On the Horizon
Provider Launches Licensed Childcare Business After Completing WHEDco's Training and Business Development
A year ago, Melecio Remigio was providing childcare to his nephew when he received a Childcare Improvement Project (CIP) information packet from WHEDco. Today, he is one of 29 childcare providers who received a license to operate a daycare center, after completing WHEDco’s (CIP) training cycle in 2011.
CIP targets informal providers, like Melecio, offering them comprehensive professional development training so they can improve the quality of care they provide, increase their revenues and, if they choose, open fully licensed childcare businesses. “Doing the training program made a lot of sense for me,” he said. “I love working with children, and I realized I could make a good business doing it.”
During the three-month cycle, trainees explore child development, nutrition, health, safety and family day care regulations, as well as business concepts like marketing, contracts, accounting and liability insurance. Program staff also works with providers to complete the license application. “Working with WHEDco was a lot of fun. They made everything easy,” Remigio said.
In 2011, 590 informal providers attended the one-day CIP Training Orientation, which is the first step in the three-month cycle – an increase from 292 attendees the year before. Of those 590 providers, at least 119 submitted an application to become a licensed provider. Thirty providers who started the cycle with us in either 2010 or 2011 have gone on to receive their license. As a result, there are now more providers across New York City who will combine a love for children with a foundation of knowledge and skills, upon which they can build a career. And that’s exactly what Remigio intends to do. He is pursuing an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Development, and in January launched a website to promote his newly licensed business. Now he is helping new CIP trainees as a mentor in the program. “I enjoy giving back,” he said. “The WHEDco training was important to me, so I want to help others go through it too.”
Protecting Children: 26,000 Unlicensed Childcare Providers Screened in 2011, Nearly 10% Found Ineligible to Care for Children
Since 2010, WHEDco's Childcare Improvement Project has been keeping children safe and healthy across New York City's five boroughs. In 2011 alone, our staff processed nearly 26,000 childcare provider applications and found approximately 10% of providers ineligible to care for children.
Screening unlicensed childcare providers is critical. In partnership with New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), the New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS), and the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA), WHEDco's staff works in 22 locations throughout New York City to screen unlicensed childcare providers, ensuring that they:
-
Meet minimum health and safety standards
-
Have not been convicted of a crime against a child or another violent or serious crime
-
Are not living with anyone who has been convicted of a crime against a child or another violent or serious crime
In the course of our rigorous screenings in 2011, we determined that nearly 10% of providers were ineligible to care for children due to criminal history, and another almost 10% were ineligible because their homes were not compliant with health and safety standards.
