A Reimagining
of Child Care
We celebrate the legacy of Black Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care as a lineage of love, expertise, and community that has nurtured generations.
FFN care encompasses a spectrum of caregivers — from family like grandmothers and grandfathers to family friends and neighbors who have grown to be family like community aunties—all who share a genuine love in caring for the futures, joy, and brilliance of our children. Despite being the most common form of non-parental child care in the U.S., the body of research on FFN care in general is limited and particularly sparse on Black FFN care. NBCDI’s Reimagining Child Care (RCC) Initiative is an exploratory community project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to fill this gap through narrative and storytelling that uses a community centered initiative to inform policy and strengthen advocacy.
why this work is vital
FFN providers are the largest source of non-parental child care for families in the U.S. and the most frequently used form of care for infants and toddlers (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2008).
Over 5 million FFN caregivers provide care to 11.5 million children (National Survey of Early Care and Education, 2019).
A Reclamation of Black Care
NBCDI’S REIMAGINING CHILD CARE INITIATIVE
January
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awards Reimagining Child Care grant to the National Black Child Development Institute.
NBCDI Focus: Elevate the role of Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care in the lives of Black children and family.
NBCDI embarks on planning and implementing a national campaign to educate the public and highlight the benefits of FFN care.
The initiative includes:
1) implementing a digital campaign to promote the history of FFN care and its importance to the Black community;
2) hosting a virtual engagement about FFN care; and
3) mobilizing our National Affiliate Network to advocate for FFN care.
NBCDI compilles research on Black FFN Care to inform the initiative’s activities.
April
Our public awareness campaign is launched in a two-part webinar series, Celebrating the vital role of Black Women FFN Providers, beginning with the perspectives of guest speakers from the National Association for Family Child Care and Child Trends.
August
Second webinar of Celebrating Black Women FFN providers series presented, with the state level perspectives from three BCDI Villages.
PHASE 2 — RCC 2.0
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
PHASE 1 — RCC 1.0
January
NBCDI awarded second grant to conduct Internal Explorations (monthly presentation and discussion sessions) with BCDI Villages focused on Black FFN care in their communities.
Information gained through expert presentations and BCDI discussions establish the foundation for exploratory data collection in 2025 with Black FFN providers and Black families who use FFN care.
NBCDI’s Policy & Research Team conducts Afrofuturist Explorations (exploratory data collection infused with the principles of Afrofuturism) with Black FFN providers and families in the communities of four RCC Villages.
August
Explorations completed with Black providers and families, in community, yield information that broadens understanding of the vital role of FFN care for Black families.
Analysis of stories shared by providers and families in spoken, written word, and creative art forms about their perspectives and experiences of Black FFN care.
Black FFN Child Care Exhibit featured in NBCDI’s National Conference, providing visitors an immersive view of the history, present, and imagined future of Black FFN care.
Analysis of stories shared collected in RCC 2.0 Explorations is summarized and shared with the field.
NBCDI’S REIMAGINING CHILD CARE INITIATIVE
PHASE 1 — RCC 1.0
2022
January
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awards Reimagining Child Care grant to the National Child Black Development Institute.
NBCDI Focus: Elevate the role of Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care in the lives of Black children and family.
NBCDI embarks on planning and implementing a national campaign to educate the public and highlight the benefits of FFN care.
The initiative includes:
1) implementing a digital campaign to promote the history of FFN care and its importance to the Black community;
2) hosting a virtual engagement about FFN care; and
3) mobilizing our National Affiliate Network to advocate for FFN care.
2023
NBCDI compilles research on Black FFN Care to inform the initiative’s activities.
April
Our public awareness campaign is launched in a two-part webinar series,Celebrating the vital role of Black Women FFN Providers, beginning with the perspectives of guest speakers from the National Association for Family Child Care and Child Trends.
August
Second webinar of Celebrating Black Women FFN provider series presented, with the state level perspectives from three BCDI Villages.
PHASE 2 — RCC 2.0
2024
January
NBCDI awarded second grant to conduct Internal Explorations (monthly presentation and discussion sessions) with BCDI Villages focused on Black FFN care in their communities.
Information gained through expert presentations and BCDI discussions establish the foundation for exploratory data collection in 2025 with Black FFN providers and Black families who use FFN care.
2025
NBCDI’s Policy & Research Team conducts Afrofuturist Explorations (exploratory data collection infused with the principles of Afrofuturism) with Black FFN providers and families in the communities of four RCC Villages.
August
Explorations completed with Black providers and families, in community, yield information that broadens understanding of the vital role of FFN care for Black families.
Analysis of stories shared by providers and families in spoken, written word, and creative art forms about their perspectives and experiences of Black FFN care.
Black FFN Child Care Exhibit featured in NBCDI’s National Conference, providing visitors an immersive view of the history, present, and imagined future of Black FFN care.
2026
Analysis of stories shared collected in RCC 2.0 Explorations is summarized and shared with the field.
Beginning in January 2022, the National Black Child Development Institute—through support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation—embarked on a national communications driven campaign to elevate the often-unseen and undervalued role of FFN care and it’s impacts on Black children and families’ daily lives. Through implementing a digital campaign and hosting virtual conversations and panels, NBCDI worked to educate the public about the history, value, and benefits of FFN care in Black communities.
Video Description: Former Vice President of Policy, Dr. Lee Johnson III talks with Erica Phillips, Executive Director of The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), and Dr. Chrishana Lloyd, Research Scholar at Child Trends about how Black Women Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) providers have historically been a cornerstone of community-based care, and highlight the unique strengths they bring to their work.
Our Legacy of
Child Care Immersive Exhibit
Celebrate the legacy of Black Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care by exploring our Legacy of Child Care Exhibit that elevates the lineage of love, creativity, and community that has nurtured generations. We invite you to take a journey with us — one that begins in our ancestral homelands of Africa, travels through centuries of resilience, and extends into the Afrofuturist vision we are co-creating. Along this path, you’ll encounter the joy, ingenuity, and communal power that has always defined Black caregiving traditions.
Sankofa: Looking Back to Dream Forward
In the spirit of Sankofa, this exhibit is both a remembrance and a re-imagining. It honors the brilliance of our ancestors while daring us to dream forward through an Afrofuturist lens that centers Black children as visionaries of what’s possible. This is more than reflection — it’s a call to action. We are invited to move from nostalgia to imagination, from survival to design, and to envision a future where systems truly serve Black children’s brilliance.
Listen to Honest Truths from an FFN Provider or Parent
Next Phase of This Work
The second phase of this work, which began in August 2024, serves as a powerful reclamation of our narratives and a declaration that Black care is steeped in expertise, quality, and community. It is also grounded in a truth that honors our stories as valid sources of research and data necessary to shape the systems we envision; centered in justice, designed with love, and well resourced. Throughout 2024 and 2025, NBCDI developed and implemented a community-centered initiative as a bold reclaiming and reimagining of Family, Friend, and Neighbor care narratives. With Afrofuturism as our guide, we tapped into the expertise, knowledge, and experiences of 51 Black FFN child care providers and families; our staff; and Black Child Development Institute (BCDI) Village leaders as storytellers shaping new narratives. We are excited to share more about this work soon!
Family Friend and Neighbor Care Stories
Discover the rich, lived experiences of our Policy & Research team as we shape new narratives by honoring the Family, Friend and Neighbor Care providers in their lives.
From Generation to Generation with Love
| Alycia Hardy
A Lineage of Care Woven in Love, Joy and Legacy
| Melanie Latson
My FFN Journey: Finding Home, Identity and Community in the Care of Family, Friend, and Neighbors
| Kim Keating