Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Child Care Business Initiative on the GMCF Community Hour Radio Show Episode -181
This episode of the GMCF Community Hour Radio Show highlights the ongoing developments of the Child Care Business Initiative, emphasizing its collaborative approach to enhancing childcare services in the community. Listeners learn about the construction progress, recruitment of childcare providers, the support offered to entrepreneurs, and the broader impact on families seeking reliable care options.
• Updates on construction progress and plans
• Recruitment efforts for childcare providers
• Importance of training and licensing for providers
• Development of a supportive environment for businesses
• Overview of funding sources and community partnerships
Join us in our mission to uplift child care in our community!
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour, as heard on NewsRadio KMAN. Back on the GMCF Community Hour here on NewsRadio KMAN. Our focus in the next segment is on the Child Care Business Initiative. Segment is on the Child Care Business Initiative that is, I guess, the official name, and our guest is the Executive Director, lisa Isaacson. Welcome back to the show, lisa. Thank you.
Speaker 1:I think this is the second time you've been in here on the radio show, and the first time is just shortly after you got your feet wet and made the announcement. I see walls are going up on Kimball.
Speaker 2:Walls are going up on Kimball and it's so exciting because it's actually starting to look like a building.
Speaker 1:Have you ever been part of the building project?
Speaker 2:I have. When I lived in Japan, I worked for the Marine Corps and I helped in building our second child development center on.
Speaker 1:Iwakuni's Marine Corps installation Well this is just easy peasy then for you, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a lot that goes into it, lots of details, but you trust the process, you have people that are experts in what they're doing and it all comes together and now we have walls, we have foundation, and then we had a blizzard, and now we have walls.
Speaker 1:Blizzards can kind of interrupt work.
Speaker 2:Yes, it definitely can. It took them two days to dig all the snow off of the foundation.
Speaker 1:The foundation had a chance to cure before.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Good, good. What's next in line, then, for the project?
Speaker 2:So next in line, we are working on the beginning of the recruitment for the providers that will go into the suites and so far I have four individuals that are interested have definitely visited with me and we are in the process of starting that recruitment. For the rest of the providers that would go into our suites, we have suites to house eight individual licensed family child care businesses.
Speaker 1:Is that? I mean there's a lot of things that are coming into play with this, building a lot of different efforts that are kind of joined together under one roof. Is your focus primarily on the child care aspect?
Speaker 2:For the Child Care Business Initiative yes, primarily on the child care aspect. For the Child Care Business Initiative, yes, the overarching entity is the Flint Hills Community Accelerator, and so the Flint Hills Community Accelerator is comprised of Manhattan Area Technical College, the Manhattan Free Clinic, kansas Works and also the Child Care Business Initiative. So we're focusing on those four pillars in the community of education, health workforce and child care.
Speaker 1:How's your timeline setting up for completion? So, as long as the construction can stay on, target with no more blizzards.
Speaker 2:no more blizzards, no more, you know, major catastrophes with the weather and with all of the construction materials. We should be able to open our doors in August, in August of 2025.
Speaker 1:It's a lot of work to be done between now and then, isn't it? Yes?
Speaker 2:it is Okay, it is.
Speaker 1:Well, let's talk a bit about the child care business aspect and if someone wants to be a provider to participate in this, what's all involved.
Speaker 2:Well, currently we are working on having a memorandum of understanding that they will read through on our website that will be coming soon.
Speaker 2:They'll be able to read and see what is expected of them while they're in that space.
Speaker 2:They obviously have to be licensed through Kansas Licensure for Child Care and they have to be willing to participate in the CACFP food program as well as Raising Riley and the DCF subsidy. They have to be willing to accept those, accept those two subsidies If, as a part of the program um, they have to be willing to have training, um, ongoing training, while they're in the process or in the the building um space. And they also have to be willing um to allow students, um, student observers, uh, in the child care. We want this as a learning example. So a lot of pieces that they have to be willing to agree to. If they're willing to do that, then they'll go ahead and submit that and then we'll do like an interview process, talk to each one of these individuals and kind of get their idea of their business plan what do you want to do with your family child care business? And then they ultimately will be selected and go into the suite starting August of 2025.
Speaker 1:It's got to be exciting, especially timing out with the beginning of the school year.
Speaker 2:Yes, we would like to send everybody begin everything at the beginning of the school year.
Speaker 1:Do you feel like you have to recruit candidates to take these spots?
Speaker 2:There is a little bit of recruitment but honestly, with the interest that I've had, I think we should have enough individuals to fill those eight suites. Of course we may have a wait list, which is not a bad thing necessarily, but we still even if they are not in our space, we still want to support them with getting licensed and starting their businesses out in the community. Even if we have eight providers who are in those suites and we have a wait list of 12, we don't want that 12 to not go ahead and move forward. So we would help link them with the licensing and entities here in our community to get them started if they wanted to, instead of waiting maybe up to a year to go into a suite when an available suite comes open.
Speaker 1:And then what's the process going to be like for a parent to want to see if they can get their kiddos involved in the program?
Speaker 2:Yes. So my plan because this is an incubator for family child care businesses we want to provide the providers with the information and the agencies and the already existing paths to enrollment. So child care aware is where we will have parents go to. Each of the providers in the suites will be registered with child care aware so that they can call and say hey, I have you know three openings and these are the ages that I can take. And then parents can call and get referrals and so they can go through the interview process directly with the providers and the providers can interview parents, interview the provider and it's a mutual enrollment.
