Know

Take a moment to reflect on a time when you started a new role. It might be when you started a new school or job, when you first became a parent, or the first days of becoming an FCC coordinator. What thoughts, feelings, or questions did you have as you were considering this new role? Did you have prior experience with the role or someone to lean on for support? If it was a job or hobby, how did you first hear about the opportunity or when did you first think of trying this role? Who did you look to for guidance before and during the process? Once you were established in the role, how did you help others who were also experiencing this role for the first time?

It’s likely that every new child care provider has an abundance of questions, but until the need arises, you may not take the time to reflect back on the details of what it is like to start something from the very beginning. As you look to recruit new providers and build a network of quality FCC programs, it is important to consider the unique perspectives you, providers, families, and the community have.

Assessing the Need for Family Child Care Providers

To build and strengthen your FCC network, an assessment of the child care needs on your installation must be completed regularly. It is not uncommon for military families to experience frequent relocations, which can present challenges for families in need of child care. The pool of qualified child care providers also fluctuates over time. We know that over the past several years, the number of FCC homes has steadily declined. While there is not a single determining factor that has led to this decline, research has found that an increase in child-care options, costs associated with running an FCC home, and increased regulations for providers may be responsible. Fortunately, there are many supports in place for military FCC homes to help minimize some of these concerns.

A key determiner of the need for provider recruitment lies within the ever-changing need for FCC programming within each installation. Beyond traditional full-time, center-based child care, consider the type of care that is needed or that would be beneficial to the community you serve (full-time, part-time, overnight, weekend, infant-toddler, preschool, school-age, etc.). As the FCC coordinator, there are active ways that you can take the pulse of the child care needs of your installation to inform recruitment. By attending military panel meetings, you can gain information and contribute to the conversation regarding child care demands and the goals that are set for meeting these needs. You can also administer a questionnaire or survey to families and providers to gain feedback. Perhaps the easiest and most effective way to understand current child care demands is to review the child care waitlist if one currently exists, as this list will be reflective of the specific needs of the families near you. Review what is currently available to families, the unique care requests for the families that are receiving care and those on the waitlist, and the needs that are not currently being met. Some factors to consider that may indicate your installation would benefit from additional family child care homes are:

• The age groups that need care: In general, FCC providers serve more infants and toddlers than other age groups. However, families may need before and after school care or summer care for their school-age children.
• The types of programming needed: Full-time versus part-time, day shift versus night shift, weekend care, etc.
• The working hours of the parents or caregivers: FCC providers can support longer hours, and families may choose family child care for the homelike environment when working longer shifts.
• Family preferences: This may include continuity of care or the ability to send multiple children to the same provider.
• The presence of a “Preferred Care List”: This could indicate that there is a specific need or preference that is not currently being addressed with the child care options on your installation, such as too few FCC homes.

Recruiting and building a network of high-quality FCC providers is not based solely on the needs of the families and children requiring care. The needs and goals of the providers themselves are vital to retention. As the benefits of family child care are made evident, many people are drawn to the profession for the ways it can support their own goals or the needs of their family. A large portion of FCC providers are drawn to the profession to make an income for their family while being able to stay home and care for their own children. While the many roles FCC providers hold come with a fair share of trials, with the right support and guidance from coordinators, coaches, and administrators, the benefits can outweigh these challenges.

When considering recruitment needs and opportunities for FCC providers, it is important to reflect on what makes your community special. We know that a benefit of FCC programming is the continuity of care for providers, children, and families. Military families often possess a sense of pride in their community and tend to form close relationships with one another, which makes this type of care a good fit for many. This may be especially true for those new to the area or military life. Use the information provided in Lesson One, which covers the benefits of FCC programming, to assess the child care needs in your community and to recruit and engage potential providers and families.

Recruiting Quality Providers

While many educators are intrinsically motivated by their passion for helping children learn and grow, it is also common to be extrinsically motivated when it comes to our work, jobs, or professions. When looking for and identifying quality FCC providers, one of the best ways to engage possible providers is to learn what motivates each individual. Some providers are interested in earning supplemental income, some are interested in owning a small business, and others understand that they could potentially earn more money by running their own family child care instead of working in a child care center. There are some individuals that like the idea that they can work and stay at home with their own children, and some identify with supporting the overall mission by providing child care to military personnel. Once you know and understand a person’s motivating factors, you can help them identify their goals and engage them in what you and other providers find to be perks of being part of the FCC community. Think about the ways that you can get to know individuals in your community who may have an interest in becoming an FCC provider. Are there certain people who may be more suited for the job? Consider the following groups and think about how each may be a starting point for building your FCC network.

Registered and Licensed Providers

Perhaps one of the most straightforward groups to look to when expanding your provider network is currently registered and licensed providers in the community. Looking to this group allows you to gain providers who are already knowledgeable about the field and might be looking for a new opportunity. When marketing to registered and licensed providers, be sure to address the benefits of being a military FCC provider. Make sure that they understand the level of support they will receive from you and other providers, and the incentives provided by the military, including education assistance, free professional development and training, and support with enrollment, resources, and coaching. Additionally, military FCC homes typically have a lower child-provider ratio but often bring in a similar or better income due to the financial support and incentives provided by the military. As a provider, the ability to take care of fewer children allows you to build a stronger connection and relationship with a child and their family, which is better for the social and emotional well-being of everyone, including the child’s and the provider’s own family.

Military-Affiliated Family Members

In the military, FCC providers are often affiliated with a military service member in some way. It is common for providers to be military spouses or retired military personnel. While there are ways to recruit civilians, expanding your FCC network with military spouses might be a natural place to start as these individuals can relate to military families and understand the needs and challenges they face. To reach potential providers, consider the following strategies:

• Advertise around the installation. Post signs or leave flyers in libraries, gyms, office buildings, housing offices, etc. Request advertisement opportunities on base signage.
• Include job opportunities in base newsletters or magazines. Think about highlighting potential earning opportunities to further entice prospective providers.
• Attend and speak at new-parent briefings on base. Share how to apply to the FCC wait list and the benefits of becoming an FCC provider.
• Advertise at newcomers' orientation or during town-hall meetings.
• Utilize MilitaryChildCare.com, which includes an FCC Provider Interest form.

Additionally, ensure that you are connecting with FCC providers who may have recently undergone a permanent change of station. As an FCC coordinator, familiarize yourself with your Service’s policy and process for transferring an FCC business from one installation to the next, so that you can guide providers during their relocation to your installation. While it varies across Services, this may involve you supporting providers in submitting an FCC Transfer Request, providing documents to the gaining installation, sharing information about available incentives to FCC providers that chose participate in an FCC Transfer Program, or assisting with recertification at the gaining installation. By supporting providers that are relocating, you can help ease the burden of the relocation of their business while gaining a qualified FCC home in your network of providers. As the FCC coordinator, you should also be aware of the providers that are departing your installation so that you can assist the provider in contacting their new installation to assist with this transition.

Local Early Childhood Connections

Early childhood professionals form connections with one another to share ideas and materials, ask questions, and build relationships with like-minded individuals. These connections can be formed though both professional development training and informal events. Regardless, by building strong relationships, child and youth professionals can share information, thoughts, ideas, and opportunities. These connections create larger networks of individuals who may be interested in family child care.

A major benefit to recruiting current professionals in the field is their familiarity with child development, developmentally appropriate practices, and child care rules and regulations. They already have a foundational knowledge of child development and education, which can be built upon after becoming an FCC provider through the military. When talking about the benefits of FCC programming to current educators, market the supports and resources that are available to military providers. For many, these incentives may look different from what they are currently receiving. This, again, is where learning about what motivates each individual will help to support your goal of gaining and retaining quality FCC providers.

In addition to current child and youth professionals, think about ways to reach those in training. For example, with Services that allow for off-installation FCC homes, FCC Coordinators should consider planning a visit to local high school technical programs or community colleges that have an early childhood program. Students who are interested in working with children and youth, but who do not yet have a job in the field, may be interested in learning more about military FCC opportunities. You may also consider attending educational conferences or local job fairs to network and market FCC opportunities.

Thinking Creatively About Recruitment

The ideas above generally include professionals in the field of education, however, there are other creative ways to expand your network of FCC providers. First, recall some of the common motivators for early-childhood providers and educators:

• Earning supplemental income
• Working from home and caring for their own children
• Supporting the mission by providing child care to military personnel

Now think about places where you may encounter individuals that share these motivators. A few possibilities include:

• Deployment briefings and other military-related appointments
• Newcomer and military spouse meetings
• Local obstetrics or pediatrician offices and birthing centers in area hospitals
• Social media
• Word-of-mouth

When you begin to think creatively about how to recruit new providers, this momentum may carry through to how you engage and interact with current and long-standing providers. You may find new and creative ways to support providers, reinvigorate their connections with you and each other, and build your network up in a positive way. Consider new outlets for connecting providers and their families to encourage collaboration with aspects of their child care business, such as curriculum planning, meal planning, and resource sharing. These outlets can serve to incentivize the FCC providers you support and demonstrate flexibility to providers that they can then reciprocate to the families in their care.

Marketing the Benefits of Becoming a Family Child Care Provider

Identifying your audience is the foundation for building your FCC network. Next come the building blocks—marketing the benefits of military-affiliated child care. It is important to lead with the strengths of FCC programming, but as we reflected on in the beginning of this lesson, be sure to address any questions or concerns that new providers may have. Throughout this course and in subsequent lessons, we discuss the benefits of becoming an FCC provider, and below we highlight several key supports and resources that come with being a military FCC provider. The details of these supports and resources may vary across installations but are the standard for all FCC providers. Think about how each of these relates to the individuals with whom you are engaging. Just as we individualize care and education for children and families, be sure to individualize the attention you are giving to prospective providers. Use these benefits to lead and guide your conversations.

Support Through the Certification Process

Most public FCC providers receive little or no support from their state, territory, or local child care resource and referral agency when starting their business. A major benefit to military child care is that a variety of supports are in place to help new FCC providers navigate this process. Your role as an FCC coordinator includes understanding the certification process, your Service’s policies and regulations, and Service-specific requirements, and determining how to best communicate these to new providers during the onboarding process. In Lesson Two, we reviewed the onboarding process in detail. Consider how you will convey the support provided while starting an FCC business, which is often the most challenging hurdle for new providers to conceptualize. Ensure that potential FCC providers know and understand the following aspects of the certification process and how you will support them with each:

• Certification is required to be officially recognized by the Service.
• All DoDI requirements for family child care must be met for certification.
• The certification process includes monthly visits from the FCC coordinator, monitor, or administrator.

Training and Professional Development Opportunities

Regardless of level of experience, potential and new providers in the field of care and education have a need for continual professional improvement. In fact, most regulating bodies and quality rating and improvement systems require a specified amount of initial and annual training for child care professionals. Professional development can be costly, and not all providers receive financial support for these trainings. A significant benefit of becoming a military FCC provider is the access to free professional development and coaching support. Providers benefit from free training available on Military One Source, OneOp, the educational training specific to FCC programs offered through the Virtual Lab School, and the training offered by their Training and Curriculum Specialist and FCC Coordinator. Through this, they may also be encouraged and supported to obtain their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential through the Council for Professional Recognition, which is a critical first step on the path to career advancement. As mentioned in Lesson Two, for providers who have already earned their CDA and may be interested in continuing their education, you can encourage them to leverage that toward an associate or bachelor’s degree in early care and education, child development, or a related field. These credentials will demonstrate an additional level of experience to prospective families.

Many FCC providers interested in continual improvement may also choose to pursue national accreditation through the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC). This can be an overwhelming and cumbersome process, but the support from program leaders who are familiar with the pathway to accreditation is another benefit of being a military FCC provider. While the self-study process can be done independently, having an experienced guide to answer questions, offer peer assessments and observations, or simply support programming needs outside of the accreditation process is a major benefit to military-affiliation and one that should be communicated. Marketing these benefits will likely attract quality candidates who are interested in continual improvement.

Support With Materials and Supplies

A drawback to running a business is often the startup and maintenance costs associated with it. As you know, prior to opening an FCC home, there are many steps, standards, and regulations that must be followed. Included in this is obtaining furniture, materials, and supplies. A benefit noted by many families who use FCC programs is the homelike environment. Military families who work long hours, nights, or weekends appreciate that their child is cared for in a setting that resembles their own homes. The ability to use your home and its furnishings can be a benefit for some and a concern for others. The additional use and wear on furniture and supplies may require replacing them more often. Address this concern with providers, share resources, and acknowledge the peer support they will receive from other providers with whom they can discuss strategies or share materials.

Beyond what already exists in a home that can support an FCC program, some materials and supplies will be used up faster (such as paper products, cleaning solutions, and food), and some will be unique to running a child care (such as toys, cots, and art materials). When recruiting new providers, listen to their concerns about startup costs. Help them to understand the resources available to military providers, such as lending libraries or resource stations. These resources are not typically available to civilian FCC homes and are not considerations for providers working in traditional center-based care. Outside of talking about these resources, take time to show providers what is available and connect them with others in your network to help answer their questions.

As additional questions arise, assure providers that you will be there to help solve problems and connect them with other providers for advice. Be transparent about the type and amount of guidance you plan to provide. Share examples of ways you have supported other providers to help future providers understand the unique needs that may arise and how they have been supported in the past. If possible, provide personalized examples to help emphasize the reality of family child care and how you, and others, are available to help.

