Rhode Island - Spring 2025 Report - Exploring Targeted Investments in Family Child Care Program Sustainability in Rhode Island

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

Spring 2025 report examining targeted state-administered funding initiatives supporting family child care (FCC) providers in Rhode Island during the COVID-19 pandemic. Produced by Education Development Center with the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, it analyzes the provider landscape and FCC characteristics associated with specific funding initiatives from October 2021 through October 2024. Includes descriptive findings on provider locations, licensed capacity, primary language, and Quality Rating Improvement System (BrightStars) star ratings, alongside CCAP acceptance patterns. Authors discuss next steps and related appendices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background and study scope

Findings

The landscape of child care providers in Rhode Island

Funding initiatives utilized by family child care providers

Family child care closures

Next steps

Appendix A: Urbanicity classification

Rhode Island SPRING 2025 REPORT Exploring Targeted Investmentsin Family Child Care Program Sustainability in Rhode Island Heidi Rosenberg, Jessica Brown, Brandt Richardson, Makoto Hanita, Emely Medina-Rodriguez Suggested citation: Rosenberg, H., Brown, J., Richardson, B., Hanita, M., & Medina-Rodriguez, E. (2025). Exploring targeted investments in family child care program sustainability in Rhode Island. Education Development Center. This project is supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (Grant \#: 90YE0290) totaling $1.6 million with 100 percent funded by ACF/HHS. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACF/HHS or the U.S. Government. Permission is granted for reproduction of this file with attribution to Education Development Center. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Findings 5 The Landscape of Child Care Providers in Rhode Island 5 Funding Initiatives Utilized by Family Child Care Providers 7 Family Child Care Closures 12 Next Steps 14 Appendix A: Urbanicity Classification 15 Introduction Education Development Center, in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS), received an Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation Child Care Policy Research Partnership grant in 2022 to study state-administered funding initiatives aimed at supporting child care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on family child care (FCC) providers. This report presents the results of descriptive analyses exploring the landscape of child care providers in Rhode Island and the characteristics of FCC providers who utilized each type of funding initiative. This report covers October 2021 through October 2024, representing the time frame during which the targeted funding initiatives began and ended. October 2021 serves as the baseline data collection month for this study as the first of the targeted funding initiatives began at that time. We examined the landscape of licensed FCC providers and child care centers operating at that time and explored the characteristics of FCC providers who utilized different funding initiatives compared to those who did not. We also examined whether the FCC providers operating as of October 2021 were still in operation in October 2024, as well as the characteristics of new FCC providers that opened after October 2021. Exploring Targeted Investments in Family Child Care Program Sustainability in Rhode Island EDC | 4 Findings The Landscape of Child Care Providers in Rhode Island As of October 1, 2021, Rhode Island had roughly equal numbers of licensed family child care (FCC) providers (401) as child care centers (400) . While similar in number, there were key differences between FCC providers and child care centers along a number of dimensions. FCC providers and child care centers primarily operated in different urbanicity settings. While child care centers were more evenly dispersed across the state’s urbanicity designations, FCC providers were primarily located in the urban core1 (72%) with only 9% in suburban settings (Figure 1) . The urban core and urban ring combined contained the vast majority of FCC providers (87%), while only half (51%) of child care centers were in urban areas, as these were far more likely than FCC providers to be located in suburban and rural areas. Among the FCC providers and child care centers in the urban core, the majority were in Providence. The licensed capacity of child care centers far outweighed that of FCC providers. The majority (56%) of FCC providers had a licensed capacity of 6 children, while another 35% had a licensed capacity of 8 children, and 2% were licensed to serve up to 12 children.2 The average licensed capacity for centers was 75 children, with a range up to 343 ch

FAQs

What time period does the report cover for targeted funding initiatives?

The report covers October 2021 through October 2024, covering when the targeted funding initiatives began and ended.

How are licensed FCC providers and child care centers distributed across urban and suburban settings?

FCC providers were primarily located in the urban core (72%), with only 9% in suburban settings, while child care centers were more evenly dispersed across urbanicity designations.

What differences does the report describe in quality ratings between FCC providers and child care centers?

As of October 2021, 87% of FCC providers were rated as 1 or 2 stars on BrightStars and nearly all remaining FCC providers were “not rated,” while 45% of centers were 1–2 stars and 34% were rated 3 or more stars.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum