SUMMER 2020 Research Notes - Taking the Lead: Investing in Family Child Care

Oct 15, 2026

Research Notes examines the licensed family child care (FCC) landscape, highlighting how FCC serves more vulnerable families and faces major declines in provider numbers and subsidy-receiving programs between 2005 and 2017. It summarizes a 2019 analysis of provider attrition factors and introduces Taking the Lead (TTL), a hybrid Family Child Care Leadership Academy. The document outlines TTL’s design, data collection approach, study questions, and the cohort-based methodology using BAS, FCCERS-R, and related assessments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Meeting the Need for Specialized Professional Development

Current Study

Methodology

SUMMER 2020 Research Notes Taking the Lead: Investing in Family Child Care Licensed family child care (FCC) programs serve millions of children and families annually and tend to serve more vulnerable families than center-based programs. Low-income families, families needing infant and toddler care, and families that are Hispanic or African American are more likely to place their children in FCC programs than in center-based care (National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, 2019; Porter, Paulsell, Del Gross, Avellar, Hass & Vuong, 2010) . Additionally, because FCC programs tend to offer more flexibility in scheduling, families who require child care during extended or irregular hours are more likely to enroll their children in family child care (Henly & Adams, 2018) . Despite the critical need for FCC, the United States has seen a 48% decline in licensed small FCC homes between 2005 and 2017 and a 21% decrease in licensed large FCC homes between 2005 and 2017 (National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, 2019) . Data also revealed a 51% decrease in licensed FCC programs receiving subsidy payments between 2005 and 2017 (National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, 2019) . Taken together the data show an alarming trend in the loss of FCC programs and, with their closure, the loss of financial child care assistance for some of the most vulnerable children and families. The 2019 report from the National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, Addressing the Decreasing Number of Family Child Care Providers in the United States, lists a number of factors believed to contribute to the large attrition rate of family child care providers. These include: low compensation and lack of benefits; lack of business expertise leading to loss of revenue, low wages, and vacancies in enrollment; and other factors such as harsh job demands, retirement, and lack of respect. Additionally, the report points to new requirements and regulations, difficulty navigating or successfully participating in quality improvement systems, and difficulties accessing advancement opportunities as contributing factors to the field’s decline (2019) . MEETING THE NEED FOR SPECIALIZED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Intensive professional learning opportunities that are designed specifically to meet the unique needs of family child care providers, delivered in a way that is responsive to their scheduling needs, and targeted to the knowledge and skills required to succeed as small business owners are scarce. Recognizing this need, in 2015 the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University launched anew initiative, Taking the Lead—A Family Child Care Leadership Academy. Taking the Lead (TTL) has enrolled over 100 FCC providers in six cohorts since its inception. TTL has served as a vehicle for professional achievement, advancing the knowledge base and skill set ofFCC providers in the Chicagoland area.TTL is delivered as a hybrid model that includes face-to-face classes and online coursework, as well as mentoring calls, emails, and group texts. Through reflective practice, supervised field experiences, and job-embedded activities participants explore how maintaining successful home-based business practices foster and maintain respectful, positive relationships with children and families. TTL is designed to improve the quality of FCC programs by: 1) helping providers learn strategies for growing and sustaining a successful business, 2) enhancing work quality as business owners and educators, 3) fostering networking opportunities with other FCC providers, and 4) helping providers gain an understanding of their role as change agents in their communities. The primary focus for TTL is mastery of the competencies within the business, advocacy, and environment management content areas of the Family Child Care Credential, administered by Gateways to Opportunity, Illinois’ professional development system for

FAQs

Why is family child care (FCC) considered critical, and how is it serving families?

FCC programs annually serve millions of children and families and tend to serve more vulnerable families than center-based care, including low-income families and families needing infant/toddler care or extended hours.

What factors are believed to contribute to FCC provider decline?

The referenced 2019 report links attrition to low compensation and limited benefits, limited business expertise, harsh job demands, retirement, lack of respect, and challenges meeting new requirements and navigating quality improvement systems.

How is Taking the Lead (TTL) delivered and evaluated in the study?

TTL uses a hybrid model combining face-to-face classes, online coursework, mentoring calls, emails, and group texts. The study aggregates data from the last three completed cohorts and uses pre/post assessments and other collected sources such as self-evaluation, surveys, and homework grades.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Alex Sinclair