Home-based Child Care Funding Opportunity

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Background

Home-based child care (HBCC), both licensed family child care and unregulated family, friend, and neighbor care, is the preference of many families due to its myriad strengths and its ability to meet their needs. HBCC offers consistent relationships between child and provider, potential flexible hours for parents working 2nd and 3rd shift jobs, and a child care environment that often shares the family’s cultural norms and values. Many parents’ preference for HBCC has been amplified throughout the pandemic due to the smaller number of children in these settings, increased flexibility, and ability to respond to enhanced concerns about safety.

Unfortunately, the supply of licensed family child care (FCC) has been diminished over the past two decades due to the policy, economic, and cultural environment. Over the past 20 years, the number of FCC providers in North Carolina has dropped from nearly 5,000 to just over 1,000. Furthermore, the average hourly wage for FCC providers in North Carolina is substantially lower than that of other educational professionals, including center-based staff. Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) care providers are also in need of enhanced support. The majority of young children in North Carolina – approximately two-thirds – are in FFN care, which includes everything from stay-at-home parents, grandparents, and other relatives to friends, neighbors, nannies, and other small, informal providers. Even though the data show that more children are in FFN care than any other type of child care, FFN providers receive virtually no support.

Available Funding

As part of an overall commitment to support an early care and education system that meets the diverse needs of our state’s children and families, the Blue Cross NC Foundation is issuing a three-year, $100,000 / year ($300,000 total per organization) grant opportunity to support up to four HBCC networks, including licensed Family Child Care and/or Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care. Funded networks will provide professional, business, and advocacy support for local HBCC providers and will also participate in a statewide HBCC Network Community of Practice to share learnings and to develop strategies for improving the policy, economic, and regulatory environments for HBCC in North Carolina.

Eligibility

Organization Size

• There is no minimum requirement in terms of operational budget. Organizations of all sizes are eligible to apply.

Organization Type

• Nonprofit organization that is exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is classified as “not a private foundation” under Section 509(a).

- OR-

• Fiscally sponsored program – A group or project with a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization acting as a fiscal sponsor. Please note that the fiscal sponsor is responsible for all legal aspects of the organization or project. The fiscal sponsor is considered the grantee and agrees to be accountable to the Foundation for the programmatic and financial outcomes of the grant.

Timeline

Informational Webinar

To provide prospective applicants with more information, we hosted a webinar on Tuesday, October 9th.

During the webinar, staff from the Blue Cross NC Foundation provided background information about the approach to this funding opportunity, outlined the work the Foundation is interested in supporting, and detailed information on the application and review process.

• View a recording of the webinar.
• View the slides presented at the webinar.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have compiled Frequently Asked Questions to further assist prospective applicants.

Learn More and Apply

Download the full funding opportunity.

Contact

For questions about this funding opportunity:

• Rob Thompson at rob.thompson@bcbsncfoundation.org