All Our Kin is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that trains, supports, and sustains family child care providers to ensure that children and families have the foundation they need to succeed in school and in life. The Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative is piloting the All Our Kin model in four Nebraska communities including Lincoln. Their latest policy paper contains strategies for increasing the supply, quality and sustainability of family child care in states and communities across the country.
Family childcare, or paid child care that takes place in the home of a regulated or licensed provider, is one of the most prevalent child care arrangements in the U.S., particularly for infants and toddlers, children of color, and children from low-income families. Presently, there are more than 3 million children in family child care.
With so many in the U.S. utilizing family childcare, All Our Kin recognizes that family child care programs are providing crucial early learning opportunities. Therefore, fostering quality in-home childcare is fundamental in building a child care system that works for all children.
The recommendations of All Our Kin’s publication focus on six domains for supporting family childcare:
- Funding family child care
- Supporting quality in family child care
- Building sustainable family child care businesses
- Family child care licensing
- Housing, zoning and family child care
- Engage stakeholders across systems in supporting family childcare
All our Kin aims to partner with states and communities around the country to keep family childcare top of mind in the conversation surrounding early childhood education. To read the full publication, click here.