Family Child Care
in New Jersey
A Report on Registered Family Child Care in New Jersey
The New Jersey Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NJACCRRA) extends its sincere appreciation to all of the family child care providers who took the time to share information about their work caring for New Jersey’s children. The organization also thanks the network of child care resource and referral agencies and their dedicated staff. Their commitment to this project helped make it a success. A very special thank you to the Child Welfare League of America and to The Schumann Fund for New Jersey for providing the funding to conduct the survey, analyze the responses, report on the findings, and develop an advocacy agenda. This important work would not have been possible without their support.
New Jersey Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
PO Box 55816
Trenton, New Jersey 08638-6816
Introduction
Recognizing that family child care providers are perhaps the most underrepresented segment of caregivers in the child care network, the New Jersey Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies commissioned a study to examine the state of family child care in New Jersey. A major focus of the study included a statewide survey of registered family child care providers. This component, developed to better understand the current system of care in place through family child care homes, sought to gain information on the characteristics of individual providers, their interactions with children, and the environment in which they provide care. The study also looked at the diverse services provided by the state’s network of child care resource and referral agencies: community-based organizations operating in local counties throughout New Jersey to support and enhance the availability and quality of registered child care. As a final component, the study examined how other states are using family child care providers in their pre-kindergarten and early care programs.
The data was collected with an interest in documenting a system of care that historically has been informal. Information was intended to expand the foundation for advocacy on behalf of family child care providers, develop a resource that would help shape legislation regulating family child care, and provide direction for defining the role of family child care homes in New Jersey’s overall early care and education plan. It is anticipated to be not only a testament of the strengths actively supporting children and families in New Jersey, but also a tool that will help decision-makers manage resources in the ongoing development of the state’s system of child care.
This important work originated with a grant from the Child Welfare League of America and continued with funding from The Schumann Fund for New Jersey. The New Jersey Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, on behalf of the child care providers, families, and children in the state of New Jersey, is grateful for their support.
SECTION ONE: The Family Child Care Provider Speaks
A Statewide Survey
Study Background
Registered family child care providers in New Jersey were asked to complete a written survey to elicit study information pertaining to their work. In January 2005, close to 3,800 surveys were mailed to the home addresses of registered providers on file at each county’s child care resource and referral agency. The mailing included a copy of the four-page survey, an explanation of the study’s purpose and conditions for consent, and a pre-addressed and stamped envelope for return by the end of the month. The study was received by the family child care provider community with tremendous interest and great response. A large number of returns continued to be received past the original deadline of January 21, and the data collection timeframe was extended to accept surveys through the end of February 2005.
A total of 1,040 completed surveys were returned, representing 27 percent of all registered providers in New Jersey. Individual county response rates ranged from 15 percent to 80 percent, with an average county return rate of 30 percent. Many providers took the time to handwrite comments and reactions, and a few submitted personal letters with completed surveys to expand this opportunity to share their experiences and opinions.
Characteristics
The study collected general demographic information about those leading family child care homes across New Jersey. According to the survey, at least 97 percent of family child care providers are female. Just one percent of the respondents identified themselves as male, and two percent did not indicate gender. The race and ethnicity of providers reflects New Jersey's diverse population. Forty-one percent of providers identified themselves as Black/African-American, 29 percent as White/Caucasian, 24 percent as Latino/Hispanic, 2 percent as Asian-American/Pacific Islander, 1 percent as Native American, and two percent as "other” ethnicity.
There is also diversity in the languages spoken in family child care homes. Although 93 percent of family child care providers speak English with children in their care, 25 percent also speak Spanish with them. Three percent of providers speak languages as diverse as Hindi, Italian, Swahili, American Sign Language, and Polish with the children. Communication in family child care homes seems to reflect the culture of the children’s own homes, where 95 percent speak English, 26 percent also speak Spanish, and 4 percent speak other languages. Among their own family members, 90 percent of family child care providers speak English, 26 percent speak Spanish, and 4 percent report other languages, including Arabic, Creole, Tamil, Macedonian, and Nigerian.
