Building on your understanding of the unique benefits of home-based care is essential so that you can gather tools and resources to successfully support FCC providers. Review the information gathered from the report, A Conceptual Model for Quality in Home-Based Child Care, and reflect on how the information may be useful in your role.

Purpose of the Report

• Provide a conceptual model for quality in home-based child care.
• Inform state/local quality improvement initiatives that engage and sustain provider participation.
• Articulate a vision of quality showing how home-based care enhances outcomes for children, families, and providers.
• Offer directions for research and measurement to examine effectiveness.

Conceptual Model Components

• Organized into three broad components which were drawn from the foundations resources on quality home-based care.
• Within each component are elements. Although the elements are described separately, they are interrelated and not intended to be mutually exclusive.
• Each element is supported by available evidence from the body of research on home-based child care and research that has been conducted in center-based child care settings.

1. Foundations for Sustainability of Care

• Safe environment: child-proofing, emergency plans.
• Provider health/wellness: self-care to reduce isolation, stress.
• Community resources: screenings, social services, networking.
• Supports for caregiving/teaching: coaching, consultation, professional development.
• Reflection/openness to change: self-assessment, willingness to adopt new practices.
• Business/finance management: contracts, taxes, record-keeping for sustainability.

2. Lasting Relationships

• Nurturing relationships with children: warmth, continuity across ages.
• Children’s relationships with peers: mixed-age interactions, friendships.
• Responsive relationships with families: flexible hours, payment schedules, sensitivity to various backgrounds and experiences.
• Healthy relationships with other adults: assistants, family members in the home.
• Community relationships: neighbors, librarians, local supports enhancing cohesion and safety.

3. Opportunities for Learning and Development

• Promoting children’s wellbeing: physical health, mental health, trauma-informed care.
• Using available materials creatively: everyday household items, open-ended play.
• Stimulating, responsive activities: routines embedded with learning, differentiated by age/needs.
• Relevant experiences: building on familiar practices and traditions.
• Peer learning: children learning from each other in mixed-age groups.

Key Takeaways

The purpose of the conceptual model is to spark conversations about quality in home-based child care among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. This section offers additional thoughts on how the model can inform these discussions.

• Quality in home-based child care is multi-dimensional, involving sustainability, relationships, and learning opportunities.
• Distinctive features (home environment, mixed-age groups, ties to backgrounds) are often overlooked in existing measures.
• Policy and practice implications: need for tailored supports, updated quality tools, and recognition of provider differences.

Source: Blasber, A., Bromer, J., Nugent, C., Porter, T., Shivers, E.M., Tonyan, H., Tout, K., & Weber, B. (2019). A conceptual model for quality in home-based child care. Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.