Most home- and center-based child care providers offer coverage for parents who work 9-5pm on Monday-Friday. Parents working in industries like healthcare, service, manufacturing or retail, are often left devoid of available child care options while they work nontraditional hours (NTH), like on the weekends or overnight.   Some parents choose to leave their child with a family member or friend, but others can be faced with a choice to reduce or change their employment or pay out of pocket for a babysitter. The gap in nontraditional hour child care is complicated by existing provider shortages, concerns around quality, and parental trust in overnight care. Several states are taking steps to remedy this gap in their systems through strategies like implementing a tiered reimbursement rate system, prioritizing the recruitment of new providers, or supporting family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care. The universe of NTH child care providers is fragmented and while there is no single fix to fill every gap, Governors and child care agencies have the opportunity to employ creative solutions to address the needs of this subset of parents. 

On Wednesday, October 25th, the National Governors Association Children and Families team hosted a monthly Human Services Policy Advisors Institute Call on state options to support and expand nontraditional hour child care options, with presentations from researchers at the Urban Institute, and a state speaker from the Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services.   (author abstract)