care providers in their communities, and ways

to assess your congregation's resources to provide such

support.

An Overview of Family Child Care

Licensed family child care homes refer to child care in an individual's private

home. The types of family child care homes vary widely, from the neighborhood

parent who cares for a few children to a large family child care home that cares

for up to 14 children. The home may be rented, leased, or owned. It may be in a

mobile home park or in an apartment. Because family child care is home based,

children tend to be cared for in a family like setting with all the daily activities

usually associated with home. A family child care home is a business, and the

provider should act as a professional service provider.

The number of children cared for at a family child care home may vary, depend 

ing on the age of the children and whether an assistant is present. The children of

the provider and assistant who are under the age of 10 are included in determin 

ing the adult to child ratio.

Family child care providers are required to be licensed if they care for the chil 

dren of more than one family. Licensing has minimum health and safety stan 

dards that providers must follow. Licensing requires that providers take pediatric

CPR, first aid, and health and safety classes. Providers may, but are not required,

to have additional education, such as a degree in early childhood education,

community college courses, or training through child care associations. Providers

may receive accreditation through the National Association for Family Child

Care (NAFCC). This organization's mission is to recognize high quality in family

child care.

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