Many family, friend and neighbor caregivers are “hidden” and receive little support and limited monitoring. Small group size, extended relationships with the children, and similar cultural backgrounds are associated with higher quality care. But these caregivers typically have little or no formal training in child development or child safety. One potential solution to this problem is to help caregivers navigate the procedures to become licensed family child care providers. This paper identifies issues related to licensing family, friend and neighbor caregivers and explores the relationship between licensing and child care quality.
Author Biography
Pamela Jakwerth Drake has a PhD in Measurement and Quantitative Methods from Michigan State University, and an MEd in human development and educational counseling. Dr. Drake was the research director for the First 5 California Family, Friend and Neighbor Child Caregiver Support Project. Her primary area of work during her six years at ETR Associates has been directing the evaluation of health education programs for children and youth.
Bayla Greenspoon has worked in the field of early childhood education since completing her MS at the Bank Street College of Education in 1974. She worked for many years in her native Canada as a daycare supervisor, college instructor, diversity educator, and government child care analyst. For the past six years, she has lived in Santa Cruz, CA, where she coordinated the local child care resource and referral agency before joining ETR Associates to coordinate the First 5 California Family, Friend and Neighbor Child Caregiver Support Project.
Sarah Neville-Morgan started her career at the University of California, Davis's (UCD) Center for Child and Family Studies as an Academic Child Development Specialist. She holds a BA in Psychology from Earlham College and a MS in Child Development from UC Davis. Prior to her current position, Sarah served as the Deputy Executive Director for the California Early Learning Advisory Council and worked in the Policy Office in the Child Development Division at the California Department of Education. In her role as Deputy Director of the Program Management Division at First 5 California, she oversees several statewide early learning and healthy development programs.
Recommended Citation
Jakwerth Drake, P.,
Greenspoon, B.,
&
Neville-Morgan, S.
(2005).
Licensing Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregivers: Paradoxes and Possibilities.
Occasional Paper Series,
(15).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1198