The type of care provided through New Jersey’s family child care system varies. Ninety-one percent provide full-time care, 66 percent provide part-time care, 60 percent provide before- or after-school care, 30 percent provide drop-in care, 27 percent provide evening care, 21 percent provide over-night care, and 20 percent provide weekend care. Twelve percent of family child care homes in the state operate to provide care to children only during the school year, and another 12 percent do so only during the summer. This flexibility is critical in a state where 56 percent of households with children under the age of six have all parents in the family working (Census 2000).
When asked about their family child care home, 69 percent described the dwelling as a house, 10 percent as a multi-family home, 17 percent as an apartment, and 4 percent as a condo or townhouse. Sixty-four percent indicated that they owned their residence and 35 percent rented it. More than 90 percent of White/Caucasians described their family child care setting as in a house, compared to 62 percent of Black/African Americans and 54 percent of Latino/Hispanic respondents. Conversely, only 2 percent of White respondents use an apartment as their child care setting while for all other groups (except for Asian Americans where there were only 19 respondents), this was the setting more than 20 percent of the time. Eighty-eight percent of White respondents said they own their homes; only 11percent were renters. For the other ethnic groups, owning or renting their home was approximately equally likely at about 50 percent for both.
Nearly half of the respondents described their community as urban, although answers varied among counties, reflecting New Jersey’s diverse landscape. The most likely community location for a family child care facility was Suburban (58 percent) for White respondents, Urban (54 percent) for Black respondents and Urban (76 percent) for Latino respondents.
Operations and Activities
The average family child care provider operates between 7 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. However, many homes open for business as early as 5 a.m. and care for children until late in the evening -- sometimes through midnight. Over 8 percent reported caring for children over a 24-hour period of time, especially in southern New Jersey where many families are employed in Atlantic City’s casino industry.
Study results describe a planned system of care that seeks to actively balance a child’s needs for both nurture and structure. More than half of providers write down a schedule of daily activities, although less than 80 percent share this schedule with parents. Almost 90 percent of providers have a written agreement that parents must sign before placing their children in care, and 85 percent have written policies for participating families.
The surveys gathered information that would describe general activities taking place in the registered family child care home. Seventy-two percent of the responding providers described their family child care program as a cross between a school and a home. Close to one-half reported that their television or DVD/VCR was usually off during the day. Sixty percent said that children were physically active most or more than half of the day. Many planned activities to take place out of the house. Over fifty-five percent of providers took the children in their care on field trips. These include visits to the park, zoo, library, restaurants, museums, pet store, beach, and local firehouse. More than one-third of family child care providers escort children in their care to or from a school or a school bus stop, and close to 40 percent transport children using their own car.
Most family child care providers offer and prepare meals for the children in their care, but most do not receive support for this service. Sixty-nine percent of respondents provide breakfast, 73 percent provide lunch, and 38 percent provide dinner. Sixty percent provide drinks throughout the day, 66 percent provide a morning snack, and 83 percent provide an afternoon snack. While the food and snacks offered represent an additional level of support for the families, they bring an additional expense for and demand upon family child care providers. Over 40 percent of family child care providers spend up to $500 each year on supplemental items that include food and snacks; 25 percent spend up to $1,000, and 11 percent spend up to $2,000. Fourteen percent spend over $2,000, including four percent who spend over $5,000 each year. However, only 36 percent of the family child care providers in the study participate in the Child Care Food Program offering subsidization for meals and snacks.
There are varying levels of attention and care required of children in family child care homes, depending on factors that include their personality, stage of development, and physical health. Nineteen percent of the study’s family child care providers report supporting children with special needs as diverse as asthma, Down syndrome, and speech impediments. Almost three-quarter of all providers responded when asked whether they feel they have enough knowledge to care for a child with a special need; 31 percent said they have enough knowledge, 38 percent said they do have enough knowledge but would like more, 15 percent said they did not have enough knowledge, and 16 percent were unsure.
