Early Edge Hosts May Meeting for Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) Workgroup
Early Edge’s FFN Workgroup convened on May 26th to continue its discussion on developing recommendations to implement elements of the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care related to FFN care. At the April 20th meeting, the Workgroup went through an exercise to ideate on ways to improve FFN access to training and improve FFN wages. Responses and ideas from this brainstorming exercise were then analyzed and drafted into recommendations. At our most recent meeting, the draft recommendations were shared with the Workgroup for them to react to and provide feedback. The discussion was framed around the following questions:
- Do you think these recommendations capture everything?
- Is there anything critical you think is missing?
- Is there anything you would wordsmith?
- Are these recommendations broad/inclusive enough to meet the diverse needs of FFNs?
The discussion helped fine-tune and consolidate the recommendations. The key themes that emerged were that trainings for FFNs should be free, incentivized, and easily accessible. The wage conversation focused on ways to work towards achieving wage parity with Family Child Care providers.
The next steps are to share these refined recommendations with the FFN providers who comprise our FFN Advisory Group when they meet in June to hear their reactions and whether these recommendations reflect their needs. Once we have received their feedback, we plan to draft a letter with these recommendations and send them to the Office of the Governor, the California Department of Social Services, and the California Department of Education to help inform and uplift the needs of FFNs in California.
The next FFN Workgroup will be scheduled for July.