As public experts advise against large group convenings and child care centers and schools across the country are closing, home-based child care is positioned as the primary care arrangement for the essential workforce during this public health crisis. Given the critical role that home-based child care providers play, the challenges they currently face, and the necessity of preserving this fundamental infrastructure during and after this crisis, it is imperative that federal, state, and local governments focus resources and supportive policies on home-based child care providers. (author abstract)