Advancing the Business of Childcare (ABC)
The Advancing the Business of Childcare (ABC) Initiative is a partnership between Virginia LISC, ChildSavers and childcare providers concentrated in the East End to promote the programmatic quality and business sustainability of early childcare providers. Started in response to the growing need for program and business best practices for in-home providers and storefront facilities, this initiative was designed to holistically support childcare providers through assessment, training, coaching, professional networks and grant funds. Research confirms the importance of early childhood development, and although there are resources available to improve program quality, lack of access to business best practice proved to be one of the greatest barriers to sustainability. In addition, when childcare centers close, the child and their entire family are negatively impacted.
Through funding from the Robins Foundation, LISC and ChildSavers has completed a one-year pilot of this program, and here are the fast facts:
- 6 childcare providers participated serving 236 children
- Friends Association for Children served as “The Hub” with coaching, resources and training for the childcare providers
- $30,000 awarded in direct grants to support programmatic improvement and business sustainability
- Using the Classroom Environment Assessment to measure program quality, childcare providers saw an average increase of 48% in their pre and post assessment scores
- Using the Business Administration Scale to measure business best practices, childcare providers saw an average increase of 90% in their pre and post assessment scores
Through additional support from the Robins Foundation, the program is extending the pilot for another 2 years in order to adjust the program model for scalability. Ultimately, we believe this initiative can stabilize in-home and center-based childcare programs resulting in reliable, quality, sustained care for families across this region.