Thriving Providers Project Administers Direct Cash Transfers to Home-Based Caregivers in Transylvania County
Smart Start of Transylvania County (SSTC) is proud to announce our participation in the Thriving Providers Project (TPP) as an implementation site, in partnership with WeVision EarlyEd, an initiative of the Bainum Family Foundation. TPP, a Home Grown initiative, aims to improve the economic stability of home-based child care providers and the well-being of the families and children they care for through the administration of direct cash transfers. 30 home-based caregivers in Transylvania County selected to participate in TPP will receive $600 monthly for the 18 month duration of the initiative. Distribution of cash transfers began on October 15, 2025, and will continue through April 2027.
TPP seeks to increase the financial security of local Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care providers by offering guaranteed income. FFN providers are license-exempt caregivers who care for children in their home. FFN caregiving is the most commonly utilized form of child care in the U.S. and plays a crucial role in increasing child care capacity and supporting working parents, particularly in rural areas. But despite their essential role in the early education sector, FFN providers typically garner low-wages, with the average home-based provider earning only $18,399 annually. By administering direct cash transfers to providers, and allowing them the autonomy to spend these funds however they see best fit, TPP seeks to alleviate some of the financial burden that home-based providers experience, and reduce stress overall, so they can instead focus on providing the highest quality of care to children.
TPP is the third implementation project that SSTC has participated in through partnership with Home Grown. SSTC first worked with Home Grown as a part of Building Comprehensive Networks, an initiative that helped to inform the development of Transylvania County’s local FFN Care Network, which presently serves 75 home-based providers and 180 children ages 0-5. SSTC subsequently participated in Voices From the Home, a national collaborative focused on creating key advocacy messaging that centers the experiences and perspectives of providers, with the goal of increasing public awareness and support of FFN care.
Evidence shows that helping providers to meet their basic needs and improve their overall well-being has a direct, positive impact on the children in their care. Through the previous initiatives, we have gathered a wealth of data that demonstrates that home-based providers given equal access to educational resources, professional development opportunities, and community support, are enabled to provide high-quality, nurturing child care that is rooted in a deep personal investment in the lives of the children they care for. With this new initiative offering the opportunity to profoundly impact the financial lives of providers, SSTC is eager to discover how increased financial stability might impact early learning outcomes for participating families.
The impact of the direct cash transfers on providers’ well-being will be measured through monthly surveys and direct interviews with participating providers. Following the project’s conclusion, this data may be used to inform future policy recommendations intended to improve the quality of home-based child care and enhance the well-being of providers. SSTC is committed to advocating for FFN caregivers and supporting policies that benefit children and educators across all care environments, in alignment with our vision to see all children thrive.
We are hopeful that this initiative will not only improve the livelihoods of participating families, but will lead to compelling data that can help us to advocate for a child care system that better serves all educators, all families, and all children.
To learn more about our FFN Care Network, our advocacy initiatives, and our past projects with Home Grown, visit SSTC’s website: smartstarttransylvania.org
Written by: Aiyanna Lollis
