“Post-Pandemic” Family Child Care Provider Study
Strengthening recruitment and retention for family child care providers post-COVID
Why This Matters
Family child care providers (FCCs) are essential to Massachusetts’ early childhood system, especially for infants, toddlers, nontraditional hours, and culturally responsive care. They also face many of the same long-standing challenges, worsened by COVID-19, as the entire early education field, including low pay, limited benefits, high attrition, as well as additional barriers as independent providers.
Understanding their experiences can help inform strategies to strengthen recruitment, retention, and support for these vital educators.
How We’re Driving Change
Drs. Kimberly Lucas and Wendy Wagner Robeson, developed the FCC New Entrant Survey. Dr. Lucas is a Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University’s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. Dr. Robeson is a Senior Research Scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women.
The study, developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), examined the motivations and challenges experienced by current and former family child care providers by focusing on key research questions:
New Family Child Care Providers:
- Why are new entrants attracted to the child care sector, and specifically being a family child care provider?
- What challenges to entering the field still exist?
- What supports do they find most helpful in attaining licensure and starting their businesses?
- What support might be helpful as they seek to continue their work in the field?
Former Family Child Care Providers:
- Why have some family child care providers recently left the field?
- What would have supported those who left, such that they might have stayed in the field?
Timeline and Scale
Research was conducted from 2023-2024, with the report released in 2024.
Findings and Recommendations
Key Findings: Family Child Care Providers
- May stay in the field longer with
- Higher income (62.7%)
- Retirement benefits (46.9%)
- More local business services and resources (40.8%)
- More respect for the work they do (40.4%)
- Health benefits (36.9%)
- Have both prior informal and formal experience caring for young children, including:
- Caring for their own child or the child of a friend, family member, or neighbor (40.8%)
- Previous work experience in a child care center or preschool (27.7%)
- Previous work experience in someone else's family child care (15.4%)
- Are attracted by workplace autonomy and the possibility of economic mobility for themselves and their families, while caring for children, listing these as "most important reasons" for entering the field:
- To be able to work with children (76.5%)
- Because child care is important work (74.6%)
- Because I am good at caring for children (72.3%)
- To be my own boss (66.5%)
- To be able to work from home (65.0%)
- To be home with my own children (64.6%)
- To have a secure job (63.1%)
- Experience challenges in the path to opening their business
- Navigating the EEC website (24.6%)
- Navigating and using the LEAD portal (18.8%)
- Understanding the expectations and required steps to become licensed (17.3%)
- Getting help setting up your business (16.5%)
- Getting access to the LEAD portal (16.2%)
- Accessing and navigating the StrongStart Professional Development System/Learning Management System (15.4%)
- Turn to trusted relationships both before they open and as a system of support
- Spanish-speaking providers more heavily rely on friends and family (43.9%) or a current family child care provider (40.9%) than state licensing staff (12.9%).
- English-speaking providers rely on all three groups more evenly (~25%).
- Would utilize these resources
- Retirement benefits (68.8%)
- Business support (61.2%)
- Disability payments (60.4%)
- Child care business management software (57.7%)
- Help with start-up costs (56.9%)
- Health care benefits (55.8%)
- Help advertising their program and finding children (53.8%)
- Program support (50.8%)
- Professional development (50.8%)
Recommendations:
- Formalize and Strengthen Relationships
- Cultivate Relationships: Actively cultivate relationships between prospective and current family child care providers and
- State licensors
- Veteran family child care providers
- Families
- Current Repository: Develop a single, up-to-date, repository of useful policies, professional development, business support, and more, in multiple languages, specific to family child care providers
- Working Group: Develop a working group that includes providers and state licensors to ensure supportive and aligned policies and procedures
- Strengthen Program Viability
- Benefits Pilots: Explore and pilot initiatives that focus on providing family child care providers with health care, retirement, and other benefits
- Digital Literacy: Strengthen and deliver digital literacy supports
- Business Supports: Expand the communication and provision of business support, both during the licensing process and beyond
Continue to provide Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) and other business support funds
Resources and Key Documents
Current Status and What’s Next
Status: Completed with ongoing influence
Suggested citation: Lucas, Kimberly D., Wendy Wagner Robeson, Haein Kim, Alyssa Lima, Khaing May Oo, Sandra Madu, Noely Irineu Silva, Innocentia Ashai, and Constance Pagan Salazar. 2024. "Understanding 'Post-Pandemic' Family Child Care Providers: Survey of New Entrants and Those Who Left the Field." Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Centers for Women.
While the study has concluded, its findings continue to inform funding strategies, policy conversations, and program design aimed at strengthening family child care across Massachusetts.
