Family child care in the United States

Nearly one-quarter of all children are in family child care at some point before beginning elementary school. Furthermore, the majority of young children with working mothers are cared for in private homes. These children spend an average of 31 hours per week in family child care ( Johnson, 2005), which can include nights and weekends (Davis & Connelly, 2005). Family child care providers also make up a sizeable portion of small business owners in the United States. Nationally, there are a total of 213,966 licensed family child care homes, which breaks down to 166,514 small family child care homes (serving up to 6 children) and 47,452 large licensed family child care homes (serving 7-12 children) (National Association for Regulatory Administration and the National Child Care Information Center, 2006). Given the prevalence of this type of care and its potential effect on children’s development, a growing body of research has sought to better understand the characteristics of family child care and how children fare in this type of care. This understanding is essential for designing