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Child care provided by kith and kin is typically exempt from licensing requirements that apply to other types of child care arrangements such as family child care and center-based early childhood programs. Policy issues arise when these caregivers receive public subsidies to provide child care for other people's children. The two primary issues for policy makers who are responsible for public child care subsidies are regulation and allocation of resources.
RegulationRegulation of publicly subsidized kith and kin child care raises a variety of questions. What kinds of standards should be established for kith and kin caregivers? Should kin, family members such as grandmothers and aunts, be subject to the same requirements as kith, friends or neighbors who serve as surrogate family? What aspect of the child care should be regulated? The home environment? The characteristics of the caregiver as her health or her educational background? The nature of the child care arrangement such as the number and ages of children in care? Should kith and kin caregivers be subject to child abuse and /or criminal record checks? How, if at all, should standards for kith and kin caregivers differ from those for regulated family child care providers? How can states and localities create standards that are feasible and enforceable? Allocation of ResourcesState and local policy makers who are responsible for public child care funding face difficult decisions. They must determine how to allocate child care subsidies to support parents' child care choices, meet parents' child care needs through maintaining and building child care supply, and improve child care quality. Providing subsidies for kith and kin child care raises special issues. At what level should subsidy payment levels be set? What kind of differential payment levels, if any, should be established for kith and kin caregivers compared to regulated family child care providers? How, if at all, should public funds be used for kith and kin caregivers to enable them to meet safety standards if regulated family child care providers also need this support? How, if at all, should public funds be used for materials and equipment to improve the quality of care that kith and kin caregivers offer when support is also needed by regulated family child care providers and child care centers? How, if at all, should public funds be allocated for programs for kith and kin? Should existing programs designed to support child care providers be expanded to include kith and kin caregivers? RecommendationsFrom the National Center for Children in Poverty's report, "Child Care by Kith and Kin: Supporting Family, Friends and Neighbors Caring for Children"
Kith and Kin Home Page | Research | Policy | Programs | Resources For more information, contact:
tporter@bnkst.edu |
