"We need to try to go higher": An examination of Somali Family Child Care providers' participation in a professional development program in the United States.

This article examines the experiences of Somali refugee Family Child Care (FCC) providers in the United States who participated in the Steps to Family Child Care Success Program (STEPS), a year-long professional development initiative embedded in an ethnic community based organization (ECBO). Using a community resilience framework, the study identifies barriers faced by providers—including language challenges, adapting to U.S. business practices, and navigating FCC regulations—and highlights how providers draw on their community identity, cohort support, and ECBO resources to overcome these obstacles. The STEPS program's culturally and linguistically responsive, cohort-based model, facilitated by cultural navigators and business counselors from the community, supports providers' economic stability and professional growth. Findings suggest that such strengths-based, community-embedded professional development approaches can better meet the unique needs of home-based providers from refugee backgrounds and serve as a model for early childhood education and care (ECEC) initiatives aiming to support diverse communities.