Speaker 1:There will be fees I would suppose that would be involved that parents would have to pay. Do you? Yes, absolutely. How do you establish those?
Speaker 2:So each individual family child care business will determine their fees for their business. What we, you know in the field, we have like an average of what child care is costing in the area, and so it would be right at that average. I'm certain. But, you know, as someone who's not the business owner, I can't say this is what the fees will be. It will be strictly based upon their businesses.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, let's talk a bit about some of the support that some of these potential candidates you know when they want to come in and they start their businesses. Okay, well, let's talk a bit about some of the support that some of these potential candidates you know when they want to come in and they start their business. What all are some of the things in addition to some of the things you've talked about that they can expect through you.
Speaker 2:So one of the most attractive pieces in having this incubator for providers.
Speaker 2:Some people are renting and so in a rental.
Speaker 2:Oftentimes you're not allowed to start a family child care business in a rental, so this would give them the space that they need to initiate their business, gives them time to kind of build their business and get their feet underneath of them before they would transition out into a viable location for family child care. Out into a viable location for family child care, they walk into a completely furnished suite where they have a full, functioning kitchenette. They will be providing meals for children within that space. They'll have child-sized furniture available, shelving, some toys and materials that are already present for them some toys and materials that are already present for them. And we want to make these suites a comfortable, as much of a childcare friendly family childcare environment as we can. So there might be a soft couch, an area rug, some little tables, some lamps. We want it to look home-like, but each provider gets to make their environment the way that they want to. They get to put the polishing on the environment and make it their own while they're in that space.
Speaker 1:Sounds like you give them a lot of opportunity to to really just create their own, their own model.
Speaker 2:Yes, and that's what we want. We want to provide them with with the opportunity to be a small business, and as a small business you get to create your dream, so to speak. And that's really what we want to focus on is helping support these providers to be successful and a lot of the entities that already exist within our community, within our state. We want them to be available to you know, be able to come in and talk with our providers, kind of explain what they do so that there's a name to a face and get that information so holistically. The providers have the tools and materials that they need, even far beyond leaving the CBI and going out into their own business in the community. They have that holistic knowledge base of what is available to them, because right now they don't always have a one-stop shop to get that information.
Speaker 1:Those providers, will they be able to determine the age range of the children they want to help?
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely, and that will all be determined through the license that they're applying for and what age group of children you know might be a mixed age group, it might be an infant only home or it could be a preschool home type situation. So that will determine their ratios of the amount of children that they are able to have in their businesses.
Speaker 1:What's the process for someone to apply?
Speaker 2:To apply for the child care business, let's talk for the business side of things. Correct. So again, on the website there will be a memorandum of understanding that they can read through. We'll collect some information from them and then we will reach out and talk with them personally. So that is coming soon, it's in the process. If, before that point, they can fill out some information, there is a way for them to fill out just basic and variation for contact on our website and I will definitely reach out to them personally.
Speaker 1:Okay, lisa, I'm going to turn things over to Vern, because he's been waiting patiently.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:He has been. He's been multitasking over here in this chair to my left. But, vern, let's talk a bit about the funding side, because the construction process A it ain't cheap and, b it takes some coordination to pull it all together.
Speaker 3:Indeed, just to go back a little bit, this whole thing was started by the Chamber of Commerce.
Speaker 3:You know, last Friday we had a growth summit, and prior to that it used to be leadership retreats, and childcare was brought up not only in our community but in every community, and so it kind of rose to the spot that we needed to do something about this. Matt Crocker, who's now our board chair, but certainly was on some of those chamber discussions and approached the Community Foundation as to whether or not we would be willing to accept this as a project to get behind, because obviously the federal funds needed a 501c3 to land, and so it made sense that the community foundation evolved. So we were the the sponsor of two grant requests uh 2.5 and a three, or, excuse me, a 3.5 and a 2.1 that were received, and then the uh. The project is an eight million dollar project, so the rest of the project, then, is a private fundraising element. So we've got about 1.5 left to raise, you know, on the construction process. But you know we've had enough conversations that we feel confident about that.
Speaker 1:So good, good. So we're on target for an August opening.
Speaker 3:Indeed, it's a great element. I mean, obviously, bringing Lisa on board when we did was a godsend. Some of her background and experience with a project like this has been super. You know our partners there the Manhattan Area Technical College and Kansas Works and the Manhattan Free Clinic have been awesome, and so it's really just been kind of a great match for all of them and what they do and how they are trying to support the child care network moving forward, and so we're really excited about the future here.
Speaker 1:Lisa, there's a lot of things that are going on. It sounds like you got your hands full, but your fingers are on top of it all.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:All right, good luck with everything. We'll continue to follow along and have you in again. Thank you, lisa Isaacson, the Executive Director of the Child Care Business Initiative, along with Vern, talking about the project and its growth. There on Kimball, just north of the hospital, it's exciting to see it rise from the ground, even if it's covered with snow. 1053,. We're going to take our final break of the show. Vern's going to stick around, give us an idea of some things that are coming up in the near future and a preview of next week's show here on the GMCF Community Hour here on NewsRadio KMAN.