San Mateo County Nanny Survey
A Collaboration with San Mateo County Child Care Partnership Council and TIFFAN
The childcare model is broken in America, without a clear feeder system of qualified individuals to meet the supply side of care. There are no Federal or State recognized standards of care or best practices for nannies to inform their work or to give parents a level of trust in the person they hire. Anyone can say they want to care for children and post a notice online without the need to have a resume, references, health and safety trainings or a criminal background check. There are no recognized educational pathways for nannies. In most cities and counties nannies are not eligible for Federal and State funded childcare trainings and certification/available for other license-exempt in-home childcare providers.
This report covers nanny opinions on higher-level education, job training with employment opportunities and mentoring supports. Languages spoken, ethnicity, country of origin and years of nanny experience were collected on all respondents. This report begins with a summary of the key findings drawn from the survey analysis and strategic recommendations for San Mateo County’s childcare initiatives for 2023 and beyond. The recommendations are followed by detailed findings, based on cross-tabulation analysis of the survey data.
specifically, we examine:
Nannies’ current level of satisfaction with higher-level nanny education, job training with employment opportunities and mentoring supports.
Nannies’ level of interest if these opportunities were available.
Nannies’ ideas about what supports they needed.
Demographic differences of each segment.
key findings
San Mateo County nannies are committed to their profession, twice as likely to be foreign-born and hold less than an associate degree.
Nearly half of San Mateo County nannies are not satisfied with the current opportunities for professional growth, job training, and higher education
Nannies with many years of experience want certification, training, mentoring, tech support and to reach licensed childcare standards
Over 70% of foreign-born nannies are Spanish speaking. They have less education (compared to U.S-born) and are more likely to participate in a job training program with mentorship supports.
San Mateo County nannies find work in the County. 98% of nannies that live in San Mateo County also work in San Mateo County. These nannies do not secure employment outside of San Mateo County, either because there are sufficient jobs available, or because they prefer to work close to home.
Unlike the expectation that nannies work for high-income families, San Mateo County nannies find work in cities throughout the County, including in cities that are not predominantly high income.
discussion
A nearly half of San Mateo County nannies are dissatisfied with the current availability of higher-level education, job training, mentoring and tech supports. This is expectable given there are no recognized standards or career pathways for nannies. Despite this lack of supports, there is a lot of positivity. Nannies with many years of experience want to be educated, they want more training and value mentor, and tech supports. It is important to acknowledge that San Mateo County nannies are enthusiastic for education and professionalization.
There are many myths and stigmas of who nannies are and who they work for. The grey market of nanny care is fertile ground for myths and stigmas to develop. The invisibility of nannies from institutions where childcare workforce data is collected further reinforces these perceptions. Because nannies work in the shadows of care, they are not seen. Institutions and individuals cannot know what is there if it is invisible. This survey is a beginning to gather meaningful data on the nanny workforce to more clearly understand who provides nanny care, to whom and the quality of care provided.
A large population of nannies was recruited from outside the study area of San Mateo County. We compared the sample of nannies from outside the study area to those in San Mateo County to make sure that the populations were similar. The populations were indeed comparable based on years’ experience providing childcare, level of education, and ethnicity. A chi-square test of independence, a statistical test of comparability, did not indicate any significant differences between populations on these demographic characteristics.
recommendations
Develop bi-lingual education and job training programs for nannies with mentoring and tech supports available.
Offer classes on evenings and weekends to accommodate working nannies.
Develop programs with content unique to nannying utilizing the knowledge and experience of nannies 'in the field'.
Provide certificates and credentials from recognized higher-education institutions and community-based organizations.
Gather data to inform public policy and childcare initiatives that meet the growing demand for quality childcare, and to support all members of the child care workforce
Promote existing resources, such as professional development, trainings, coursework, etc., that already exist in San Mateo County through 4Cs, community colleges and nonprofit organizations.