Millions of families rely on family members, friends, and neighbors to care for their children every day while parents are at work. A number of organizations are working with family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) providers to help them better promote children’s learning and development and school readiness and to connect them to federal, state, and local resources and benefits that help the providers themselves. These efforts to support FFN providers take a range of forms, depending on the needs of the providers, the children in their care, and the communities in which they live. Although varied in their approaches, collectively these efforts demonstrate the tremendous potential for strengthening this group of providers who are so essential to families and children.

See also: A Catalog of Strategies to Support Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care