Home-based child care offers options to families seeking affordable, accessible care that fits their needs, whether the provider is someone they know or a provider committed to a long-term career in child care. Home-based care may be a child’s primary arrangement, or it may be a second arrangement that supplements center-based care. As policymakers and early childhood education professionals seek opportunities to support the early childhood workforce, they should recognize the diversity of home-based child care and acknowledge its role in the lives of children, families, and providers.

Statistics were drawn from the following report:

National Survey of Early Care and Education Project Team (2016). Characteristics of Home-based Early Care and Education Providers: Initial Findings from the National Survey of Early Care and Education. OPRE Report #2016-13, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.