According to a new survey conducted by Wilder Research, it’s our “family, friends, and neighbors” or FFN. That’s the acronym used in the field to describe unlicensed, sometimes informal, care arrangements for children of working parents. The caregiver is usually Grandma or Grandpa, but sometimes it’s a neighbor, friend, or older sibling. Nearly half of all kids in childcare are in FFN arrangements.
This kind of care tends to fly under the radar: Caregivers aren’t required to be licensed unless they care for kids from two or more families. But the survey also found that these grandparents and friends have, on average, the same level of experience and education in child development as home-based and center-based caregivers. What’s more, the vast majority of them expressed interest in training and development opportunities. The Minnesota Department of Human Services, which commissioned the study, now recommends we find ways to connect these informal caregivers with the resources in the formal system, including making grandparents eligible for Early Childhood Family Education and other programs.
The survey also found that three-quarters of Minnesota families with children under 13 use some type of childcare arrangement. Or, make that arrangements. Most families cobble together two or more types of care for their children.
One of the most disturbing findings in the study is that almost a third of families said they “had to take whatever childcare arrangement they could get,” up from less than a quarter in 1999. Than number is even higher – 40 percent – among parents with low incomes.