Provider Background
The study also examined the life and career experience of registered family child care providers across the state. New Jersey’s providers bring decades of life experience to their work; they also represent a group of seasoned professionals. Close to 60 percent were between the ages of 31 and 50, 27 percent were between the ages of 50 and 64, and six percent were over the age of 65. Eight percent were between the ages of 18 and 30. Twenty-nine percent had provided paid care in their home for more than 10 years, 19 percent for between six and nine years, and 26 percent for between three and five years. Only 24 percent of New Jersey’s homes had been providing paid care for less than two years.
Family child care providers in New Jersey had varied backgrounds that prepared them to work with children. Most -- 84 percent -- described learning to take care of children through their own experiences as parents, while 62 percent reported that they also learned from classes and workshops. Some providers -- 35 percent -- educated themselves by reading books and articles, and 27 percent learned from their fellow providers. Twenty-nine percent had completed a formal education program related to their child care work as preparation for their profession.
In terms of education level, 11 percent of the state’s respondents have a bachelor's degree, two percent have a master’s degree, 14 percent have an associate's degree, and 48 percent have a GED or high school diploma. Seven percent of providers have other professional degrees or certificates, including child development associate (CDA) and early childhood education certificates; nurse’s aide, RN/LPN, special education, home health aide and medical assistant certifications; real estate and nail technician licenses; and business school degrees. (Although the family child care survey did attempt to document the level of providers who were working toward National Association of Family Child Care accreditation or Child Development Associate credentialing, data was inconclusive. Individual responses about knowledge of these certificates and their participation in application processes were inconsistent and could not be included in results.)
Responses to the question regarding the highest attained level of education demonstrated very few significant relationships with responses to other questions. One important one was with how the respondent viewed her role as a family child care provider. The more educated the respondent, the less likely she was to see her role as temporary work rather than a job or a career. How long the respondent has been providing family child care services, was positively associated with how she learned to take care of children – mainly due to learning gleaned from classes/workshops, her own experience as a parent, and/or from family or friends – and how she viewed her role as a provider. In the latter case, the more experience gained, the more likely it was that the provider saw herself as engaged in a job or career. These career-oriented respondents were more likely to have learned care from classes, workshops or from their own experiences.
When asked why they chose to become a family child care provider, 88 percent of the respondents said they liked caring for children. A large percentage saw the benefits of working from home (72 percent) or having the opportunity to be with their own children all day (47 percent). Many providers shared comments that relayed their own understanding of how critical it is for qualified and affordable child care to be available to working parents, revealing that they had made the decision to be a caregiver because they personally understood how important it was for families to have someone on whom they could rely. Some had struggled themselves to find suitable child care. Others described their motivating force as the joy that comes from helping foster a child’s development. Some even referred to their work as a “calling.”
The Family Child Care Business
There were over 4,450 children in the care of responding family child care providers across New Jersey. Thirteen percent were infants under 12 months, 21 percent were toddlers up to 23 months, and 34 percent were pre-schoolers between two and five years of age. More than 2,900 of these children were being care for on a full-time basis. (Although responding providers indicated that a significant percentage of the children in their care were school-age, it is unclear whether this number is accurate because they reported a large segment of those children to be in their care on a full-time basis. This data conflicts with New Jersey’s requirement that children of that age be enrolled in school for a full-day schedule. Additionally, the ages of at least 12 percent of the children in the care of the study’s sample were not identified by survey data.)
New Jersey’s providers use various methods to recruit families as clients. Seventy-seven percent use “word of mouth” as their main method of advertising their business, 37 percent rely on their CCR&R, and 36 percent use flyers. Smaller numbers use paid advertising, public signs, websites, business cards, or various community publications including school mailings and church bulletins.
Ninety-six percent of New Jersey’s registered family child care providers meet and interview families before they make a decision to care for a child. Over 25 percent of providers have denied families care, even when they have had vacancies, for reasons that include attitude, conflicting views on discipline, suspected substance use, religious differences, unrealistic parental expectations, and consideration of how the age and temperament of the child would be a “fit” with others the provider’s care.