Lighting Up Louisiana Family Child Care: NAFCC Is Putting Family Child Care on the Map

Lighting Up Louisiana Family Child Care: NAFCC Is Putting Family Child Care on the Map

Late last month, family child care educators from across Louisiana gathered in New Orleans to celebrate more than the completion of a leadership fellowship. The occasion highlighted a vital part of Louisiana’s early childhood landscape that often goes unseen: home-based educators who provide children with high-quality early learning while offering families trusted and accessible care.

The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) celebrated its inaugural Louisiana Leaders Shaping Leaders Cohort I on September 18 at the Fire House Loft, recognizing 10 educators representing communities across Orleans, St. Tammany, Vernon, Ouachita, East Jefferson and West Jefferson.

The celebration, co-hosted by Zakenya Perry Neely, Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Market Solutions at NAFCC, and Mischell Davis, Louisiana Leaders Shaping Leaders Program Manager, honored Dacia Dumas, Danielle Varnado, Taylor King, Danielle Poree’, Shantelle Washington, JoAnn Summers, Crystal Hudson, NaKole Armstrong, Emily Acosta and Yanina Puerto.

These educators are more than child care providers. They are small business owners, early childhood professionals, community anchors and trusted partners to families. Their home-based programs often provide flexible and affordable options for parents, including those working nontraditional hours or living in communities where child care choices are limited.

Yet family child care educators have historically been underrepresented in many of the spaces where policies, investments and systems affecting early childhood education are shaped. NAFCC is working to change that.

Building Leadership Where Leadership Already Exists

NAFCC is a national organization dedicated to strengthening family child care through professional development, accreditation, advocacy, leadership and economic opportunity.

Its Louisiana fellowship grew from the national Leaders Shaping Leaders program and is designed to help educators strengthen their leadership, advocate for their profession, build sustainable businesses and increase their influence within the early childhood field.

“When we invest in family child care educators, we are investing in children, families, small businesses and entire communities,” Neely said. “Leaders Shaping Leaders is about recognizing the leadership that already exists and giving it greater visibility, opportunity and influence.”

Neely also emphasized the partnerships that made the Louisiana initiative possible, including TrainingGrounds, 4PXP, the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children and support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Melanie Richardson, Executive Director and Co-Founder of TrainingGrounds, said the partnership builds on existing efforts to strengthen Louisiana’s family child care network.

“We are proud to partner with the National Association for Family Child Care and honored to see five TrainingGrounds Home Field Advantage alumni participate in NAFCC’s leadership program this year,” Richardson said. “Together, we are strengthening family child care by expanding providers’ access to resources, professional development and leadership opportunities.”

Investing in Louisiana’s Early Childhood System

Dr. Deidre Johnson Burel, Senior Program Officer for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Louisiana, attended the celebration and emphasized the importance of building the voice and influence of family child care providers.

“The first cohort of Leaders Shaping Leaders in Louisiana is helping build the voice and power of family childcare providers,” Burel said, noting that the investment is part of a broader ecosystem of support for early childhood education across Louisiana.

That collaboration is critical because child care extends far beyond the classroom or home. Reliable, high-quality care allows parents to work, pursue education and support their families while contributing to local economies. Supporting educators with professional networks, business resources and leadership opportunities can strengthen the entire system.

Elevating Louisiana’s Home-Based Educators

The graduation of Louisiana’s first Leaders Shaping Leaders cohort represents a beginning rather than an ending.

NAFCC’s growing presence in Louisiana reflects a larger goal of moving family child care from the margins to the center of conversations about children, families, workforce development and economic opportunity. That means recognizing home-based educators not simply as caregivers, but as professionals, entrepreneurs, advocates and community leaders.

Louisiana now has an opportunity to demonstrate what is possible when those closest to children and families are also helping shape the systems designed to serve them.

On this day, 10 Louisiana educators stood together as graduates and leaders representing the possibilities created by intentional investment in family child care.