Exploring Job Burnout Among Family Child Care Providers Who Participate in the Child Care Subsidy System

Background and Purpose: Family child care (FCC), i.e., non-parental child care operated in a provider’s home, serves approximately 20% of U.S. children under the age of 5 who are engaged in weekly nonparental care. Child care subsidies, funded by the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), are essential for facilitating access to child care for low-income families. FCC providers, who are disproportionately women of color compared with their center-based counterparts, play a vital role in delivering subsidized child care. However, concerns have arisen about the declining participation of FCC providers in the child care subsidy system, and job burnout among FCC providers has been reported as one reason for their work exit. Our study is the first to examine the factors associated with burnout among FCC providers providing subsidized care.

Methods: Drawing on survey data from a sample of 903 subsidized FCC providers in Massachusetts, and from two Massachusetts administrative data sets, this study examined an array of potential correlates associated with provider burnout. The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model posits that high job demands and constrained resources play critical roles in the development of burnout among employees. Guided by the JD-R model, our analysis used stepwise linear regression models by sequentially adding sets of correlates related to providers' demographic characteristics, job demands, and job resources, respectively, to understand the contribution of each set of variables in explaining provider burnout.

Results: Results showed that job demand variables representing administrative challenges, children’s social-emotional challenges, and parent disengagement were significantly associated with increases in burnout. Related to job resources, providers’ utilization of supportive services for children and families and access to professional development were significantly associated with decreased burnout. Selected demographic characteristics accounted for 5% of the variance in burnout scores (R²=0.05, Adjusted R²=0.04). Adding job demand variables increased the model fit to 11% (R²=0.11, Adjusted R²=0.09), indicating that job demands explain an additional 6% of the variance in burnout scores. Adding job resource variables further increased the model fit to 17% (R²=0.17, Adjusted R²=0.14), suggesting that job resources account for an additional 6% of burnout variance, beyond the influences of demographic controls and job demand factors.

Conclusions and Implications: Understanding subsidized FCC providers’ experiences of burnout and identifying malleable factors that can help reduce their level of burnout will contribute to the development of effective supports. Findings suggest that enhancing access to professional development and community resources to support underserved children and reducing administrative burden associated with the subsidy system may be potential strategies for mitigating burnout among subsidized FCC providers. This may not only enhance the quality of care provided to subsidy-receiving children and families, but also help prevent FCCs from exiting from the subsidy system or closing altogether. Findings are particularly relevant to Massachusetts state policymakers as they expand the number of children served by the subsidy program and seek ways to strengthen the child care workforce.