The prevalence of child care provided by informal caregivers – also increasingly referred to as “Family, Friend and Neighbors” (FFN) – has been well documented by researchers over the past six years. This is a common child care arrangement for many young children in the U.S., especially those from low-income families, families of color, and infants and toddlers (Brandon, 2005; Porter, Paulsell, Del Grosso, Avellar, hass, Vuong, 2010a).
The Arizona Kith and Kin Project was established in 1999 to provide ongoing early childhood training and support to exempt family, friend, and neighbor caregivers. The goals of the Arizona Kith and Kin Project are to (1) improve the quality of child care through training; (2) increase caregiver’s knowledge and understanding of early child development; and (3) increase caregiver’s knowledge and understanding of health and safety issues to provide a safer child care environment.
The purpose of this evaluation was to discover whether the Arizona Kith and Kin Project was successful in reaching its desired outcomes – that is, whether there were demonstrable changes in participants’ beliefs, practices with children, and environmental quality.
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