Stay & Play
Stay & Play was a program specifically designed to serve and support the needs of informal childcare providers and the children in their care.
The project’s primary goals were to help California public libraries:
Reach and engage the growing population of informal childcare providers
Photo of a flyer in an acrylic stand that reads “Gross Motor Skills” on the floor next to colorful pop-up mounds.
Connect informal caregivers to library and community resources, and to each other
Photo of an adult and child playing together.
Promote and model early learning practices
Photo of two adults and two children interacting and playing together with an arts activity.
The Need
In California, roughly 80 percent of children under two and 40 percent of children under the age of five are cared for by informal childcare providers, often referred to as Family, Friends, and Neighbors or FFNs.
Informal childcare providers often lack access to the information, resources, and support that is available to formal, licensed child care providers.1 Nonetheless, informal caregivers provide many hours of care and have a profound impact on the lives of the children in their care during the formative early developmental years.
Libraries are uniquely positioned to responsively support this important population of informal childcare providers with information, resources, and community connections.
Impact
Informal caregivers who participated in Stay & Play programs reported overall positive outcomes:
- 89% reported they learned how young children develop
- 95% reported that they help the children they care for get ready to read
- 94% reported seeing themselves as a kind of teacher to the children they care for
- 80% reported other caregivers in the program support them as caregivers
- 93% reported library staff support them as caregivers
My grandson has speech problems and at home doesn’t like to read but that has changed since we have been coming here. In the beginning he didn’t want to wait for story & song to be over but now does the song and listens to story… He loves coming to Stay & Play.
Caregiver
…we have seen so many positive outcomes from this program. Parents, caregivers, FFNs and children enjoy the program as it has provided a space for them to connect with each other. Many caregivers have been able to obtain information or even connect with community organizations that can help them obtain different services for the children they care for.
Participating Library Staff
FFNs provide a vital service that makes it possible for families to bring up healthy, smart, and safe kids. Yet they often do so with minimum of compensation, visibility and appreciation. This program allowed [the library] to serve FFNs directly and plant seeds for even stronger early childhood outcomes in our city.
Participating Library Staff
2023/2024 Participating Libraries
View a map of the Stay & Play library locations
- Alameda County Library – San Lorenzo Library
- Alameda County Library – Fremont Main Library
- Altadena Library District – Main Library
- Anaheim Public Library – Canyon Hills Branch Library
- Anaheim Public Library – Sunkist Branch Library
- Berkeley Public Library – West Branch Library
- Chula Vista Public Library – Civic Center Library
- Colusa County Free Library
- Del Norte County Library District
- Fresno County Public Library – Betty Rodriguez Regional Library
- Kern County Library – Beale Memorial Library
- Kern County Library – Ridgecrest Branch Library
- Kings County Public Library – Avenal Branch Library
- Monterey County Free Libraries – Seaside Branch Library
- National City Public Library
- Nevada County Library – Madelyn Helling Library
- OC Public Libraries – Tustin Branch Library
- San Diego Public Library – Mountain View/Beckwourth Library
- San Diego Public Library – Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch
- San Leandro Public Library – Main Library
- San Mateo County Libraries – North Fair Oaks Library
- San Mateo County Libraries – East Palo Alto Library
- Santa Fe Springs City Library
- Santa Maria Public Library
- Sonoma County Library – Rincon Valley Regional Library
- Sonoma County Library – Rohnert Park – Cotati Regional Library
- Stanislaus County Library – Modesto Library
- Tehama County Library – Red Bluff Branch Library
- Tulare County Library – Lindsay Branch
- Tulare County Library – Literacy Center
- Whittier Public Library – Central Library
- Whittier Public Library – Whittwood Branch Library
- Woodland Public Library
Mentor Libraries
- Nevada County Library – Grass Valley Library
- Oceanside Public Library
- Sacramento Public Library – South Natomas Library
- Santa Barbara Public Library – Eastside Branch
Toolkit
The Stay & Play toolkit contains concrete steps, resources, and examples to assist libraries in engaging and supporting informal caregivers in their own communities.
Acknowledgements
Stay & Play was a collaborative project of the Califa Group and the California State Library, made possible with funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.