The Child Care Workforce in New Jersey - Findings from Focus Groups with Providers

Oct 15, 2026

Report on the child care workforce in New Jersey based on post-survey focus groups with family child care (FCC) providers and licensed center staff. Uses a mixed-methods evaluation combining focus groups, two 2024 surveys capturing input from over 2,000 workers, and follow-up focus groups in late 2024 and early 2025. Also includes quantitative analyses using administrative data to examine workforce characteristics, wages, and labor force dynamics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Methods

Child Care Workforce Study

Post-Survey Focus Groups

Findings

Family Child Care Providers

Licensed Child Care Center Staff—Assistant Teachers

Discussion

Conclusion

Next Steps

Appendix A: Family Child Care Focus Group Protocol

Appendix B: Assistant Teacher Focus Group Protocol

R U T G E R S C H I L D C A R E R E S E A R C H C O L L A B O R A T I V E The Child Care Workforce in New Jersey: Findings from Focus Groups with Providers A UTHORED BY Liana Lin and Lillian McFarland Heldrich Center for Workforce Development October 2025 T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S Introduction ...................................................................................................... 4 Methods ............................................................................................................ 4 Child Care Workforce Study........................................................................................................... 4 Post-Survey Focus Groups ............................................................................................................. 5 Findings ............................................................................................................ 6 Family Child Care Providers .......................................................................................................... 6 Motivations ................................................................................................................................ 6 Barriers and Challenges ............................................................................................................ 8 Recommendations..................................................................................................................... 10 Licensed Child Care Center Staff—Assistant Teachers ................................................................ 12 Motivations ................................................................................................................................ 13 Workforce Dynamics ................................................................................................................. 14 Barriers and Challenges ............................................................................................................ 15 Recommendations..................................................................................................................... 17 Discussion ........................................................................................................ 18 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 20 Next Steps ......................................................................................................... 21 Appendix A: Family Child Care Focus Group Protocol .............................................. 22 Appendix B: Assistant Teacher Focus Group Protocol.............................................. 24 THE CHILD CARE WORKFORCE IN NEW JERSEY: FINDINGS FROM FOCUS GROUPS WITH PROVIDERS 3 The Child Care Workforce in New Jersey: Findings from Focus Groups with Providers A UTHORED BY Liana Lin and Lillian McFarland I N T R O D U C T I O N The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is part of a multi-center collaborative project focused on child care in New Jersey and is working with the Center for Women and Work and the National Institute for Early Education Research with support and collaboration from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. Through this work, the Heldrich Center is conducting an evaluation of the child care workforce through a multi-modal research approach. This report shares findings from the Heldrich Center’s post-survey focus groups of family child care (FCC) providers and licensed center staff in New Jersey. M E T H O D S ▲ Child Care Workforce Study For the Heldrich Center’s evaluation of the child care workforce in New Jersey, the research team is employing a mixed-methods approach, comprising three primary data collection endeavors designed to complement each other. First, the Heldrich Center conducted six focus groups to ca

FAQs

What sources of evidence does the report use to study New Jersey’s child care workforce?

It uses focus groups, two surveys fielded in 2024, and follow-up focus groups in late 2024 and early 2025, complemented by quantitative analyses of administrative data from New Jersey’s Statewide Data System.

Which groups participated in the post-survey focus groups?

Post-survey focus groups included family child care (FCC) providers and assistant teachers working in licensed child care centers, conducted virtually in 2024–2025.

How do the surveys and focus groups relate in the overall study design?

Survey findings informed the development of additional focus groups, which were used to clarify and expand upon survey results and engage more deeply with respondents.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood