Opportunities for Child Care Sites

Fillmore Commercial Real Estate has been working with a number of applicants for New York City School Charters. In that vein, we have realized that there is an opportunity for well-established child care agencies utilizing either Universal Pre-K or Head Start programs to be located on-site at new charter school locations.

In the current environment, the charter school system allows private individuals to go through a rigorous examination process to apply for a license to operate a New York City public school as a charter school. The legislature has lifted the cap in New York City allowing for additional charter schools to be licensed within the five boroughs. Currently there are approximately thirty applications pending for the Brooklyn area.

If and when these charters are granted, they will be opening new elementary and secondary schools within various school districts throughout the borough.

These schools need facilities within which to operate and Fillmore Commercial Real Estate is assisting these applicants in locating structures suitable for housing public schools. In many instances landlords are building out new structures, either from the ground up or through extensive internal rehabilitation. These construction efforts result in a state-of-the-art, modern facility.

Since these new facilities will house kindergarten grades to fifth or eighth grades, the sites must meet all the requirements and criteria necessary for Universal Pre-K and Head Start programs.
Certain of our charter applicants have inquired about the possibility of housing Universal Pre-K or Head Start programs within their buildings. This, in our estimation, is a “win-win” situation. There is a great deal of flexibility at this time in the space that will be made available to the Universal Pre-K or Head Start programs and while we are in this planning stage, it is the perfect time to agree on the size of the space needed.

Additionally, the rent will be reasonable inasmuch as it is subsumed in a larger rental for the entire facility. Additionally, other parts of the facility will be made available for use by the sub-tenant such as cafeteria, gymnasium, music rooms, computer labs, etc.
If you are an established child care agency interested in this type of arrangement, I would request that you contact me.

James F. Clarke, Corp. VP/Division Manager
Fillmore Commercial Real Estate
2990 Avenue U
Brooklyn, NY 11229
Tel. 718-907-1127
Fax 718-368-3721

Blog For October 27th, 2008

For the last few blogs entries I have highlighted some of the new or crucial features of the reenacted Article 47 New York City Child Care Regulations for child care center programs.

Typically most child care programs are so burdened with day to day administrative tasks it is almost impossible to find an extra moment to read new materials. However it is crucial that you have this information. These are ongoing operational procedures that you won’t be able to correct when it’s time for program review. And, as always, not strictly adhering to regulations in the operation of your center exposes you to greater liability if there is an accident or mistake.

Section 47.31 of the regulations describes a child care center’s responsibility in regards to medication administration. It states that: “A child care center is required to establish a written policy as to whether it will or will not administer medication to children and incorporate that policy in the center’s health care plan”. It further states that “if a center chooses to administer medications to children it shall designate a health care consultant of record, who shall be a health care provider as defined in this Article. The permittee (child care program) shall confer with the health care consultant and shall obtain approval of the consultant for the portion of the health care plan regarding policies and procedures related to the administration of medications”.
Section 47.31 is a couple of pages of information regarding the administration of medication to children, but I strongly urge you to read the entire section. The regulations can be found on the DOHMH website www.nyc.gov/dohmh

In plain English, the regulation is advising centers that if you choose to administer medication to children upon the request of their parents, you must engage a health care consultant who is recognized by DOHMH. This consultant will help you to develop a medication administration plan that will meet the approval of the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). The plan must include staff that has MAT (Medication Administration Training) certification in order to administer medication.

Of course centers have a right to choose not to administer medication. If you make that decision it should be clearly stated in your operational policies and procedures. However working parents often find themselves facing circumstances where they need the child care center’s help and support in administering a daily or hourly medication. If, after careful consideration of the pros and cons of medication administration you decide yes, CCR&R programs in NYC have both approved consultants and MAT trainers. They will be able to expertly guide you through the entire process. One such program, Child Development Support Corporation CCR&R can be reached at 718-398-6738 or www.cdscnyc.org

CCBCNY Blog for October 14, 2008

Section 47.11 of Article 47 is a new requirement that requires child care centers to submit a written safety plan. According to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene the written safety plan is intended to serve as the standard operating policies and procedures for the safe operation of a child care service. Every child care center must submit a safety plan and have it approved by DOHMH before a permit will be issued.

The plan should explain how the requirements of Article 47 are to be implanted with respect to:

• Medical supervision and health of children
• Medication Administration
• Facility Operation
• Maintenance
• Fire Safety
• Specific Activity Safety
• Staff Training
• Parent/Child Orientation
• Proper Supervision
  

The DOHMH says that an initial plan must be reviewed and approved for all new permit applicants and the plan must be updated as necessary when permits are renewed. As you can see from the topics, the health and safety of the children is the main focus. While at first blush these requirements sound stringent, I’m sure that they will prove very helpful to you in the day to day operation of your business. Every business should have a written operating plan that describes their process for getting things done.

We probably all remember playing the game “telephone “ when we were children. The objective of the game was to demonstrate that we each hear and interpret things differently; so that invariably the original message is completely different at the other end of the line. Because information that is shared verbally might be misunderstood, written policies and instructions will ensure that each parent and staff receive the very same basic information or message in order to avoid confusion.

DOHMH has a specific format for writing your safety plan so you should ask your education consultant for the format before writing the plan.

Blog for 9-27-08

The new Article 47, NYC Regulations for Child Care services, that went into effect on September 1,2008 has significantly expanded the training requirements for child care center staff. According to guidance from DOHMH, Section 47.37 is modeled on the child care staff training requirements of the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS).

Initial and ongoing in-service training of child care center staff is now the responsibility of the Educational Director in each center. Through my contacts at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, I have learned that certain trainers will have to be approved by DOHMH and/or certified by the state. So when hiring a training consultant you should seek the advice of your DOHMH Education Consultant to make sure that the trainer’s credentials meet qualifications.

Minimum training in child abuse and maltreatment recognition and prevention is required for all staff. Teaching staff is required to receive training in infection control and reporting infectious diseases.

In addition to child abuse and maltreatment prevention, Infant/Toddler and Night Care service staff is required to complete sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and “shaken baby” identification and prevention training.

In addition to child abuse and maltreatment prevention , Assistant Teachers shall receive 15 hours of training every 24 months in various subjects related to child health and safety and early childhood development.

The Educational Director shall develop a training curriculum based on the assessment of the professional development needs of individual assistant teachers. The curriculum should include, but is not limited to the following topics:

a) preventing, recognizing signs of, and reporting injuries, infectious diseases, other illnesses and medical conditions, b) first aid and CPR, c) Lead poisoning prevention, d) Physical activities, scheduling and conducting guided and structured physical activity, e) Asthma prevention and management, f)Setting up and maintaining staff and child health records including immunizations, g) Growth and child development, (i) Early intervention, (ii) Early childhood education curriculum development and appropriate activity planning, (iii) Appropriate supervision of children, (iv) Meeting the needs of children with physical or emotional challenges, (v) Behavior management and discipline, (vi) Meeting nutritional needs of young children, (vii) Parent, staff, and volunteer communication and orientation: roles and responsibility, (viii)The selection of appropriate and classroom arrangement, (ix) Safety and security procedures for fire safety, emergency evacuation, playgrounds, trips and transportation.

The DOHMH and OCFS have begun a train the trainer initiative that will greatly expand the number of trainers available to do this work.

Become a premium member of www.ccbcny.com and we will keep you informed about training resources. For comprehensive information about the new child care regulations go to
www.nyc.gov/html/doh

Group Child Care Regulations in NYC

Effective today, September 1, 2008 the recently reenacted Article 47 of the New York City Health Code will guide the regulation and operation of group child care programs in New York City. The changes in the code reflect an update on how the various modalities of child care services are delivered in NYC and several changes in the process for program operators to obtain or re-new their license or operating permit.

It is important for every child care business owner to thoroughly know and understand the regulations for operating a safe and quality child care business. Throughout September and October we will use this blog to discuss the highlights of changes to the DOHMH child care regulations.

Child Care services are, and should be, highly regulated. Pre-school age children in group settings without their parents are totally dependent upon the preparation, planning and best judgment of their care givers. Over time regulators have used experience, observation, anecdotal information, and sadly, the results of tragedies to determine staffing ratios and operating procedures that will best protect young children when things are going as planned, as well as when something out of the ordinary happens. According to 47:23 of the regulations, the minimum ratio of staff to children and group size is as follows:

For children under 12 months old the adult/child ratio is one adult for every 4 children (1:4) or (1:3) with no more than 8 children per group; For children 12 to 24 months , the adult/child ratio is one adult to five children (1:5) with the group size limited to 10 children. The ratio for children 2 years to under 3 years is one adult to every 6 children (1:6) with the group size limited to 12 children. The adult/child ratio for children 3 years old to under 4 is 1adult to every 10 children (1:10) with the group size limited to 15 children. For children 4 years to under 5, the adult/child ratio is one adult for every 12 children, with group size limited to 20 children. And finally for children 5 years old to under 6 years old the adult/child ratio is one adult to every 15 children (1:15) with the group size limited to 25 children.

Basically there was no change in the regulations for staff/child ratios and group size except in the case of children under 12 months of age. When the staff/child ratio in 1:4 the program must demonstrate that it has enough staff on the premises to bring the ratio to 1:3 in case of an emergency.

Of course there are other considerations that affect the number of children allowed in a group and the maximum group size. You will be guided through these issues by the DOHMH consultant assigned to your program.

The staffing ratio and group size allows for each child to be observed and receive individualized attention and nurturing throughout the day. It also increases the likelihood that in an emergency staff will be able to move all of the children to safety. The required staffing in the classroom at all times, plus a well rehearsed emergency plan for evacuation and/or crisis management is the responsible way to go. Over enrollment of children is a risk that none of us should be willing to take. Not only does it jeopardize your liability, it puts lives at greater risk should something un-thinkable happen.

To get much more information and commentary about the reenacted Article 47 child care regulations…. become a premium member of the CCBCNY.com website.
You may also go directly to the DOHMH website at www.nyc.gov/dohmh.com

BLOG FOR 8/25/08

Everywhere I go these days people are talking about the economy. Over the past year the cost of everything has increased and it has become very hard for people at every economic level to make ends meet. As I listen to experts it seems that our current situation is unique because so many things have gone wrong at once. Price inflation is at an all time high, not seen since the 1970’s. Nationally, almost half a million jobs have been lost so far just this year and several banks have been closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). We all know from the unrelenting news coverage that hundreds of thousands of home owners are caught in the sub-prime mortgage crisis and are facing foreclosure on their homes. Millions of other homeowners are watching the value of their homes slide downward.

Recently, Governor David Patterson warned that New York State is facing a 6 billion dollar budget shortfall in the state budget. He is calling for a 7% cut in State spending for this year on top of the 3.35% reduction already included in the 2008-09 budget. I don’t know whether most of us are paying attention, but we should be. Such cuts will be devastating to the quality of life in our State and in our City. Government funded programs are already looking at cuts in their contracts that range from changes in their services delivery to actually closing their doors.

Of course, the New York State legislature will weigh in on this issue and so far, it appears that the leaders of the Senate and Assembly are reluctant to embrace such stark cuts and may be more inclined to promote tax increases.

We should remember that we are already facing a 2% budget cut in New York City spending. Additional federal cuts are projected for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 2008.

The current budget submitted by the Bush Administration is recommending up to a 30% cut in the social services block grant aid to New York State.

As Governor Patterson rendered his dire warnings about the NYS budget he also said that this downturn in the economy is shaping up to possibly be the worst recession since the great depression of 1929. Let’s hope that he’s wrong. Most of us have not faced such economic devastation in our lifetimes. But forewarned should allow us to be forearmed. We all need to pay very close attention to what’s happening with our economy and handle our planning and our finances accordingly.

BLOG FOR 7-28-08

For the last several years we have experienced the phenomenon of businesses or even individuals “Branding “ themselves, their products, businesses or services. It also seems that there are various views of exactly what it means to brand something.

The late James Davis, then NYC Councilman for the 35th Council District in Brooklyn, once told me that his goal was to have such high name recognition that seeing his name in print, without pictures, would conjure up, in the minds of the public, an image of himself and all of his good works in the city council.

He used as illustration the Nike brand. When we see the Nike name or even just the symbol most of us immediately think about top quality sneakers and sports wear worn by the best athletes in the world. Many of us desire to emulate that image.

In my mind, what we have labeled branding , is essentially talking about our reputation. Although we might decide to have a memorable letterhead or logo or give out trinkets with our names embossed on them, we actually create our brand by the quality of service that we provide daily.

If we provide poor, un- reliable services, or bad attitude, the logo and trinkets will only serve to remind people to avoid using our service. Similarly, if we project self confidence, an open and caring demeanor, demonstrate love and concern for each child, provide dependable quality service, with a glad to serve you attitude, our business will stand out in the crowd and grow almost effortlessly, by word of mouth. If you are consistently providing services in these ways, call it what you may, you will have branded your child care business.

Blog for 7-21-08

I don’t know about you but I’m very concerned about the state of the economy. I‘ve learned that as business people one of the worse mistakes that we can make is not to pay attention to the big picture or the economic trends. Make no mistake about it; what happens in the broader economy will impact your business.

For instance, today inflation is higher than at any time since the 1970’s, and the national un-employment rate has risen to 5.5%. New York State and New York City’s un-employment rate usually exceed the national average. The 2009 fiscal budget for New York City had what some are calling draconian cuts to basic services for poor and working class citizens. But the mayor and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stated that the cuts would have been deeper if not for a surplus from 2006 and 2007 to off-set some of the projected deficit. The Mayor is credited for saying that 2009 cuts will seem like child’s play compared to the next couple of years.

The continuing financial crisis on Wall Street has caused at least two bank failures so far and over 189,000 employees have been laid off. A crisis on Wall Street directly affects New York City; Wall Street is the engine for NYC’s economy. Corporate taxes and personal income taxes from the financial sector are major contributors to the City’s coffers. Experts are suggesting that the lay-offs that we’ve seen so far are only the beginning.

Lay-offs are also forecast for almost all of the government agencies during this year and next as these entities meet mandated 2% budget reductions. Private businesses and corporations may follow suit if business is bad. Do some reading on current economic forecasts. You won’t get a clear picture from watching the 6:00 PM news.

How might this affect child care businesses? First, it is almost impossible to pass on the increased costs in housing, food, utilities and gas to parents by increasing fees; families are already strapped. Try to do some belt tightening to cut down on cost when ever it is possible and safe. Second, some of your parents will probably be laid off. That’s right! Laid off workers may not need or be able to afford child care, thereby shrinking the market for child care services.
What to do? Be proactive in thinking through some scenarios that might meet the needs of parents who have been laid off. Perhaps they won’t need full day or full week child care. You might consider altering your enrollment and attendance policies. Whatever it is, think it through carefully so that you are prepared if that time should come.

The third and final suggestion is, If you are about to embark on some major project that will cost money, like the expansion of your program, do a re-assessment to make sure that it still makes sense in the current environment.

Blog for 7-14-08

As we continue to languish in the summer heat and humidity, it has been too hot to hold a cogent thought ; much less actively participate in reacting to the draconian cuts to our base line services that the mayor and the city council have agreed on in the over 59 billion dollar 2008-09 budget for New York City.

For the child care community this is almost certainly a signal that the Administration for Children’s Services planned Project Full Enrollment (PFE) will be implemented. Why? Because those cuts have now already been factored into the budget; the city is compelled to consolidate and downsize programs.

Still, the City Council’s General Welfare Committee, Chaired by Councilmember Bill deBlasio, continues to act as though they are concerned about the plight of the child care programs, while knowing full well that the deal is done.

So far the committee has held several hearings and meetings concerning this issue but has not given any indication that it is prepared to go to bat, in any significant way, on behalf of the over 300 publicly funded child care programs in NYC that will be seriously impacted by the PFE initiative starting in September. The City Council passed Resolution 1415 – requesting that ACS produce certain information and documents to justify it plans for Project Full Enrollment (PFE). And it passed Resolution 1420-2008 requesting the Bloomberg administration to place a moratorium on the implementation of PFE.

The problem with this is that City Council resolutions are little more than suggestions. While the child care community may be lulled into believing that they are getting strong support from the City Council, they are in fact getting nothing more than a distraction from thinking of more meaningful ways to save themselves.

Unfortunately, this current City Council has demonstrated time and again that it is not willing to strongly oppose Mayor Bloomberg who has made it abundantly clear that he has no interest in poor and working class citizens in New York City. So while we get several man made waterfalls throughout the city, our elected officials continue their plans to close senior citizens and child care programs this fall.

Blog for July 7, 2008

July 7, 2008
Yes… I know that I’m late up-dating the blog; please forgive me. So much is happening in the child care world it’s hard to keep up with everything. Thanks for bearing with us.

On a sad note, last week I learned that I lost a friend. Dottie Millard and I served together briefly on the Board of Directors of the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council (NYSCCCC). The Council is a state wide organization of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&R’s). In the early 90’s Dottie served a term as the President of the Board and as interim Executive Director during our search for an Executive Director. I served as chair of the personnel committee. During that period the Council successfully led an initiative to have legislation passed and funded that would provide funds for every county in New York State to have at least one CCR&R program. Dottie was one of the warriors in the battle to get that legislation passed. CCR&R agencies work to expand the availability of child care services throughout the state. They work to raise the level of understanding, among our legislators, that the provision of safe, affordable and accessible child care is a fundamental need for all families. We continue to benefit from the work that Dottie did, together with many others too numerous to name here. Dottie Millard was as fine a person as you could ever meet. I pray her soul safe passage into the next life and I offer my heartfelt condolences to her family.

On another sad note, but in a different vein, the Irving Place Child Care Center closed its doors as a child care program about two weeks ago. It seems that they couldn’t hold up under the exorbitant cost of operating the center; most notably for rent and utilities. I understand that Assemblywoman Annette Robinson kept Con Edison at bay for as long as she could, but it was a losing battle. There was no way that the center would ever be able to afford the Con Ed bills.
It appears that Council Member Letitia James was instrumental in helping another local, private group work out an agreement with the owner/landlord and removing the Irving Place group. For me the sad part of this is that we have lost another community based organization led by people of color as we continue the gentrification of Clinton Hill and other parts of central Brooklyn. Our elected officials seem unwilling or unable to pay attention to the details of these situations and to offer real help and support when the media is not near by. In addition, there seems to be a strategy, by government types, to portray the leaders of these failed organizations as villains, inept or poor managers; instead of acknowledging the situation for what it is. As the economy continues to spiral downward, these small groups simply lack the money, resources and government access to maintain their organizations.

On behalf of childcarebusinessconnections.com and the local community, I want to thank Ms. Beverly Johnson and the Board of Directors of the Irving Place Center for the many years of quality child care services that they have provided to the Clinton Hill community.
I hope that you enjoyed your 4th of July holiday, now the summer is really upon us.

Child Care in Survival Mode

As I entered the Irving Place Child Development Center to meet the Executive Director Ms. Beverly Johnson, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that ACS cancelled the center’s contract over a year ago and that the center was still in survival mode.

As I waited patiently in anticipation of the meeting, I decided to go the DOHMH website to see how the center was faring in license and regulatory compliance. I was pleasantly surprised to find that things were good. The center is licensed until next year and there are no open violations. When I finally met Ms. Johnson I understood why. The lady is smart and tough. As often happens with our grass roots organizations, the leaders have to be twice as agile, tenacious and resourceful as some of their counterparts in larger, better established and connected organizations.

Since losing her contract in 2007, Ms. Johnson, together with her staff and parents, have managed to keep their center open for over a year; primarily based on personal sacrifices, faith, commitment and just plain hard work. The center is well kept; the children are happy and bright and, the environment is nurturing. The hallways and classrooms are filled with beautiful colorful artwork ,and culturally relevant pictures and expressions.

Those of us who work with children know instantly when they are comfortable and at home in their surroundings. When we were taken on a tour of the building, in each classroom the children were spontaneous and eager to speak to us; they seemed particularly happy to see Ms. Johnson and talk with her. The Irving Place Child Development Center has also been able to meet the child care needs of new residents in the Clinton Hill community as the neighborhood is going through gentrification. The bright classrooms were filled with a mixture of Black, White and Hispanic children happily working and playing together.

SELF DETERMINATION
Ms. Johnson shared that as ACS prepared to terminate her contract, her license was also up for renewal and ACS was in the process of renewing her license through DOHMH. She said that although she submitted all of the necessary paperwork to ACS, they did not forward the papers to DOH as she expected they would. So, shortly after defunding the center was notified that their permit had also expired. Ms. Johnson successfully navigated the center through the process of renewing their license, including aging down the child population. Since losing the contract the program has also renewed its lease with the landlord and has managed to remain fully staffed. They also have a U-Pre-K contract for its four year olds.

Another main source of funding for the Irving Place Child Development Center is parent vouchers. The subsidy eligible parents in the center requested and were granted ACS vouchers to pay for their child care. Many of those parents remained with the center. This arrangement is very similar to the one being proposed under Project Full Enrollment. The center is however currently facing major financial challenges and the verdict is still out as to whether they will survive. We should look closely at these challenges as a preview of what will happen to many other programs facing ACS’ chopping block.

LEASES AND FACILITIES
There is a looming issue regarding the child care facilities that house publicly funded child care programs. It is almost impossible for programs to inherit the leases and operating cost associated with maintaining the direct lease facilities. Even if, as is the case of Irving Place CDC, the landlord is willing to work with the tenant to continue the lease, the operating costs are prohibitive without major renovations.

Although the direct lease facilities were built to meet the space requirement needs of the children and the community, they were not built in a cost effective manner so that private groups can afford the overhead of utilities, real estate taxes, water and sewage and similar expenses. Utility bills alone in these monstrosities can run ten thousand dollars ($10,000.) a month or higher. In order for programs to remain in these buildings as private tenants they will need to renovate the facilities to provide decentralized heating /cooling units and electrical circuits so that they can localize and control the use of their utilities. This is a huge issue for child care program operators because the profit margins are very low for child care services, making loan products for such things as renovations virtually non-existent. They will need grants from either the city or state for this work to be done.

As ACS unwinds its commitment to these huge buildings, many of the programs will be evicted and the buildings will be torn down as the owners move on to more lucrative deals for their properties. As an example, The David Bradley Child Care Center that was on Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn has been completely demolished.

FUTURE STEPS
Generally in New York City there is a critical shortage of buildings, very few are built for the express purpose of providing child care that can easily meet the regulatory requirements for child care facilities. The net effect is that over the next several years we will have even fewer facilities around to serve the needs of child care programs; whether public or private. Although the city wants to, and maybe needs to relieve its self of the burden of maintaining these large buildings, it is short sighted to push programs into trying to maintain them without any help or technical assistance.

Although the Irving Place Child Development Center has done a fantastic job in continuing to provide crucial child care services for the children and families in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn they have been abandoned to die a slow death unless they receive financial help with their building and utilities. I guess the real question is why are we and our elected officials so willing to let this happen?

BOC Gala 6-13-08

I spent a lovely Friday the 13th of June, by attending the fabulous 2008 luncheon awards ceremony held by the Business Outreach Center (BOC) Network. The affair was held at the Battery Gardens in Battery Park. The restaurant was surrounded by water with a bird’s eye view of the Statue of Liberty. The BOC Board of Directors, BOC staff, and the restaurant staff were most gracious and made all of us feel welcome and comfortable. In all, BOC honored 13 successful entrepreneurs that have used its services or loan products to start or grow their businesses.

The honorees represent a snapshot of the rich diversity of our city. The one thing that each of them has in common is their entrepreneurial spirit and the fact that they received business and financial support from BOC.

Congratulations are in order to:
K.Y. Chow, an Asian American who is the founder and President of Grand Meridian (GM) Printing Inc.,
Ms. Okwa Okon, a native of Nigeria and the owner of Guse, Inc. which produces novelty buttons and personalized gift items,
Ms. Zhanna Shimunova a native of Uzbekistan, who is the proud owner of a successful enterprise, “Austin Fancy Cuts” hair salon,
Mr. Murat Uyaroglu, the owner of the Prospect Perk Café located in Prospect Heights and a native of Turkey,
And Mr. Courtney Washington who is Jamaican American and the proud owner of CW fashion in Fort-Greene Brooklyn.

Awards were also given to Miguel Centeno, Vice President of Aetna Strategic Market Development and New York State Assemblyman MarkWeprin for their strong support of entrepreneurship and small business development in New York State.

Other notables present at the event included NYC Councilmember John Liu; NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Carl Hum, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

Of course my favorite awardees were the seven recipients of the CHILD CARE BUSINESS AWARDS. These individuals participated in the BOC Child Care Business Development Project and were selected from among 503 participants in the project. These awards were presented by our own Letisha Wadsworth who is a BOC board member
The seven recipients were:
Ingrid Arevalo, Chiquilandia;
Laura Ceballos, The Blue Sky Group Family Day Care;
Sheila Fryar-Ashley, Little Busy Bodies;
Hattie Griffin, Snuggle Bears Family Day Care;
Barbara Mescheck, Mother Bee’s Daycare;
Desiree Stewart, Fingerprints Christian Learning Center;
Joan Hallet, My Babies Footprints Academy.
The event was a smashing success. ‘Way to go Leslie Winter (Board Chair) and Nancy Carin (Executive Director)! I’m looking forward to next year.

For more information about the Business Outreach Center Network go to www.bocnet.org.

Blog for 6/5/08

With the roll out of U-Pre-K programs for 4 year old children, through the Department of Education, some parents are opting to put their children in public school earlier. As a result, many child care businesses in NYC are considering serving younger ages of children. Programs that are currently serving children from 2.0 to 6 years of age may plan to amend their licenses to serve infants and toddlers from 6 months to 2.0 years old.

In order to amend licenses to age down their programs, child care businesses are required to have appropriate facilities, which might require some renovations to existing facilities, and center staff is required to receive training specifically tailored to work with infants and toddlers. In addition to working with the DOH to get full information about regulations, another good source of help is the infant/toddler resource and training programs run by the NYC Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) programs.

Blog for 5-29-08

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, in the Work and Family section, Sue Shellenbarger talks about child care center safety records, and results of inspections that are now made public, via the internet, for parents to review. According to Ms. Shellenbarger, 20 of the 50 states have begun to post the results of inspections online. Thirteen more plan to do so soon. This article highlights the importance and need for transparency in the operations of child care programs.

Parents want to know whether a child care program has a clean record in its work with children. Recently while talking with the director of a local child care program, here in Brooklyn, she mentioned that a new parent told her that she checked on the program’s inspection record through Craig’s List before bringing her child to the center. Parents are concerned, and rightly so, that they are putting their children in a safe environment.

In an effort to be open and transparent about their center’s operations some child care programs have gone as far as to have cameras installed so that parents can view child care activities at the center during certain hours of the day through the internet; this helps the parent to know what is happening with and to their child during the day. While some of us may think that is a little extreme, the point is that we should each in our own way make an effort to include parents in the planning and daily activities of our child care program and make them comfortable that their child is safe and nurtured. If we are providing safe, healthy, nurturing and developmentally appropriate child care services we should have nothing to hide. We can feel comfortable with parents having full access to the program.

Smart Child Care businesses will see this trend towards more transparency as an effective marketing strategy when designing program operations and policies.

Articles Wanted!!!

Child Care Business Connections is seeking individuals to contribute to this BLOG. We will accept articles or informational pieces that can help child care businesses or inform them about trends in the child care community. Submissions should not exceed 250 words and must be typed and ready for publication. Publication of submissions is at the discretion of CCBC. We will notify writers of pieces that are accepted prior to publication.

We will also accept notices about public events that are planned or taking place in the Brooklyn child care community. We will post these events at no charge. For information and instructions about how to post notices go to the CCBC website.

Remember, our website is new and we are still working out the bugs. If you have difficulty with any part of the site please call us at 718-622-1115 or email my personal email address at freddiehamilton@nyc.rr.com

DOH Regulations

All child care businesses should make sure that you have checked out the revised child care regulations at the NYC DOHMH. Go to http://www.nyc.gov/. under NYC agencies, find the DOHMH and look for division of child care services. Remember that NYC is regulated under article 47.

Following the Progress of ACS’ Project Full Enrollment

As I continue to follow the ongoing saga of ACS’ Project Full Enrollment initiative for NYC publicly funded child care centers, I am learning quite a bit. In an article in the most recent New York Non-Profit Press (NYNP) John Mattingly, Commissioner of ACS stated that it is not the intention of ACS to close centers but to make sure that centers are fully utilized. According to the Commissioner, ACS’ efforts are intended to help child care centers work through their under enrollment issues including changing ages served; called aging down or changing budgeted capacity.

ACS is currently calling in under enrolled centers to have them explain their plans for bringing themselves to full enrollment. For the past few weeks I have attended 5 of these meetings, at 66 John Street, with centers in Central Brooklyn. It’s clear that centers are at differing levels of understanding and commitment in fully complying with the mandate. Although ACS says that, prior to these individual meetings, it has conducted informational and technical assistance sessions, with all of the child care centers, some centers are still confused about their options and what ACS will approve. It is also my opinion that some of the ACS facilitators are more helpful than others.

However, most centers are in agreement that the HRA child care population is highly unstable. The primary reason is that there are a whole host of policies that frequently make participants ineligible for child care payments. There seems to be sort of a revolving door of eligibility as participants move from project to project or up date their documentation. Often when these participants are dropped from eligibility the centers are the last to know.

In my next segment I will try to explain, from my understanding, ACS baseline expectations for centers.

New Legislation

The City Council passed legislation in January requiring city day care centers to distribute health insurance information pamphlets to families who register children for day care. Councilmember Letitia James stated “As the lead sponsor for the bill, I believe this simple common-sense approach to increase outreach will reduce the number of uninsured children in New York City”.

NYC Publicly Funded Child Care: Can Project Full Enrollment Work?

By Freddie HamiltonChild Care Business Connections
Over the last few months I have gotten mixed messages as I talked to people about the future of child care programs that have contracts with the Administration for Children’s Services. On April 10th there was a hearing held by Council member Bill deBlasio, Chairperson of the General Welfare committee. At issue is ACS’s intention to implement Project Full Enrollment. Although there have been rumblings and rumors in the child care community for many months now, a few days ago the ACS Press Office assured me that there are no imminent moves planned against child care centers. Regardless, since 2004 the child care community has lost 17 centers and 1,100 slots from the system. Now many centers are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Many of the centers have a laundry list of problems including facilities in disrepair; staff vacancies or staff that don’t meet licensing qualifications; inept or disinterested sponsoring boards, difficulty in negotiating market rate leases and a lack of sufficient funds. However it seems that at present ACS is closely focused on the high vacancy rate among child care centers. I have heard, from talking with center directors, that some centers are more than 50% below their licensed capacity and a small number of centers that are licensed to accommodate large numbers of children are down to as few as 12 to 15 children. Since we know that there are thousands of low income children needing child care it’s important for us to understand what’s causing low enrollment. As ACS moves to change the way in which it funds programs; in essence implementing its plan to pay centers only for the children that are enrolled and attending, centers will not be able to survive unless they are fully enrolled. Even with full enrollment centers will need ACS to provide substantial indirect cost in the per child payment.

Losing these important resources for parents and children is unthinkable and we can’t allow this to happen. It is already difficult for subsidy eligible working parents to access child care. Despite their many issues these centers offer safe, structured and developmentally appropriate learning environments for a huge number of children in our city, primarily for families already facing work and family related stresses. While the current economic environment may force some consolidation of programs, NYC should remain committed to maintaining the current level of subsidized child care slots; as they are allotted to each community. Of course as tax payers we cannot support maintaining programs that are not striving to maximize the use of the funds and resources allotted to them.

Without pointing fingers, the Administration for Children’s Service (ACS), the unions involved, local 1707 and CSA, and the child care centers themselves should come together to fix these problems. The truth is that until recently the Agency for Child Development, before it was placed under the auspices of the Administration for Children’s Services, had a very paternalistic relationship with child care programs.
Subsidy eligible children were certified by ACD and assigned to centers in their neighborhoods. Child care programs were not required to actively recruit children or market their programs. In addition, many of the business aspects for the administration and management of the programs were handled centrally by ACD.
Now, under the auspices of ACS the child care programs are being required, in a relatively short time, to change how they understand their new relationship to ACS and their responsibilities in operating their programs. It is important for ACS to acknowledge its role in creating the culture that it now needs to change. Although ACS has now placed the responsibility for recruitment and enrollment on the centers, so far they have not added funding for more staff, and training for programs to assume these new responsibilities.

Another major challenge here is to help child care program administrators change their perception of their responsibilities in administering and managing their programs. New job descriptions and skill-sets are necessary for program managers in order to help them come to grips with the business aspects of operating their centers. They then need training and technical assistance in meeting these new requirements.

The unions that represent staff and administrators should focus on working together with ACS to help their members gain the necessary orientation and skills that they will need to run successful and quality child care programs. Of course we also need the help of our legislators. NYC Council members need to stay informed about what’s happening to centers in their district. Councilmember Leticia James, 35th Council District, has been very focused on this issue and has helped a number of centers in her district develop various strategies to address the new challenges. We cannot afford to lose all the important gains we have made in providing quality, safe and affordable child care to New York City’s families.

Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies

In New York City there are five Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies who work closely together to provide technical assistance and resources to child care programs and prospective child care programs. They also provide services to parents, families and the broader community. These organizations are:

Child Care Inc.
Child Development Support Corporation
Chinese American Planning Council
Committee for Hispanic Children and Families
Day Care Council of New York City

These agencies are funded by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, help us all understand what it means to provide child care services that are accessible, affordable and of good quality. For child care programs CCR&Rs provide a wealth of resources: Start-up grants are available to assist new programs with initial supplies and materials that can build health and safety standards into the program.

Technical assistance is offered to help programs stay in compliance with regulations and understand the requirements of opening and maintaining a quality early childhood program. CCR&Rs are places where programs can participate in activities that help link them to resources in the field.

Training to help child care providers focus on health, safety and other program compliance areas, like child abuse and maltreatment, program recordkeeping and program development topics. The CCR&R programs have calendars of their training schedules as well as other services and activities. Training includes the New York State mandated health and safety training and the medication administration training. The training offered by the CCR&Rs is part of a career development ladder that aims to professionalize child care staff and create a cadre of caretakers who understand the development of children and develop best practices in their interaction with children and their families. Finding child care can be challenging to parents/families.

The child care referral services include trained and experienced parent counselors with access to a database of all regulated child care programs in NYC. These counselors help parents to understand and navigate New York City’s complex child care delivery system. When parents have children with special needs or any other developmental issues, parent counselors can help families wade through the different types of child care, the locations and how to access those programs. Issues like cost, location and hours are a big part of how families make the decision for the care they want for their child.

Finally, CCR&Rs help the general public understand the world of child care by making information available about topics like:

Ways to identify program quality and whether a program meets regulatory requirements
Types of child care for various ages of children , including summer camps
Children’s’ health and wellness activities and resources
The need for child care services in various communities

CCR&Rs collaborate with community based agencies, to bring that information to communities in various languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Russian and French. CCR&Rs also work closely with city agencies like the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the Administration for Children’s Services to keep current with regulations and how the city is handling access to subsidized child care. Written materials, outreach activities and community based presentations are all strategies that the CCR&Rs use to promote child care services and show how they fit together to help communities stabilize To contact the Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies in New York City call this toll-free number: 1-888-469-5559 for more details about CCR&R resources go to http://www.childcarebusinessconnections.com/

Staff Development

Just because we have strong business skills doesn’t necessarily mean that we have strong supervisory skills. Actually we may be at our best, and feel most comfortable when working alone. Usually however as our business grows we have no choice but to bring on employees.

Of course our first task when we bring on a new employee is to share our vision and mission. We want them to know, not guess, what we are about. But the next steps are just as crucial.

In our role as supervisor and manager we are responsible for moving our employees, as well as ourselves, towards the goals and objectives of our business. It is always the wrong choice not to put in the time and energy that is required to provide orientation, training, ongoing supervision and motivation to new employees. After all people can only do what is expected of them if we let them know what we expect. It is unfair to our employees not to receive guidance and direction from us.

We should also understand that each unsuccessful hire costs us time and money, because we then have to start over with the recruitment, interviewing and hiring process. Actually if we have too much staff turnover our business may develop a reputation as an un-friendly work place. That could work against us because the best prepared people may have doubts about working for us.

If you are a person who has difficulty speaking openly and directly to people about correcting their mistakes, you should push yourself to be more assertive. Remember that it is a business relationship and the sooner you and the employee are on the same page about expectations, the greater the chances are for a productive relationship going forward. Below are several behaviors that all managers and supervisors should try to cultivate:

Demonstrate an attitude of openness and willingness to explain and answer job related questions; let the employee know that if you don’t know the answer you will find it and get back to him or her;
Encourage workers to work independently without bothering you every minute, but check up on him or her regularly to make sure that they are on the right track;

Allow workers to work in their own style as long as they are producing the results that you want and are not offending co-workers, or clients (the children or the parents);

Don’t forget to verbally acknowledge good job performance;

Try to remain objective and don’t show favoritism for one worker over another;
Never talk about another worker’s job performance with another worker; we should always speak one on one with the person in question;

Avoid making general statements to the whole staff in order to get a point across to one or two people; that is a disservice to those who are performing well;

When we are having a bad day we shouldn’t take out our frustrations on our staff and bring down the spirits of the whole workplace, we should excuse ourselves and have some alone time until we can pull it together. No matter what we think, tension among staff can be felt by the children and the parents; making for an uncomfortable time for everyone.

Make no mistake about it, most of us aren’t born with the ability to effectively supervise groups of people. It takes self discipline, focused organization, objectivity, a clear sense of purpose and the ability to be supportive while maintaining professional boundaries.

Systems Development for Small Businesses

Think about putting structures in place and developing polices to support and guide the operations of your small business. This is an important first step in business planning. It is up to you and partners if you have them, to set the tone and establish operating principles for your business. For example, something as simple as how your mail is received and processed needs a little thought and some rules established. Is one person designated to receive the mail for your business and make sure that it is given to you directly or put in a safe location for you to retrieve later, or is the receipt of incoming mail left to chance? If someone is designated to receive your mail are you comfortable with them opening it? How do you ensure that important mail will get to the right parties within your business, such as the accountant or the person who handles the money and pays the bills, if that person is not you? Do you have a method for acknowledging or logging the dates that you received important mail? Do you see what I’m driving at? Putting a system in place for the receipt and processing of business mail establishes some rules that all can follow; cutting down on the potential for loss or misplacement of important and time sensitive documents. Think about every area of your business where you need things done a certain way and develop some written rules and guidelines for all to follow; you should put these rules in writing as appoint of reference. There are many articles, books or consultants that can help you to set up operating systems for your business.

Financial Management 101

Let’s face it, the only way that we can hope to keep our child care business up and running is through savvy financial management. Basic operating cost for child care programs, including overhead, are very high contrasted to the fees that we may be able to charge parents, depending on our location and mix of services.

Child Care is a business that is labor intensive and highly regulated. What I mean by that is that the ratio of children to adults is very high with the minimum standards prescribed by government regulations. Often quality programs seek to exceed the child to adult ratio in regulations.

Facility and space requirements are also dictated by regulations from both the NYC Department of Health and the NYC Department of Buildings. Once we get past providing home based care, very few facilities in New York City lend themselves for use as child care programs. For basic facility and space requirements for child care programs in NYC go to: childcarebusinessconnections.com and look under “Resources.”

Of course Family Child Care and Group Family Child Care programs have the least amount of overhead since most are operating from their homes, but of course their income is limited by the number of children that they are permitted to care for. In addition, Group Family Child Care providers are required to have an additional person working with them, which is potentially an additional cost that should be factored into their budget. The other person might be a partner, a family member or an employee but it’s important that the person is appropriate to be around children.

Making sure that you have created a realistic budget is the first and most important step in making the decision to open or expand a child care program. Next you should explore how much you will be able to earn in child care fees. What are parents paying other programs in your neighborhood? The reason that you want to check in your own neighborhood is because you need to know the going rate in your locale. Even if you have a friend in another part of the city that’s providing child care, he or she may charge a higher or lower fee depending on the economic conditions and the need for care in their neighborhood.

If you are starting a Family or Group Family Child Care program you will still want to know how much you are likely to be able to charge in fees to earn a decent income but keep your program competitive with others in your neighborhood. You should also try to get information about the need or demand for child care in your neighborhood. To get information about how to do a child care marketing survey for your neighborhood, go to the childcarebusinessconnections.com website and look under “Resources”.

If you are starting a center based program, you should make two budgets. One will be for one time start up cost and the other should be a twelve month budget for ongoing operating cost. In the one time start up budget include cost for consultants to help you price out your start-up cost and develop your budgets based on child care program requirements and regulations. However I suggest that before hiring any consultants that you go to childcarebusinessconnections.com website and download the free booklet: “Twelve Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Consultants.”
Not only will your budgets guide you in projecting your cost, it will also become a part of the business plan that you may want to present to potential funders, lenders or investors to help you to get your business up and operating.

ACS - Brooklyn: Day Care Center Closings

News Alert!!!

Last week a realiable source informed me that they heard that the Child Care union, local 1707, announced that about half of the child day care centers in Brooklyn may be closed by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS).

The city is suppose to announce the specific zip codes that the centers are located in sometimes this week. The 1707 representative also announced that there is a rally tentatively scheduled for April 10th or 11th.

We will keep you posted as we learn more.

News Alert!!!

Last week a realiable source informed me that they heard that the Child Care union, local 1707, announced that about half of the child day care centers in Brooklyn may be closed by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). The city is suppose to announce the specific zip codes that the centers are located in sometimes this week.
The 1707 representative also announced that there is a rally tentatively scheduled for April 10th or 11th. We will keep you posted as we learn more.

We Offer Our Condolences…

Our condolences to Leticia Johnson

Recently retired director of Young Minds Child Care Center, on the loss of her ex-husband on March 21, 2008. Arrangements were scheduled for Wednesday March 26, 2008 at Frank Bell Funeral Home located at Classon Avenue & Sterling Place in Brooklyn, NY.

We Offer Our Condolences…Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Our condolences to Leticia Johnson, recently retired director of Young Minds Child Care Center, on the loss of her ex-husband on March 21, 2008.
Arrangements were scheduled for Wednesday March 26, 2008 at Frank Bell Funeral Home located at Classon Avenue & Sterling Place in Brooklyn, NY.

Start-up funds for For-Profit Child Care Businesses

Over the past few years child care programs have began to be regarded as profitable businesses. As a result many people are seeking advice to obtain grants to start their own for-profit child care business, expand an existing for-profit program or upgrade their facilities.
The not so good news is that funding for the development and operations of child care programs to serve low and middle income families, has largely fallen within the purview of the federal, state and local governments that only fund not-for-profit organizations.

Generally, some grant makers will consider funding some of the “non-tuition” activities or cost of not-for-profits. However, almost no foundation will fund the child tuition or direct care cost of a child care program; whether the program is for-profit or not-for -profit.

Of course there is always the rare exception, so if you decide to research the possibility of a grant, try to think about what makes your program exceptional or unique and highlight those aspects when you request funding.

I suspect that finding start up capital for your for-profit child care business will be a real challenge, but worth the effort. The first thing that I would advise is that you avoid letting anyone sell you a grant writing package or materials, or write you a proposal before doing some preliminary research yourself.

Below are two funding sources that we suggest you explore:

As an independent child care business owner you can try the Foundation Grants for Individuals, a service of the Foundation Center at http://www.fdncenter.org/ which is part of the Foundation Library located on 5th Avenue in New York City. There may be something unique about you personally, the way you do business or perhaps how you plan to provide care to a special population of children that would make your proposal appealing to a grant maker.
In New York State one government source that will help for-profit programs with start-up funds, but will not provide funds for ongoing operations, is the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). These funds are intended to increase the supply of child care programs for working families in New York State regardless of their income. Opportunities for start-up funding are offered sporadically so you should put yourself on the mailing list for notification when Requests for Proposals (RFP)’s become available. The OCFS website is https://ocfsws.state.ny.us/obl

The OCFS RFP is particularly helpful because it will give you an overview of the resources and thought process necessary for developing a quality child care program. Good Luck!!

Recruitment, Hiring and Retention of Staff

Just because we have strong business skills doesn’t necessarily mean that we have strong supervisory skills. Actually we may be at our best, and feel most comfortable when working alone. Usually however as our business grows we have no choice but to bring on employees.
Of course our first task when we bring on a new employee is to share our vision and mission. We want them to know, not guess, what we are about. But the next steps are just as crucial.
In our role as supervisor and manager we are responsible for moving our employees, as well as ourselves, towards the goals and objectives of our business. It is always the wrong choice not to put in the time and energy that is required to provide orientation, training, ongoing supervision and motivation to new employees. After all people can only do what is expected of them if we let them know what we expect. It is unfair to our employees not to receive guidance and direction from us.

We should also understand that each unsuccessful hire costs us time and money, because we then have to start over with the recruitment, interviewing and hiring process. Actually if we have too much staff turnover our business may develop a reputation as an un-friendly work place. That could work against us because the best prepared people may have doubts about working for us.

If you are a person who has difficulty speaking openly and directly to people about correcting their mistakes, you should push yourself to be more assertive. Remember that it is a business relationship and the sooner you and the employee are on the same page about expectations, the greater the chances are for a productive relationship going forward. Below are several behaviors that all managers and supervisors should try to cultivate:

Demonstrate an attitude of openness and willingness to explain and answer job related questions; let the employee know that if you don’t know the answer you will find it and get back to him or her;

Encourage workers to work independently without bothering you every minute, but check up on him or her regularly to make sure that they are on the right track;

Allow workers to work in their own style as long as they are producing the results that you want and are not offending co-workers, or clients (the children or the parents);

Don’t forget to verbally acknowledge good job performance;

Try to remain objective and don’t show favoritism for one worker over another;

Never talk about another worker’s job performance with another worker; we should always speak one on one with the person in question;

Avoid making general statements to the whole staff in order to get a point across to one or two people; that is a disservice to those who are performing well;

When we are having a bad day we shouldn’t take out our frustrations on our staff and bring down the spirits of the whole workplace, we should excuse ourselves and have some alone time until we can pull it together. No matter what we think, tension among staff can be felt by the children and the parents; making for an uncomfortable time for everyone.

Make no mistake about it, most of us aren’t born with the ability to effectively supervise groups of people. It takes self discipline, focused organization, objectivity, a clear sense of purpose and the ability to be supportive while maintaining professional boundaries.

What Resources Do We Have?

The authors of this site, between them have over a hundred years of child care business experience from afterschool programs, day care & headstart centers, to training in home child care providers we have done it all and have raised millions of dollars in grant funding in the process.

This page will be a virtual roledex of the businesses, services, products & government contacts you need to run yourbusinesses easier and more profitablity.
We’re just getting started but we will be updating this page soon and continously, so come back soon.

In fact, why not subscribe to our FREE newsletter and be the first to know when we make updates to our site with alerts direct to your inbox. Its easy click here to get started!

The Cutting Edge

By Freddie Hamilton

I have long believed that information and knowledge leads to empowerment. The more information we have, the greater our ability to make informed decisions about our own lives and to help those that we love. When we have good reliable information we can plan accordingly. There are many changes afoot in the reshaping and delivery of child care services in New York City. We expect that over the next two to three years the landscape will look completely different for the child care community. But in the end the quality and image of child care will be directly reflective of how much we, in the child care community, participate in shaping this new reality. As Sweet Honey in the Rock sings so eloquently,” We are the ones that we’ve been waiting for”.

ChildCareBusinessConnections.com/blog will try to serve as a connector of the dots and the bridger of the gaps in information for the child care community. We will provide information and present a relevant forum for stakeholders to share information and concerns.
More importantly, we will support and encourage you to see your child care program as the business that it is. No matter how noble our intentions, if we don’t watch the bottom line to maximize our income and reduce our expenditures; if we don’t develop the business, marketing and management skills necessary to run a successful business; if we don’t understand financing and money management; if we don’t understand the regulations, policies and the politics; if we don’t know how to access funding and resources, then we won’t be there to help the children and families that we love.

