Every day in the U.S., millions of families turn to family, friend, and neighbor care to meet their child care needs. Family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care is just what it sounds like: home-based, informal (unlicensed or license-exempt) child care from caregivers with a personal relationship to the child and family – often grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, or neighbors. The majority of FFN providers are women, and about half are people of color.
For many families, FFN care is an affordable, flexible, and trusted child care option – ensuring they can work, pursue further education, or care for other family members while their children are in the type of nurturing, enriching environments so critical to healthy development. Families choose FFN care for many reasons: it can be more affordable and accessible than traditional child care; it’s often more culturally appropriate, with providers speaking the same language parents do at home; and it’s more flexible, convenient, and closer to home.
And yet, FFN care has long been excluded from formal funding and policy discussions, with meaningful implications for the field. For instance, many providers have historically been unpaid for their work, either ineligible to be compensated through existing child care subsidies or, in many cases, unaware that these subsidies even exist. FFN providers have also not had the same opportunities as formal providers to strengthen their skills and knowledge in early childhood education. Care is their life’s work, but they often do it without compensation or opportunities for growth. This simply doesn’t reflect the immense value families find in FFN care.
In 2014, the Foundation launched our Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care strategy, a ten-year commitment to building this emerging field and delivering on this promising model of care and helping bring practical solutions to more families across the United States.
Now, looking back at ten years of progress and learning, we’re celebrating the field’s growth while reflecting on how philanthropy can support and catalyze community-rooted solutions beyond traditional grantmaking.
Here are four lessons that can inform funders interested in supporting FFN care or similar community-led projects.
1. Funders can assume risk and catalyze good ideas
As grantmakers, we have relatively few hoops to jump through to support promising ideas. We also know that our work is often most impactful when we embrace risk by thinking outside the box and supporting innovative solutions.
In the case of FFN care, as in any emerging field, there were legitimate questions for policymakers and system leaders to consider. For instance, the informal nature of FFN care could lead to concerns about quality assurance, oversight, and measurement.
Experimentation is an essential part of our approach as funders. We know that not every promising idea will pan out, but embracing failure as a normal part of the learning process allows us to make time for meaningful conversations with communities and partners about what works and what needs more exploration.
We knew that FFN care was already working for many families. Our job was to incubate it and prime it for institutional buy-in. By working in deep partnership with communities, conducting rigorous evaluation, and telling stories of positive outcomes in child development, we were able to help formal system leaders see the promise of a tested approach.
2. Philanthropy can take the long view
Experimentation takes time, and progress isn’t always linear. But funders can commit to the timeframes necessary to support grantees and partners as they do their work. We can be transparent about timeframes and expectations, removing unnecessary pressure to prematurely show outcomes and impact. This can help ensure that the solutions that eventually reach implementation are enduring and scalable.
Trust and deep community engagement are essential ingredients to scalable solutions, and there’s no short cut to building trust. What works in one community might not work in another – by taking the time to learn why and adjust, we can ensure greater success and scale in the long run. A long-term commitment can allow networks to take root, so communities can learn together.
A long-term vision can also provide flexibility in the short term. Mid-way through our ten-year commitment, COVID-19 disrupted life for families and providers alike, making FFN care even more essential while complicating operations for providers. Overnight, they needed to dramatically expand their technological capabilities and digital literacy. Long overlooked by formal systems, many were not “plugged in” to available resources and support. Pivoting to address these needs didn’t distract communities from our shared goal – in fact, this flexibility only strengthened the field and shored up the foundation for enduring success.
3. Funders can connect essential networks
The pandemic underscored the indispensable role networks play in emerging fields, enabling the sharing of invaluable resources, tools, and lessons. For FFN care, this connection was especially important, as many providers are isolated, operating on a hyper-local scale. Without formal standards or training, many simply had to find their own way. Building a trusted, self-sustaining network allowed the field to share strategies and co-develop solutions. And in an emerging field often viewed skeptically by established institutions, a sense of community helped providers feel supported, valued, and respected. This is a win-win, making the field stronger and building the case for more investment.
Networks can arise organically, of course, but intentionally bringing partners together and providing space and resources for network building is a worthwhile investment.
4. Philanthropy can amplify underrepresented voices
As funders, we’re well aware of our position of privilege. But we can also choose what we do with it. By using our power to lift up voices that don’t often get a seat at the table, we can ensure that equity is built into the DNA of the approaches we fund.
FFN care is vital in many communities, but it holds particular significance for communities of color. We listened deeply to families and caregivers and funded programs they designed themselves. That meant supporting bilingual care, honoring home languages, and reaching caregivers through trusted messengers. FFN care is often overlooked because it doesn’t fit neatly into formal systems. But by focusing on the experiences, needs, and opportunities of families and caregivers, we can ensure that equity is woven into the fabric of this growing field – and that the care families and children receive will be relevant and inclusive.
Looking back at a decade of investment in FFN care, I’m excited by the promise this approach holds for making affordable, nurturing child care accessible to many more families across the U.S.
Family, friend, and neighbor care is not a new idea – families have been turning to their loved ones and communities for help for as long as they’ve been raising young children. But it is an idea whose time has come – and one that is ready to be included as an essential part of our nation’s approach to making child care affordable and available for everyone. It’s also a great example of the kind of idea philanthropy can and should invest in, and I look forward to watching the field continue to grow.
To learn more about how funders can support FFN care, visit Home Grown, a national collaborative of funders, caregivers, and providers working together to advance an inclusive child care system where home-based care is visible, valued, and well-resourced.
