Child Care Resource Center Logo

500 WEST FOURTH ST., SUITE 202
WINSTON-SALEM, NC 27101
PHONE: (336) 245-4900
TOLL-FREE: (800) 937-7610
FAX: (336) 608-4352

Child Care Resource Center (CCRC), on behalf of the Forsyth County FFN Steering Committee, received a grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, to conduct a landscape analysis of policies that impact individuals providing unlicensed family, friend and neighbor care across our state.  The purpose of this report is to develop a policy framework and set of recommendations to support Family Friend and Neighbor (FFN) Care in North Carolina.  Click here to view the full report

Research conducted by Compass Evaluation identified that the majority of children in Forsyth County, over 70%, are served outside the formal licensed child care system, in FFN care.  The Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools have reported that 50% of children in the community show up at the school unprepared, according to standardized assessments. In order to gain a better understanding of FFN care as a critical component of the early care and education ecosystem and to strengthen its effectiveness at improving outcomes for children and families, CCRC partnered with the NC Early Education Coalition to research NC child care policies, rules and regulations and their impact on FFN caregivers; learn how other states across the country have formulated policies and programs that are supportive of FFN care, including assessing attitudes, biases and perspectives of stakeholders at the state and local level; and identify systems change priorities for future efforts in Forsyth County.

This report provides an overview of FFN care, estimates of the prevalence of FFN nationally and in North Carolina, as well as a summary of research and best practices in supporting FFN providers. The North Carolina Early Education Coalition worked across sectors to ensure that all voices were heard. The team conducted 7 focus groups and key informant interviews with a total of 44 participants, including parents, licensed child care providers, early care and education systems leaders, advocates, and state department leaders in both child development and early education and child abuse and neglect. Two (2) additional focus groups were conducted with parents and child care providers in Forsyth County. The purpose of these input sessions was to gain a deeper understanding the attitudes, biases, perspectives, and openness to systems change in North Carolina as it relates to FFN care. Quotes from these input sessions are included throughout the report and the input was used to inform the policy recommendations included at the end of this report.

Child Care Resource Center, formerly Work Family Resource Center, is a private, non-profit organization.  CCRC is a child care resource and referral agency who mission is to support families in accessing quality child care, to build the capacity and quality of child care programs and to promote greater awareness about the link between quality child care and school readiness.

Organizations that comprise the Forsyth County FFN Steering Committee include:  Child Care Resource Center, The Hispanic League of Forsyth County, Imprints Cares, Latino Community Services and Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods.

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