The Children, Family, and Communities Program (CFC) at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation started exploring opportunities to improve early childhood outcomes in informal systems of care in 2014. As part of its initial exploration of this space, it provided a grant for Concept Hatchery to conduct research about the people, needs, and motivations of people using and working in informal care. Concept Hatchery is an innovation consultancy that uses qualitative, ethnographic-style research to uncover the complex environmental, cultural, and social factors that drive human behavior. The objective of the research was to develop an understanding of the experiences of informal care providers in California. Our aim was to uncover needs and opportunities that would inform and inspire positive change in the quality of informal child care in California. Specifically, we structured the research to provide insights into: - stakeholder perspectives and interactions between parents and care providers - needs and challenges for informal care providers - information and support systems relied on by informal care providers. (author abstract)