[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-585965-en":3,"doc-seo-585965-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":99},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30,"preview_page_count":4},585965,1099523882367,"Jordan Avery","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc",8,"Research & Report","Family Child Care Professionals: Understanding a Critical Workforce","This research brief examines family child care (FCC) professionals as a crucial part of the early childhood education and care workforce, addressing concerns over declining FCC program numbers. It analyzes survey-based data from 52 licensed FCC program owners and operators in Illinois (2020–2024), capturing demographics, education, training, credentials, professional network membership, and years of experience. It also reports program enrollment patterns and service coverage across age groups and scheduling needs, using the Administrator Role Perception Survey—Home Based (ARPS-HB) to explore role perceptions, self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial competencies.","Family Child Care Professionals: Understanding a Critical Workforce  \nBY ROBYN KELTON, MA, & IRINA TENIS, PhD  \nINTRODUCTION  \nThe early childhood education care (ECEC) practitioner landscape is complex and encompasses many roles including center-based and school-based administrative, teaching, and support staff as well as home-based unregulated child care family child care (FCC) providers and home-based regulated (e.g., registered or licensed) FCC providers who simultaneously operate as small business owners and early childhood educators. FCC providers are sometimes referred to as home-based educators, small business owners, or entrepreneurs. For this research study, the term FCC professional is used to refer to a homebased educator who owns and operates a licensed FCC business.  \nFCC professionals represent an “essential component of the child care landscape,” yet the number of FCC programs has seen an alarming decline for the past two decades (Bipartisan Policy Center, 2021, p. 6) . Moreover, while other professions often have well-defined steps or universal requirements for entrylevel positions and identified milestones and clear pathways for advancement, those who open FCC programs tend to represent a more varied and flexible professional pathway. This makes it difficult to gain a systemic understanding of the experiences and characteristics that make up the workforce. Research is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of this distinct yet crucial sector of the ECEC workforce including motivations, role perceptions, and job satisfaction. This Research Brief aims to bridge this gap in the literature by offering a detailed professional report of FCC professionals.  \nMETHOD  \nSample  \nThe sample included 52 FCC professionals who owned and operated a licensed FCC program in Illinois between 2020 and 2024. Data were collected as a part of a registration process for the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership’s Taking the Lead Family Child Care Leadership Academy prior to the start of the academy. The sample predominantly identified as female (94%), 2% male, 2% nonbinary, and 2% of the sample chose not to answer this question. The sample also represented a range of ages and races (see Figures 1 and 2 below) .  \nFigure 1  \nAge  \n25-29  \n30-39  \n40-49  \n50-59  \n60-69  \n70+  \n0% 10% 20% 30% 40%  \nFigure 2  \nRace  \nBlack or African American Hispanic/Latinx  \nWhite or Caucasian Multiracial Other  \n0% 20% 40% 60%  \nThe majority (70%) of the sample reported having a college degree. Figure 3 breaks down the degree by type while Figure 4 breaks down the degree by relevant major. Of those without a degree, 81% had previously completed some college coursework. Over half of the sample (60%) reported they had taken business or professional practices training in the past 12 months. Twenty-three percent had a stateissued family child care credential and 20% had a CDA. Fifty-four percent of the sample were members of a formal FCC network or association and 17% were members of a staffed FCC network. Experience in the field of ECEC ranged from 0 to 35 years with an average of 13 (SD = 9 . 56) years of experience. Experience as a FCC professional ranged from 0 to 27 years with an average of 11 years (SD = 6 .90) years of experience.  \nFigure 3  \nDegree Type  \n13%  \n21%  \n25%  \n Associate  Baccalaureate  Graduate Note: n= 36  \nFigure 4  \nDegree Major  \nECE  Business  Other Note: n= 36  \nTogether the 52 FCC programs served a total of 595 children. Individual program enrollment ranged from 1 to 36 children with higher numbers of enrollment reflecting programs that offered a combination of care options and/or served children who attended the program less than five days a week. Average enrollment was 11.44 children with a mode (most common enrollment number) of seven. As described in Figure 5, the majority of the programs served children across all age groups. All of the programs had children enrolled full-day, 58% had children who were enro","cbCaiqV1rshkJZNx","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqV1rshkJZNx","pdf",405095,6,1,15,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n# Method\n## Sample\n## Measures","[{\"question\":\"What does the term “FCC professional” mean in this study?\",\"answer\":\"In this research, “FCC professional” refers to a homebased educator who owns and operates a licensed FCC business.\"},{\"question\":\"Who participated in the study and where?\",\"answer\":\"The sample included 52 licensed family child care professionals who owned and operated FCC programs in Illinois between 2020 and 2024.\"},{\"question\":\"What tool was used to collect data, and what does it assess?\",\"answer\":\"Data were collected using the Administrator Role Perception Survey—Home Based (ARPS-HB), a 70-question online survey examining perceptions of work, alignment of current and ideal experiences, role perceptions, self-efficacy, mastery of competencies, and practitioner and program demographics.\"}]","Family Child Care Professionals: Understanding a Critical Workforce | 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