Finding Children and Families for Programs

Regardless of the location of the installation or the Service branch of the military, child care is a universal need. The types of care, ages of the children that need care, and preferences of the families will affect what is needed. A benefit of becoming an FCC provider that should not be overlooked is the assurance that available spaces in programs will be filled as long as there is a need for child care. Outside of the military, FCC providers are responsible for marketing and securing their own families and children. This can add another layer of stress to the role. Within the military, FCC program spots are filled by militarychildcare.com. Providers and families can then discuss their expectations and determine if the placement is a good fit. Assure the provider that you will be able to guide them in this aspect of running their FCC business. 

Business Professional Mentorship

An interesting aspect of becoming an FCC provider is the dual role these professionals take on: child care provider and business owner. While owning a business may be attractive to some individuals, others may express anxiety about the ins and outs of operating a small business. It is essential that the worries of owning and running a small business do not hinder prospective providers from exploring this opportunity. During recruitment, provide prospective providers with the assurance that they will be supported with the business needs of running an FCC program. The military ensures providers have coaches and mentors, including you, to answer questions along the way. As an individual begins their career as an FCC provider, they will learn more about child development, the indicators of quality programming, how to align these with their program standards, and the expectations of coaches. However, you should be prepared that new providers will need support with writing contracts, creating their business models, and answering questions about finances, including taxes, and subsidies for food and supplies. In addition to the support that you will provide, it will be beneficial to connect new providers with seasoned providers in their area.

Network of Providers

A common concern of FCC providers is working in isolation from other adults. It is often helpful to form connections with others in the field to talk about interests, ideas, and questions. Ensuring that this is a cornerstone of the support you give to providers is essential in both recruiting and retaining quality professionals. Take a moment to think about the significance of your coworkers or team. What level of support do you receive every day without even realizing it? In what areas of your professional life do you wish you had more guidance? Use this reflection to model the support you give to FCC providers. Consider the benefit of social events where providers and their families can connect with one another. This can be a space where new providers can learn from seasoned providers and benefit from their experiences and expertise. Additionally, family members of providers can network, support one another, and discuss what owning and running an FCC program means for the provider’s support system.

Having a support network allows providers to lean into each other's areas of business expertise. The following is a list of areas of running a business that might be unique to an FCC provider:

• Creating and maintaining family contracts
• Organizing personal versus professional finances
• Preparing and filing taxes and record keeping
• Understanding how direct and indirect subsidies work
• Proving a safe home environment
• Planning and preparing meals

When you think about the providers you currently support, it may be helpful to create a list of their strengths and areas of expertise. Talk with them about the ways they may like to support and mentor new providers. It is possible that as you network with other FCC providers or program leaders, you will subsequently build a larger network with more ideas and areas of opportunity. By exhibiting a significant level of support, you will likely retain more providers, and your network of providers will continue to grow stronger with time. Obtaining feedback from new providers will also be beneficial.

Identifying and Overcoming the Barriers to Home-Based Care

Questions, challenges, and barriers are often responsible for holding us back from the things that we enjoy. When met with the unknown, a person who feels unprepared or unsupported may revert to their comfort zone, stall, or even quit a task. However, when facing an obstacle with assurance of what is ahead, a peer or mentor to guide you, or the knowledge of where to seek support, that same person will likely persevere.

Starting something new may come with many unknowns, and creating an FCC home is no different. By acknowledging the possible barriers and challenges that come with starting an FCC home, you better prepare prospective providers and lead them to success. It is important to recognize that the barriers to home-based care will look different for everyone. Family child care coordinators should individualize their support based on these differences. For example, the barriers of running an FCC home for military families will look different from those for civilian families, and the challenges that come with working in one country will most likely vary from those of working in another. Identifying and sharing these potential challenges with prospective providers initially is best practice.

Understand that although barriers will vary among groups and can change over time, there are common challenges that are associated with starting an FCC program. These include:

