1. Coaching Family Child Care Providers- The Secret Ingredient
Barbara Sawyer, MA NHSA – Chicago, il
CATS, Inc April 9, 2017

2. Agenda Introductions/getting acquainted
The unique business that is family child care
Challenges of working with family child care providers
What does it take to be a great coach/mentor
Picture a great coach/provider relationship
Q & A
Wrap-up

3. If your favorite ice cream flavor is
Chocolate Go to Corner #1
Strawberry Go to Corner #2
Vanilla Go to Corner #3
None of the above or you don’t like ice cream
Go to Corner #4

4. In your corner
Introduce yourself – if there are more than 8 people in your corner introduce yourself to one other person. Answer the following in your introduction
Why you chose this session
Your favorite thing about being a coach
Your least favorite thing about being a coach

5. One more time If you’ve been coaching (or mentoring)
Less than one year Corner #1
1-2 years Corner #2
2-3 years Corner #3
More than 3 years Corner #4

6. When you get to the corner
Introduce yourself. If there are more than 8 people in your corner introduce yourself to just one. Use the following information in your introduction:
How long you’ve worked with family child care providers
Your favorite thing about family child care
Your least favorite thing about family child care

7. The unique business of family child care
Providers typically have small groups of children of mixed-ages
Family child care is usually regulated by state or county agencies
Family child care is almost always provided in a home environment where the provider – and often other family members – reside
Family child care programs allow siblings to be cared for in the same environment
Family child care programs often become extended families to the clients with whom they work

8. Challenges of coaching in family child care programs
Providers are often hesitant to work with unknowns – people or programs
Many providers find it difficult to be away from their programs if required
When there is only one provider, it can be difficult to schedule coach or mentor visits
There may be more interruptions in your visit than happen in other environments
Coaches often say that family child care providers are easily distracted during coaching or mentoring visits

9. What are the challenges
Take 60 seconds and think about the family child care providers and programs you’re familiar with. What are the challenges YOU face in working with them?
Identify a recorder at your table
Make a list of the challenges you face working with family child care providers
Don’t look for solutions to the challenges – even if you have one save it for later
Make sure that each person has time to share at least one challenge

10. Round Robin
Pass your list to the table to your right – each table should have a new list
Read the new list – how similar is it to the one your table created?
Choose a new recorder
Pick one challenge from the new list – try to choose a challenge that wasn’t on the list you created
As a group come up with as many suggestions as you can to resolve the issue you created

11. Good coaches have Open minds Good listening skills
Respect for the people they coach
An ability to build trust with the protégé
Willingness to coach from a strengths based perspective
Knowledge of what they’re coaching for or to
Sensitivity to the environment

12. Changing the lens
Do those skills change if we look through the lens of a provider?
What might look different?
What other skills does a good family child care coach need?
What should a good family child care coach know that might differ from what a good coach in a center based program knows?

13. What providers want coaches to know
Flexibility from a coach is critical
Knowledge about family child care as a part of the early childhood system is important
The work really is all about them – it is personal, includes their homes and families, and touches every aspect of their lives
Providers enter the field for a variety of reasons, including being with their own children
They stay in family child care because they fall in love with it
For family child care providers, relationships are the foundation for everything – this includes relationships with coaches

14. The Secret Ingredient
RESPECT is key to working successfully with family child care
Respect for the field itself
Respect for the individual provider
Respect for the choices they make
Respect for the work they do every day

15. What makes a good family child care provider/coach relationship?
Draw a picture, write a poem, create a word picture of what this looks like.
Everyone’s page should be different when you finish – just like your relationships with each family child care provider, this should have meaning to you.

16. Pulling it all together
Lingering questions???
Comments??
Final thoughts?