Voices of the Family Child Care Workforce in New Jersey: Findings from a Statewide Survey of Providers. Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative

Abstract

The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is part of a multi-center collaborative project focused on child care in New Jersey. The Heldrich Center works alongside the Center for Women and Work and the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, with support and collaboration from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. This report highlights findings from the Heldrich Center's survey of family child care (FCC) providers in New Jersey. In 2024, the research team designed and deployed a survey for the FCC provider workforce in New Jersey. The survey captured FCC providers' (N=208) insights on key topic areas, including providers' experiences working in child care, motivations for entering and staying in the field, job satisfaction, work environment, career pathways, and suggestions for improving work in the child care field. These insights are critical in understanding the work dynamics of FCC providers, which constitute a segment of the child care workforce that has historically been understudied but plays a vital role in the provision of care within communities.