Supporting Home-Based Child Care Could Improve Availability and Affordability for Tennessee Families
High-quality, affordable child care prepares young children for success, yet many Tennessee families struggle to afford child care while providers struggle to keep costs low and pay their workforce living wages. High quality home-based child care can help Tennessee families find the care that they need.
Home-based child care takes place in a home rather than a center, school, or church. Home-based care can be provided by family, friends, or neighbors, in a family child care home, or in a group care home. This type of child care can be licensed or unlicensed, paid or unpaid, and the provider can be related or unrelated to the child.
Home-based child care is often informal and small scale.
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Child care providers supervise, protect, and meet the basic needs of children, provide instruction, and promote healthy child development. Child care is subject to regulations based on the number of children cared for, hours of operation, and relationship between care giver and child.
Unregulated care – Providers who care for four or fewer unrelated children can operate without a license. These providers are typically not reflected in child care data.
Licensed care – Family child care homes, group child care homes, and center-based child care must meet certain criteria to be issued a license by the Department of Human Services. There are several types of licenses, including an initial license, provisional license, or continuous license.
License-exempt – Some child care providers can operate without a license issued by the Department of Human Services, including those regulated through the Department of Education, church-related schools, and Boys and Girls Clubs, etc. Some early learning programs, like Head Start and Early Head Start, are regulated through the Department of Education.
Home-based child care can provide affordable, accessible care to help address Tennessee’s child care system challenges.
Our state lacks enough child care slots to meet demand.
Between 2018 and 2022, there were an average of 207,571 child care slots but more than 299,166 children whose parents were in the labor force, a gap of 91,595 child care slots.
53% of child care providers nationwide experienced a staffing shortage in 2024, and over half were under-enrolled due to staffing shortages. In Tennessee, staffing challenges are exacerbated by low wages; the annual wage for child care workers is $27,470 and 37% of early educator households participate in one or more public safety net programs.
37 Tennessee counties, mostly in rural areas, were considered child care deserts in 2024.
Child care is often unaffordable for working families.
The cost for center and home-based child care in Tennessee has increased 50% since 2019.
The cost of center-based child care is now 14.3% of the median income in Tennessee, when 7% is considered affordable.
Supporting home-based care can help address these challenges.
More Accessibility – Home-based care often operates with more flexible hours for parents working non-traditional hours, is more likely to be beneficial for dual-language families, and can support families in rural areas that face limited center-based options.
More Affordability – Home-based child care tends to be less expensive than center-based care.
Provide Opportunities for Professional Development – Arizona’s Kith and Kin Project offers a 14-week, two-hour support group training series for care providers to boost quality of care and promote safety.
Reduce Regulatory Burdens - Texas charges a flat fee for licensing of home-based child care, rather than a per-child fee. Colorado adopted protections in 2020 that prohibit Homeowners Associations (HOAs) from not allowing licensed home-based child care in residences.
Create Optional Pathways to Resources & Licensure - During COVID-19 pandemic, Louisiana improved the process for home-based providers to become registered and provided outreach to encourage registration. Registration, separate from licensure, enables home-based care providers to receive subsidies and supplies, and facilitates an optional pathway to licensure.