Every year, hundreds of dedicated family child care (FCC) professionals come together at the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) conference to share insights, explore new strategies, and champion the future of home-based early childhood education.
2025 was no exception.
All Our Kin staff members, along with a dedicated group of educators, made the trip to Dallas, TX, for three days of workshops, speakers, and networking opportunities.
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From the event aptly titled “Bigger, Better, Bolder: A New Legacy for FCC!”, here are three themes we saw unfold:
1. FCC Educators are Powerful Leaders
The strength, deep knowledge, and expertise residing within the FCC community were clear throughout the conference.
“The power of the FCC educator was evident. Educators with over 25 years’ of experience shared their expertise as presenters, with leaders shaping leaders, hosts, and panelists. They gave practical guidance on running quality home-based learning environments, business tips, sustainability strategies, and mentorship.”
- Kelly Ramsey, Network Development Strategist, All Our Kin
The event provided a platform to highlight the mentorship of these early care professionals through educator-led workshops, collaborative sessions, and motivating keynotes.
“At the NAFCC conference, I met so many inspiring provider-led associations who are doing essential work to lift the field in the face of many challenges.
From sharing resources, engaging in policy and advocacy, and providing peer mentorship, to seeking training in the All Our Kin Business Series to bring it to their community, they recognize a need and work tirelessly to address it.”
- Alison Wunder Stahl, Senior Director of Partnership Strategy, All Our Kin
2. Educators are Committed to Continuous Quality and Growth
The conference reinforced the importance of continuous learning and professional development. Educators expressed their gratitude for opportunities to expand their knowledge, emphasizing how important organizations like NAFCC are in supporting them throughout their journey.
“It was truly an honor for me to witness three educators I work with achieve their dreams. They undertook a lengthy journey with All Our Kin that included numerous events, obtaining their licenses, completing the business series, receiving coaching and support for their CDA, and support for earning NAFCC accreditation, ultimately being honored at the conference.”
- Luz Martinez, Bilingual Education Coach / Facilitator, All Our Kin
This feeling of always wanting to grow and learn was strong at the conference. It demonstrated how much these amazing educators encourage each other and come together, all working to uplift the family child care profession.
“La experiencia fue muy maravillosa, estuvimos unidas y todas las cosas que aprendimos en la conferencia. NAFCC ha sido lo mejor que ha surgido para nosotras las educadoras de cuidado infantil en el hogar.”
“The experience was wonderful. We were united, and we learned so much at the conference. NAFCC has been the best thing that has happened to us as home child care educators.”
- Josefina Rosario, JJ Family Home Daycare
3. Educators are United
The sense of unity and mutual support at NAFCC 202 was hard to miss.
As busy as educators are day-to-day, they still came together to share their knowledge and guidance on everything from running small businesses to building high-quality learning environments.
Seeing educators from all over the country connect and the spirit of collaboration and mentorship was inspiring.
“It really opened my eyes to how important family childcare is, not just in our own state, but all across the country. I loved getting the chance to connect with educators from different places.”
- Patricia Santos, Bilingual Business Coach, All Our Kin
“Además la gran emoción que sentí y que me llevé de poder compartir con todas las educadoras y educadores de la primera infancia de los diversos estados que conforman los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica y ver una vez más de los empoderadas que están cada una de las educadoras de la primera infancia."
“In addition, I felt great excitement and was thrilled to be able to share with all the early childhood educators from the various states that make up the United States of America, and to see once again how empowered each of the early childhood educators is.”
- Hilda Capellan, Tia Hilda's Day Care
Bigger, Better, Bolder
NAFCC 2025 underscored the incredible strength within the family child care community. Educators are a powerful, united, and essential force in their communities. They’re natural leaders, and their deep expertise in early childhood education, as well as entrepreneurship, makes them pillars of their communities.
“This is a challenging time for family child care and early childhood education, but seeing the strength of all the people at this conference, we can make a difference for educators nationwide.”
- Kyla McLaughlin, Partnership Manager, All Our Kin
The collective commitment of educators and those who support them will continue to build a "Bigger, Better, Bolder" legacy for family child care.
For family child care educators in Connecticut and New York:
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