EP 3: Conversations on early care and education in Colorado

When people picture child care providers, many envision licensed professionals in settings outside the home. However, this is not always the case. Family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) providers may be viewed as informal caregivers, but they offer invaluable services to children across our state. By offering trusted, culturally competent, and often more inexpensive care to the families they serve, FFNs have played a major part in allowing families to stay afloat during the pandemic. For these reasons and more, it is critical the new Department of Early Childhood work to uplift the voices of FFNs in the transition process, and recognize them as invaluable contributors to the early care and education system. 

We continue our Department of Early Childhood miniseries with a discussion on FFNs and the important role they play in caring for our youngest Coloradans. Katie Lingenheisen, a member of the Rocky Mountain Preschool Coalition; and Cesiah Weidmann, FFN provider, offer their insight toward this commonly misunderstood component of our child care system. Katie and Cesiah discuss the importance of FFNs, how they have been impacted by the pandemic and the ways that FFNS are often left out of discussions in the child care sector. As the cost and availability of child care continue to burden families, FFNs have helped fill the gaps and ultimately allowed our economy to keep moving. Their work is essential, and it is time the early childhood system recognize it as such.