Changes afoot for Child Care Service Delivery

From time to time we check out the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) website to see what’s on the horizon. The most recent look was pretty startling. The Rethinking Child Care initiative is in full swing with promises of a full roll out by September 2009. Although many questions are answered on the ACS site, many more are not. The important thing to remember is that this is a work in progress. As with any new endeavor, rules and policies may be evolving for quite some time. In addition there may be differing interpretations of how things should be implemented. Both center based and private centers should pay close attention to this initiative because it will change the face of child care as we currently know it. One key here is automation. I believe that the child care system, in terms of referrals, enrollment, attendance, payment and other processes will be fully automated; similar to the way that the child welfare system is automated. Those who have programs that are ready to go from day one will have a competitive advantage in plugging into the new system. In future blogs we will discuss some of the other things that programs can do to be prepared for the changes that are coming. Of course every change brings opportunity to those who are alert to the possibilities.

Personal Development

There is an old but true saying that if you want to keep getting the same results…. Keep on doing what you are doing! For most of us becoming motivated to get better at what we do is always a challenge. However, time and energy invested in self improvement is recognized as one of the main ingredients of a life well lived and pays off in many ways. For instance, we know that spiritual growth has both tangible and intangible benefits. The tangible benefits are usually observable by others from our positive attitude and by how we treat our neighbors and loved ones. The intangible benefit may come from the peace and confidence that we experience when we believe that our lives are guided by a higher power. Similarly, formal education or training is only the beginning of a lifetime of learning. When we invest time and effort in expanding our knowledge about our work or about the world in general, we benefit by becoming more open to new ideas and new people. Often it propels us to better living and economic conditions. Continuous learning is particularly important for those of us who are role models for children. Sometimes we may even learn a new and better way of doing something or a new approach to an old problem. Each week in this blog we will try to address the issue of personal growth and development. Hopefully through your responses and comments we can create a forum for sharing new knowledge about personal development.


Thanks for Logging on,
Freddie

“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds”

Parents: Your Right Hand Partner!

by Letisha Wadsworth

Parents can be a strong partner in making your business a success. However, it depends on what kind of relationship you establish from the very beginning. Parents can do so much more than pay fees. Win their support and engage them in the success of your program and you will have lots of new partners. First, take the time to establish parents’ expectations of your services. What do they want you to do each day? What do they expect to learn from you each day? Will you have a way to communicate the child’s daily habits and activities? Are parents’ expectations realistic? Are you willing and able to address their expectations? Unlike a retail store where your customer may be an occasional repeat, you will see your customer daily. Do you have a plan for that daily contact?

Second, it is important to acknowledge the role of parents as the first teacher of their children. Even though you may spend long hours with the child, do not underestimate the relationship parents have with their children. Talk with parents about their child’s habits and activities at home. This will help your work with the child and keep parents focused on the child’s development in your program. Make sure that you talk about overall progress. Don’t greet parents at the door everyday with problems. What message do you convey if your daily contact with the parents is only about problems with their child?

Third, are your rules, regulations, and policies clear to parents? Are they written out so that parents can review them at home? Do they address such issues as lateness, absences, vacations, and when fees are due? Clear policies can reduce areas of possible contention with your customer. Do your policies encourage a partnership with your customer? For example, do you identify key periods when you will communicate the child’s overall progress? Do your policies identify ways parents can help keep program fees minimized through fundraising? Do you have a way for parents to comment on their level of satisfaction with your services? When parents leave your program, ask them for a letter of support or a reference letter. You can even set up a form which they can fill in and then sign. Don’t miss the chance to document their satisfaction with your business. You can use those letters or forms when you seek new funding or seek support from your broader community. Funders, local politicians, or community boards will pay attention to the references or letters of support from the parents you serve.

Parents may come to you with a range of problems that can impact their use of your business. Jobs, housing, access to health care, relationship issues are some of the work/family issues that parents may look to you for help. Do you have some key resource contact numbers that you can share, so that parents can get the real help they need? Be careful not to take on roles that you cannot fulfill. Do refer parents to people who can help, like your local child care resource and referral agency or even the city’s 311 line. While it is important for you to acknowledge these important issues, don’t get caught trying to solve these critical problems yourself.The most important thing to remember is that you need to keep your “customer” happy and to partner with them to do the best job that you can. The keys are:

Clear and regular communication
Survey and document satisfaction
Make expectations, policies and regulations clear
Don’t stray from your job as the child’s caretaker
Let parents know how they can help
Be a partner

When you have a partnership, even problems or disagreements can end with the best outcomes for everyone. It really means that the parents, who believe in what you are doing, can be a partner to help your business thrive and succeed. Tags: Childcare, ChildCare Business,

Marketing: Who Knows About Your Program?

By Letisha Wadsworth
Do you run a wonderful program with happy, eager to learn children? Are all your program slots filled? Do parents tell you they don’t know how they would survive without your child care program? Don’t just rely on word of mouth to send you new customers. Let the whole world know that your wonderful program exists. Here are some marketing tips that will shine a light on you and the work you do.

A sign lets your neighborhood and people walking and driving by know that you are running a program (include license, ages and hours at a quick glance). Make it easy for parents to make appointments to come see your program. When they call tell them when you normally schedule your appointments and tell them what you want them to bring to the appointment.

Be ready when someone calls with basic program information. Don’t make up rules or regulations or fees on the spot. Prepare for the main questions that parents will ask when they call. If you need to, write out some quick points that you want make sure are covered in these calls.

Who do you want to serve in your program? Do you want to cater to your neighborhood, some other neighborhood, a certain job site (i.e. a hospital) or to a special population (teen parents)? Get your information to the groups you want in your program.

Fliers, business cards, websites, T-shirts, and magnets can all be used. One marketing tool is not enough. Everything works together to create a “buzz” about your program.
Your local politicians all know that child care is critical to their voters. Make sure that the politicians know that your business is vital to their voters and the broader community. Write letters of introduction (with some fliers) to your City Council member, Congress members and your local Community Board.

Be sure that you market to your local schools. Most of the school age children have younger brothers and sisters who need child care. If you can serve the whole family from infants, preschoolers and after-school children, let parents know about the convenience of your services.
Try an open house celebration that highlights the best parts of your programs. Parents and children can help to sell the program through events like an open house. Use photos, examples of children’s’ work, good food and happy children to let the community know about your business.
Do you belong to a church an association a social group? Find out if you can use their newsletters, bulletins or announcements to talk about your program. You might be surprised at how much interest you can create in these “old” new circles of friends and acquaintances.

Ask to participate in neighborhood health fairs, block parties or community fairs that attract families. Make a bright colorful table with balloons and some fun activity. Make sure you have a sign-in sheet to get contacts for your program.

These are just some quick tips to jump start some of the marketing efforts to make sure that everybody knows your name.

Welcome To Our Blog

We hope that you will enjoy our growing weekly BLOG of timely information, articles, tips & resources for the NYC child care community.

If you operate a child care business in New York City then this blog is designed just for you. We will save you time and money as you seek vendors, services and valuable information that will enhance the quality of your program, improve administration and reduce operating costs.

Join in on key conversations that will link the child care community in NYC. This is the place to share information, tips trends and changes with child care collegues. Our blog is a forum where we can analyse all the changes that are shaping the world child care business and highlight our challenges and successes.

Your comments will help move our vital discussions forward.
Please communicate with us often; we want to meet your business needs.