The Business of Care: Strengthening Family Child Care as a Path to Wealth Building

Peter Ciurczak, Senior Research Analyst at Boston Indicators, welcomed attendees on Friday, March 28, to a discussion on The Business of Care: Strengthening Family Childcare as a Path to Wealth Building. With their Racial Wealth Equity Resource Center Initiative, Boston Indicators aims to discover how to better support pathways to wealth building for those historically left behind. Ciurczak emphasized that family childcare providers (FCCs) represent one such pathway, but providers are struggling with "significant financial challenges due to low reimbursement rates, unpredictable revenue, and high operating costs.” He highlighted that for "women of color and new immigrant FCC owners especially, these challenges are rooted in systemic undervaluation of care.”  

The report focuses on how we can strengthen FCCs as small businesses, support their growth, and help them build long-term wealth. Adam Jones, Senior Policy Analyst at Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and author of the report, revealed findings which showed challenges such as low reimbursement rates, noting that current reimbursement rates for FCCs are often insufficient in covering the actual cost of childcare. Jones pointed out that for many providers, "building wealth was at best aspirational and at worst just an outright impossibility.” 

Senator Jason M. Lewis took the virtual stage to deliver remarks, noting that the strength of Massachusetts' early education and childcare system lies in the wide variety of care. “We have a variety of different out-of-school programs with different providers,” Sen. Lewis said, “and that diversity provides families with options in terms of the kind of care that fits their needs. It's very important that we think about early education and care as a diverse, rich, mixed delivery system.” 

Danubia Camargos Silva, Senior Program Officer of Child Well-Being at the Boston Foundation, invited panelists to join the discussion: Daliza Nova, Head of Development and Strategy at ALX (formerly Amplify LatinX); Dr. Wendy W. Robeson, Senior Research Scientist at Wellesley Centers for Women; Alejandra Tejeda. Family Childcare Coordinator at SEIU 509; and Melinda Weber, Vice President of Shared Services, United Way of Mass Bay. Nova focused on the necessary mindset shift to consider FCC providers as business owners and the necessity of teaching new educators how to effectively market their programs. She cited the business program at ALX, emphasizing that the members of her team are "not just teaching business skills, we're also nurturing leadership and reclaiming the narrative that care work is not just valuable, it's fun, it's foundational to our economy.” Weber raised issues like unpredictable income streams and how the current reimbursement system creates significant cash flow challenges for these small businesses, stating the way we reimburse FCCs is “dependent on them paying first and then getting reimbursed.” Alejandra Tejeda of SEIU Local 509 highlighted the long history of financial struggle, saying that "educators were working in the red for a really long time" prior to recent investments, showing the need for continued support. The panel spoke about the lack of access to benefits such as health care, retirement funds, and paid time off for FCC owners. Robeson stressed that "we need to treat all early educators as professionals, because they are not babysitters.” 

Jocelyn Bowne, Deputy Commissioner for Workforce, Program Supports and Innovation at the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, closed the program by acknowledging the unique challenges of FCC programs. She spoke about the complexity of being an FCC educator, which requires being a "skilled small business owner, and to have that particular skill set to manage a business that is running on slim margins, while also being a skilled educator.” Bowne emphasized the need to integrate FCCs into our systems instead of treating them as separate and develop training that is particular to FCC programs. Bowne concluded by acknowledging the work done and the ongoing commitment to future collaboration and development.