Sustaining Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care During and After COVID-19: Survey Findings from The National Women’s Law Center
This report summarizes the results of a National Women’s Law Center survey of Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) providers and organizations that offer support to FFN providers to examine the role of FFN providers before, during, and after the pandemic, conducted between July and September 2020. It also assessed the supports FFN providers received and had access to while offering care, and aimed to identify the additional supports they need to offer safe and supportive care for children while ensuring their own well-being. Overall, the survey underscored how FFN care is a crucial piece of the child care system and will continue to be post-pandemic, yet has vulnerabilities that the pandemic has exacerbated. The use of center-based care dropped dramatically at the start of the pandemic and had not returned to pre-pandemic levels as of September, while use of home-based care, despite experiencing an initial drop in use at the start of the pandemic, has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels.