Child care providers navigate a challenging and competitive industry, where the substantial cost of providing safe, quality care for children meeting all state standards has to be balanced against families' ability and willingness to pay for care. Operating a business where narrow profit margins can turn into significant deficits from one week to…

This report presents the results of a nationwide survey of state agencies charged with regulating or licensing family child care. An introduction contains information on survey methodology, a summary of regulatory requirements for family child care homes and group (large) child care homes, and a survey question and answer summary. The body of the…