On a Saturday morning in June, the sunroom at Bridgeport's Discovery Science Center & Planetarium was filled with a “Pomp and Circumstance” atmosphere as 20 women stepped forward, one by one, to receive their certificates after completing an intensive 10-week business course.
All graduates of the program will run home-based small businesses that support Connecticut's economy — some already in business, others looking to get started soon in the high-demand child care sector.
“You provide a vital service that enables your community to thrive,” Jill Keating-Herbst of All Our Kind, a nonprofit that runs the business training program, told the graduates in her welcoming remarks.
“You're teachers. You're financial directors. You're head chefs,” Herbst said, pausing for effect, “You're community relations managers, parent engagement specialists, gardeners, maintenance staff, nurses, all rolled into one.”
Connecticut's early childhood care and education sector serves thousands of working parents across the state and takes many forms, from private nannies to state-funded child care centers with multiple classrooms.
Most child care operators are private, but they get revenue from state-funded Care 4 Kids vouchers and federal programs such as Head Start, which cover some or all of the costs of child care for low-income parents. Running a child care business of any size is complicated: navigating public subsidy systems, making sure parents pay required contributions and, in some cases, raising money to fill shortfalls.
Connecticut's 1,800 home child care educators, who typically care for six to nine children and use their homes as child care centers, have to be extremely flexible.
Many child care centers provide evening and weekend care when parents have irregular work schedules. They are locally based and speak multiple languages. They often help parents understand and apply for grants and assist with the paperwork. If a family is removed from one program, child care centers can help them find another.
“We're the main hub for parents to go to work with the peace of mind and confidence that their kids are in a safe place,” said Waterbury operator Angelica Cervantes, who has participated in several All Our Kin programs since the program's inception in 2015, including this year's business series.
“As we've been told throughout the pandemic, we are essential workers,” Cervantes said.
That could make it difficult for these small businesses to turn a profit or even break even, but the financial health and stability of the child care system is crucial to working parents and, in turn, the employers who depend on them.
That's why All Our Kin offers business and accounting programs, Keating-Herbst said in an interview.
“Having these business skills will allow educators to run their businesses more efficiently and ideally build businesses that can support their families and continue to provide support in their communities,” she said. “Any business runs the risk of not being successful if it's not run well.”
All Our Kin's programs are free to home-based childcare teachers. The organization helps startups get licensed and often visits caregivers' homes to help them set up their spaces. It also offers workshops and coaching on child development, literacy, special needs and other educational topics.
Once they're ready, educators can take a 10-week business series, which is at least three hours of instruction per week on marketing, tax record-keeping, contracts, risk management, and basic accounting. (They can also add on a three-week supplemental accounting course.) The organization helps educators find and apply for grant programs that can help them upgrade or expand their facilities.
In Connecticut, approximately 650 providers have taken All Our Kin business training.
It's not easy: seasoned educators, some of whom have years of experience working with children and families, are not always eager to tackle this particular course material.
“At first, I had no motivation,” Marcia Colon told her fellow graduates with a smile during the ceremony. “I had no idea about a lot of the concepts.”
But things have changed, she said, and she thanks her instructors for their patience. “I now understand what I do on a day-to-day basis and how to run this business,” she said. “Not only have I been prepared to be successful in the daycare business, but I've also learned general skills that I can apply for the rest of my life.”
Patricia Santos, a teacher and coach in All Our Kin's bilingual business program, said every educator she's worked with in the two years since she joined is still in business — and many have plans to expand.
“We watch them grow,” Santos said, “and when they open up, and they have one more child, or two, or three, we're with them, and then six months later the facility is full.”
All Our Kin's teaching sessions often last for many months longer than that, Santos said, and many graduates continue their professional development by taking additional courses. Some, like Cervantes, who has been active since 2015, even train to become instructors themselves.
Educators also build strong connections with one another through this experience, building professional networks that can leverage resources or chat on WhatsApp during nap time.
This is important in a sector like childcare, where it can feel so isolating – and is key to sustainability for these small businesses.
“The best part is that you get ongoing, constant support,” said Janelle Cooper, one of this spring's business series graduates. “No matter what problems you run into, you can bounce back.”
Cooper raised her children on her own and often struggled financially in her younger years. Now that her children are older, she felt a calling to help single mothers in their early adulthood. She wants to start a business that provides shelter and child care for mothers and helps young women pursue their dreams. “I'm trying to give back and be a resource,” she said.
At the same time, Cooper will be guiding and supporting All Our Kin. she Make your dreams come true.
“They've become a community that we can now turn to for resources that we need,” Cooper said. “I'm ecstatic.”
Related article:
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- Lamont's child care reform plan faces a lot of backlash
- Report: Connecticut children facing fewer childcare and preschool slots
