Despite being severely under-resourced and under-recognized, home-based child care has been the most resilient child care option during the pandemic; approximately two thirds of home-based providers continued to offer care primarily to essential workers. With continued closures and disruptions to school and employment as a result of the pandemic, reliance on home-based child care will persist. Existing attributes of home-based child care align to the needs of the current crisis: small groups with consistent caregivers; prior familial relationships and deep attachments; shared culture/language/child rearing practices; and flexibility in an uncertain employment environment. Home-based providers disproportionately serve marginalized children and families (low-income, minority, those with special needs, and those working shift schedules) and are themselves primarily low-income women of color. Caregivers and providers who care for young children, support their early development and learning, and enable parents to work, need distinct, timely and appropriate support. Federal action can assure the critical resources to do this. Any effort to ensure equitable access to child care will substantially include home-based child care providers, both licensed and unlicensed. That's why federal investments in child care must prioritize increasing the quality of and access to home-based child care. The home-based child care sector needs dedicated, additional funding that: 1. Increases reimbursement for providers to sustain their operations and serve more families, and 2. Builds essential infrastructure for them in the form of networks. (author abstract)