THERE TO HELP Sullivan County Child Care Council Executive Director Donna Willi, right, and Registrar Susan Sennett are experienced in helping people set up and run childcare services, right. Nevaeh Roberts photo
Needed: More than a few childcare providers
The SC Child Care Council wants you
By Nevaeh Roberts | Manor Ink
Monticello, NY – Have you ever considered owning a small business? Are you interested in taking care of children? Then you should consider becoming a childcare provider with the Sullivan County Child Care Council. Or are you a parent looking for affordable, high quality child care? Check in with the Child Care Council to find out where to go and whether you may be eligible for financial assistance.
The Sullivan County Child Care Council wants to encourage anyone interested to start a child care program. The Council offers help in launching a care business and assists new owners in becoming the best providers they can be. Additional childcare businesses would be very helpful to the community because the Town of Rockland is considered a “child care desert.” The phrase refers to an area that does not have enough licensed or registered daycare slots to sufficiently serve the number of children in a geographic area.
A serious lack of providers
“Currently, there are 1,200 spots available for childcare, and we have over 10,000 children under the age of 12. There’s a big gap,” said Donna Willi, the executive director of the Child Care Council. “That’s why we are trying to get the word out that we need more people involved in running daycares.”
Getting started
The Sullivan County Child Care Council is a private, not-for-profit 501C3 organization whose stated mission is to link the parents of Sullivan County to safe, enriching, quality child care by strengthening professional providers through education and resources.
On its website, it offers instructions on becoming a childcare provider and provides information on developmentally appropriate practices, curriculum, family engagement, environments both indoors and outdoors, and tips on quality caregiver-child interactions.
The site also has links to training and education services for potential childcare workers.
Opening and operating a child care program is a big undertaking. The website advises prospective caregivers to take some time to think about why they want to start a child care business and to consider some important questions before getting started.
Learn more at scchildcare.com.
The Child Care Council offers the training and knowledge needed. “Childcare is not babysitting’” Willi said. “It is a business.”
Becoming a provider is easy. “First, you need to love working with children. Then you need to create a budget,” Willi explained. Doing this gives a clear idea of what a provider’s income would be, and how many children at what rate would be needed to cover all of the anticipated expenses. If the plan includes hiring other employees, it is likely the business’s most significant expense would be its payroll. But Registrar Susan Sennett from the Council can help providers work through that challenge, and can assist in ensuring that the new daycare satisfies a number of safety regulations.
“Our providers are really good. They are right on top of what they need to do,” said Sennett.
Originally a community effort
“The Council evolved from Cornell Cooperative Extension and a few other community people realizing that childcare really had no support system in our county, and there was no training available for providers,” explained Willi. “So the Council kind of evolved out of offering training to local childcare providers.” Its mission, she said, is to link the parents of Sullivan County to safe, enriching, quality child care by strengthening professional providers through education and resources.
The Council supports providers and the families they serve in multiple ways. “We also facilitate the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which makes sure that the childcare providers feed the kids healthy food, and that they get reimbursed for that food,” Sennett said. A typical day involves Council staff interacting with both parents and providers.
“I spend most of my time helping childcare providers and parents with whatever issues they have,” Willi said. “So childcare providers will call and ask us many different types of questions. Some might concern a behavioral issue. Some might be, ‘Where’s my check?’ Others might be a need for CPR training and, ‘Where am I going to find that class?’ Parents also call to figure out if they’re eligible for a subsidy.
AN URGENT NEED County residents who decide to open a childcare business will provide a much needed service for parents. They can also make a good income. adobestock.com photo
“When the regulations related to COVID-19 were changing, like literally every minute of every day, we kept on top of all of that and shared it with all Sullivan County childcare providers,” said Willi. Providers never closed down, because many parents needed care for their children due to the fact that they were first responders. The Council supported care providers with information, masks, testing kits, food and other supplies.
“If a parent is thinking that they’re eligible for a childcare subsidy, they can come here and apply,” said Sennett. “They don’t have to go to Family Services and sit in the lobby. We just do childcare.”
Both Willi and Sennett stressed the need for people to help parents and children by becoming a Sullivan County childcare provider. Interested persons can access information by visiting scchildcare.com, or by searching for Sullivan County Child Care Council online.