EUGENE, Ore. — A new child care business training program led by child care resource and referral agency Quality Care Connections (QCC) and the Lane Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in partnership with Onward Eugene will create new child care slots in Lane County, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce and Onward Eugene announced.
Like many other counties in Oregon, Lane County is considered a child care desert, defined as a community with three or more children for every available child care slot. To move out of this state, Lane County would need to add approximately 1,500 new child care slots to its current slots.
The Early Childcare Business Accelerator is a four-month program focused on providing the skills and knowledge to open a registered or certified home-based childcare business.
Quality Care Connections provides safety and quality improvement training and licensure support to obtain licensure with the Department of Early Childhood Education and Child Care. Licensed Registered Family Providers can have up to 10 children in their home, and Certified Family Providers can have up to 16 children in their home, according to Onward Eugene. The SBDC offers business training and support to help early childhood educators gain the skills they need to be successful small business owners.
Accelerator participants will be assigned a business advisor from the SBDC, and licensed graduates will receive $5,000 to start their business, as well as ongoing comprehensive services from both QCC and the SBDC after the program ends.
“The decision-making power is still entirely theirs, but we’re here to steer them in the right direction to make smart business decisions,” said Jason Petrak, one of the course instructors at the Lane Small Business Development Center.
To date, the partners have completed two cohorts of the program, resulting in 27 graduates, 14 new child care programs, and plans for 175 new child care slots across Lane County.
“We will be opening two additional groups this fall, one for rural residents of Cottage Grove and Florence, and one for Spanish-speaking participants. We are currently accepting applications for both groups,” said Cheryl Henderson, director of child and family education at Lane Community College.
“We’re excited to not only continue to chip away at new slots needed across the region, but also support these new businesses and local job creation,” said Holly Marconte, child care strategist at Onward Eugene.
The free program was made possible through funding and support from Lane Community College and charitable organizations including Chambers Family Foundation, JTMF Foundation and Roundhouse Foundation. Onward Eugene was one of eight Oregon organizations awarded a “competitive” Strategic Innovation Grant from the Oregon Workforce and Workforce Development Commission through the Higher Education Coordinating Board to support the Early Childhood Care Business Accelerator program.
The cities of Eugene and Springfield have partnered to offer $5,000 startup grants to qualified graduates in each city through the Small Business Microenterprise Grant Program.
“This program gives people an opportunity to start their own businesses and provide child care that we desperately need,” Springfield City Council Member Cori Rodley said.
Funding for the city grant program comes from federal Community Development Block Grants. These funds are used to improve local communities by providing housing, improved infrastructure, public facilities and services, and improved economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents.
“For many families, access to child care is key to economic stability,” said Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis. “By investing in new in-home child care operations, we are not only meeting a critical need for working families, but we are also promoting local businesses and economic growth. This program is a win-win for our community and we are proud to support it.”
If you are interested in applying for the Early Childhood Care Business Accelerator fall class, visit Quality Care Connections | Resources for the Community | Lane Community College (lanecc.edu) or call (541) 463-3954.