• Administrative and Business Burdens: While a benefit to being a military family child care is the subsidies that a provider may receive, understanding and balancing these and other new administrative burdens with the important task of caring for and educating children can be overwhelming to new providers. It will be helpful to outline the common requirements of military FCC programs or create a pros and cons list to share with new providers. Once a provider starts the process of opening their own program, make sure that they have a checklist of necessary tasks to complete, both big and small. Orientation will provide guidance on big-picture things, but as their coordinator, you should help with things such as creating contracts, navigating finances, setting fees, and creating a safe environment. Consider connecting new providers with mentors who excel in certain areas. Do you have a provider who understands the intricacies of tax planning and preparation? Seek them out to become a mentor or offer training for new providers. Utilize your network of providers by highlighting their interests and strengths for others. You can also consider utilizing apps or hosting social events such as a “lunch and learn” that is focused on professional development in an area of business unrelated to education.
• Ensuring a Safe Environment: After a new provider learns about the indicators of a quality program, you should meet with them to focus on their specific home and how they will apply what they have learned to make adjustments to ensure both quality and safety in their home. Consider using a family interview to meet with the entire family, not just the provider, to assess their knowledge of safety as well. Understand their goals, ideas, and preferences, and help them to adjust these to create a homelike environment that also serves young children. Be sure to communicate that constant observation and informal assessments of their home will be done to support everyone living and learning in the space. Your goal is to be their partner in this process.
  Additionally, help the provider to balance their home life and child care business. Everyday tasks such as cleaning and grocery shopping can become overwhelming when it is a requirement of the job. Support staff in creating manageable cleaning schedules and provide ideas for how to shop for food for both their family and the children in their program at once so that they are not creating more work for themselves. Again, lean into the experiences of the providers in your network and utilize ideas that have been successful in the past.
• Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum and Materials: In your role as an FCC coordinator, you will need to understand the unique needs of the providers you support. This will include their learning style, preferred method of communication, and their beliefs, values, and goals. When you work with a group of individuals, you must vary your support to ensure optimal learning and growth potential. The same is true for the way providers will engage with and care for the children in their program, especially those that have a mixed-age setting.
  There are many benefits to mixed-age grouping, as discussed in Lesson One, but it can also pose challenges for FCC providers. Rather than focusing on one area of development (infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or school-age children), those serving a mixed-age group of children will require a broader range of knowledge of child development. These providers need to be aware of general developmental milestones for all ages they care for and be able to adapt to children’s individual needs and interests. They must plan activities and experiences that children can work on at the same time, in ways that engage and foster their individual learning. You and providers should also consider the need for additional equipment and materials, and space for routine care such as diapering/toileting, sleeping, and mealtimes. In your role, ensure you are providing support and professional development opportunities to offer strategies and address concerns in this area. For more information on mixed-age grouping in family child care, you can review the Training & Curriculum Specialist track.
• Managing Food Programs: The choice to enroll in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is individualized, but every provider will need to create a food program that works for them and their child care. As the FCC coordinator, you can help providers understand how CACFP can be beneficial to their business by providing reimbursement for the food they serve the children in their care. Helping providers understand that CACFP can also support them in modeling and teaching healthy eating habits can contribute to the program’s curriculum as well.
  Outside of CACFP, identify other food and meal planning services that are available through the military. Installations may have professionals available to help providers create menus, plan meals, and address food preparation concerns or questions.

As an FCC coordinator, you can help minimize the stress that comes with these common challenges. Lesson Five will discuss specific examples of tools and strategies you can use to observe providers and support their progress in these areas.

Marketing Family Child Care to Families

As discussed in Lesson One, family child care can be a valuable option for many families, especially military families who may have an unconventional schedule which requires longer hours of care and whose children then benefit from a more homelike setting. However, some families, especially new families, may not be aware that this option exists. Ensuring that families know about FCC programming as an option is equally as beneficial to the retainment of your network of providers as finding new qualified providers is. The best place to start this process is by educating the leaders of installations about the benefits and strengths of FCC programs. Use the information provided in Lesson One to generate ideas, especially those that may be most relevant to your location. As leadership begins to recognize this type of child care as a valuable option, additional outlets for marketing to families may become available.

Spend time brainstorming potential areas for new FCC programs that will appeal to most families, or where new families may be found. Attend new family briefings or other events on the installation. These are spaces where you can both market the benefits of becoming a provider and highlight the work of the FCC providers you support. Lesson Four will review more about celebrating FCC providers’ strengths and accomplishments, and discuss ways to showcase their work to families, the community, and other providers.

See

Building a strong network of family child care providers takes time and effort. Listen as family child care professionals describe the benefits of becoming a military FCC provider and the strategies and supports coordinators can offer providers to overcome the barriers associated with owning and operating an FCC home.

Do

To build a strong FCC network:

• Understand the need for FCC providers in your installation.
• Address the types of care families require.
• Identify groups or individuals that may have an interest in becoming FCC providers.
• Market the benefits of military affiliation.
• Listen to the concerns of both providers and their families.
• Connect potential providers with other providers in the area who can serve as mentors.
• Support providers during the start-up process and throughout their career.
• Be aware of your Service’s FCC subsidy program and communicate to providers that there are incentives available if they choose FCC as a career path.
• Create opportunities for the providers you support to network with one another.
• Showcase the work of providers and the benefits of FCC homes to families in your community.