Thread by @SamanthaAMelvin

Report on #familychildcare supply is here!🎉 FCC educators face many barriers to entry & sustainability. The biggest? #ECE #policy challenges. But their strengths keep them going. Buckle up 🧵(1/n) bit.ly/3bj0gps

#solvechildcare #earlyedchat #childcare @JulietBromer

https://twitter.com/EriksonInst/status/1458879945925664776

In this exploratory mixed method study, we asked 179 current/former regulated #familychildcare educators (FCCEs) across 4 states (CA, FL, MA, WI) about their experiences entering, staying in, and/or leaving the field, and we learned A LOT. (2/n)

ON LEAVING: 30 former FCCEs (small N, exploratory!) shared intersecting challenges w/ systems, economics, working conditions, & personal factors that contributed to their decisions to close their businesses (pre-COVID). Most mentioned at least 2/3 of the core challenges. (3/n)

80% of fmr FCCEs shared that one main reason for exit was related to #ECE #policy systems:
1⃣Inequitable #childcare #subsidy rates/policies
2⃣Increasing/inconsistent reqs across systems
3⃣Center-centric regs (incl in #QRIS)
4⃣Disrespectful/distrustful #licensing staff (4/n)

As most FCCEs will tell you, it's not a lucrative or easy business. Beyond low rates, 2/3 fmr FCCEs struggled w/ economic issues like fluctuating enrollment & no benefits (esp #healthcare, PTO); half w/ working conditions (long hours, working alone, balancing business+home. (5/n)

Home-based #childcare is a personal business & we saw this in how major life events (own or family member illness, housing insecurity) were the breaking point for many fmr FCCEs. Some intersecting policy issues here (#paidleave for #eldercare, healthcare, retirement). (6/n)

Other exit decisions were related to burnout from multiple challenges, difficulty launching (more on this later), growing out of FCC (to centers/schools), & lack of fit w/ FCC.

PLUS, 2/3 of FCCEs moved to other ECE work (esp Head Start) when they closed their business 🤯 (7/n)

Check out the full report to hear more about the powerful stories of four of these women's decisions to close their #familychildcare programs (and quotes from many others). (8/n)
erikson.edu/wp-content/upl…

Next up: ON STAYING! 1/3 current FCCEs (N=53) considered leaving in the last year (Disclaimer: data collected during COVID). These FCCEs were more likely to be white & have 5+ yrs experience. They reported similar challenges as above (paper in prep). What keeps them going?(9/n)

FCCEs were motivated by the rewards they found in #familychildcare work: working w children, relationships w families (esp for more experienced), being called to care for the community (esp for Black FCCEs), & work control (esp for white FCCEs, those w own kids in care). (10/n)

Some FCCEs also talked about the supports that buffered challenges & kept them going. 14% reported social, emotional, informational peer support (both formal associations & informal relationships) and 7% highlighted support from family members. (11/n)

Though no FCCEs said that supports from ECE policy systems "kept them going," a third of FCCEs talked about the help they got (esp from local #childcare #subsidy agencies in CA & MA). This included financial, informational, technical, & union support. (12/n)

Finally, ON ENTRY! We specifically talked to some newer FCCEs (<=5yrs regulated, N=45 current, N=8 former FCCEs) about their experiences getting licensed. (13/n)

So why get licensed (vs exempt, registered, certified)?
1⃣Legitimacy (with benefits for recruitment and self-efficacy)
2⃣Higher+more stable income (from #subsidy, #CACFP, #QRIS, #UPK, etc).
(14/n)

Remember the folks who left because of system challenges? We heard this from new FCCEs too.

Barriers to #childcare #licensing:
➡️Unclear information about the process
➡️System delays & lengthy process
➡️High startup costs
➡️Inspection anxiety
(15/n)

These findings, esp about #ECE #policy system challenges, agency/peer supports, and benefits of/barriers to getting licensed have HUGE implications for #BuildBackBetter #BuildBackBetterAct goals of #childcare #prek expansion (full recs in report)! (16/n)

We need FCC to #SolveChildCare. Value FCCEs. Pay them what they're worth. Address systemic racism, structural inequities, barriers to entry & sustainability. Include & support them, meaningfully.(17/n)

Amplify their voices:
Eng-erikson.edu/wp-content/upl…
Esp-erikson.edu/wp-content/upl…

If you'd like to hear more about this work, please join us for a webinar with the National Center for Early Childhood Quality Assurance on December 1st at 1pm EST! (18/n) zoomgov.com/webinar/regist…

Note: This data was collected during the early months of COVID in the US, but COVID wasn't the focus of this study. We've shared COVID-specific data/recommendations from current FCCEs (plus a lit review on shifts in FCC supply) in other work (19/n) bit.ly/3bj0gps

I also want to express our team's gratitude to the educators who shared their stories with us, and to the study team at @EriksonInst, funder @fcdusorg, partners at @CCRC4KIDS & across all 4 states, and reviewers for making this work possible. (20/n)

On a personal note: While I joke that this project was my side dissertation, I can't wait to share my ACTUAL diss findings (exploring FCCE perceptions of quality in their work & QRIS, using this sample) soon! I am so lucky to be joining @JulietBromer's team full time in 2022 🙌

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