Transcript Improving the Quality of FFN Care

Finding, Engaging, and
Supporting FFN Child Care
Douglas Powell
Purdue University
Prepared for
The National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative
@ ZERO TO THREE, a project of the Child Care Bureau
December 2, 2008
What Are Our Starting Points?
• Understanding the quality of FFN care
– Highly uneven across arrangements
– Some studies offer negative portrayals of FFN
– Other studies suggest there is as much variability
within FFN care as there is within other types of
care
– Commonly-used measures of child care quality
may not capture important attributes of FFN care
What Are Our Starting Points?
• Understanding unique dimensions of FFN care
– Embedded in the caregiver’s extended family and
friendship network (there is a history and a future
of relationships)
– Exceptionally close interpersonal ties
What Are Promising Ways to Find FFN
Caregivers?
• Tailor outreach to local community: What
works in one setting may not work in another
• Direct: Informal communications involving a
trusted individual are superior to more
impersonal communications such as fliers
• Indirect: Finding caregivers through families
has been productive in some initiatives
• Relative caregivers are a distinct subgroup
What Are Promising Ways to Engage
FFN Caregivers?
• Begin where caregivers are: Find out what
they want
– Focus groups, telephone interviews, observations
• Provide supports that are truly responsive
– Trainings offered to licensed providers may appeal
to some friend and neighbor caregivers
– But, there is limited benefit in attempting to
incorporate FFN caregivers into formal systems of
child care training
What Works in Improving the Quality
of FFN Care?
• We have “best guesses”; very little research
• Not a single best method: home visits, group
formats, mobile vans, newsletters, videos – all
have been well received
• A focus on quality of relationships is promising
• What caregivers value
– Child care materials, equipment, information
– Being recognized for the work they do
Where Do We Go From Here?
• Unpack the FFN population; tailor to subgroups
• Enhance agency platforms for working with FFN
caregivers
– Mission, resources, genuine commitment
• Support learning communities that share
experiences of reaching FFN caregivers
• Improve community and policy awareness of the
contributions and potential of FFN care
• Strengthen evaluation tools and methods
Contact Information
• [email protected]
• Who’s Watching the Babies? Improving the
Quality of Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care
available from ZERO to THREE Press
www.zerotothree.org