Family Child Care

What exactly is “family child care”?

Family Child Care is referred to the care of children inside a residential home that is either registered or licensed through local governmental agencies. The home of the practitioner is inspected by the Department of Children and Families and in some counties the fire department and health department to make sure it is suitable to meet the needs and wants of young children. They are required to follow the same laws as child care facilities and must have business liability insurance to accept governmental programs. The same laws of ratio and capacity still applies and citations and violations are given when the laws and regulations are not followed.

But what exactly is family child care?

Family child care is an institute that is filled with love and recreates the homey environment a child feels with mommy and daddy at home. It is a school that is ran inside someone’s home and the environment is welcoming and loving, making children feel like they are part of the family. For children, it is an extension of the family and home they just left.

Family child care is often compared to babysitters. Each family child care home is different and sets up a different curriculum and set of policies and rules. Family Child Care Homes are highly capable of educating and teaching children from all walks of life how to walk, eat, share, read, write, independence, count, and so much more.

According to Child Health USA 2014 “In 2011, 12.5 million or 61.3% of pre-school aged children were in some form of child care for at least 1 day each week on a regular basis.” Of that percentage 11.2% of them were in a family child care home. According to the National Association for Family Child Care, family child care “is an important partner in Head Start and 600 family child care providers are in Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships.” FCCH programs enrolls “families who pay with assistance (subsidy), and support families who are often challenged to find high-quality, reliable child care, including those in need of care in “nontraditional” work hours and in rural communities.” Creating a bond between the provider and the child and their family! The rates of family child care homes will continue to increase as it evolves into its own community.

Family Child Care Home Conference

This coming June of 2020 the Florida Family Child Care Home Association will host its 28th Annual Conference Enhancing Our Minds…in 2020 in Kissimmee, Florida. During the conference, there will be over 50 workshops that are presented by presenters that range from family child care providers, board member, to other professionals. There will be a presentation of Parent Choice, Outstanding Accredited Provider, Advocate Hall of Fame, Provider Hall of Fame, Outstanding Chapter, and Agency Helping Association Prosper Award. In addition, there are associations set up all over Florida to support family child care homes at a local level. In fact, there are 23 associations in Florida all of which are set up to support and uplift the status of family child care homes in their area by offering scholarships, monthly meetings, advice, updates on laws, and just being a supportive family to each other.

FCCH is the Backbone for many Families

Family Child Care Homes are not just classrooms inside of homes but the backbone for many families. Family child care homes have the flexibility that parent’s needs. Children get sick often and parents do not have the ability to take off from work every single time. Most family child care providers have a space in the home that they can take in that child and not pose a threat or harm to the other students in their care. Another flexible quality is that most family child care providers are open for night care for parents that work at night such as nurses, doctors, firefighters, and police. The night care in a family child care home often reflect that of a bedtime routine that a child does at home. Family dinner style eating, teeth brushing, pajamas, and a bedtime book are all part of a family child care home bed time schedule. A lot of family child care homes also provide care on the weekends which is also

helpful for parents to relax a little and do some errands.

Family child care is a term that is earning respect and making a strong difference in today’s youth and this generations of family structures. Many family child care providers grow into centers and then others remain in their homes and grow in other ways. They educate, love, support, and assist the families and children in their community. If you would like to learn more about family childcare please visit the www.familychildcare.org or www.nafcc.org.

Citation:

Parental Employment and Child Care. (2014, July 17). Retrieved May 9, 2019, from http://mchb.hrsa.gov/chusa14/population-characteristics/parental-employment-child-care.html

Florida Family Child Care Association. Retrieved May 9, 2019, from https://familychildcare.org/annual-conference/

National Association for Family Child Care. (2014, Retrieved May 9, 2019 from https://www.nafcc.org/About-Us