ryan ferguson
University of Kentucky
The Kentucky Small Business Development Center (SBDC) announced a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide coaching and specialized training to existing and new child care small businesses across Kentucky.
Kentucky SBDC's Childcare Initiative seeks to provide technical assistance and training for the child care business sector. Its purpose is to develop and implement new programs to promote the growth and sustainability of child care operations and enable these operations to more effectively serve the Commonwealth's children.
“Kentucky SBDC is excited to embrace and deploy our child care initiative to benefit small businesses active in the child care sector across Kentucky,” said Kentucky SBDC State Director Christina Joyce. “There is,” he said. “With this support, Kentucky SBDC is committed to providing targeted support to entrepreneurs in the child care industry.”
(NKyTribune file photo)
This initiative is designed to work in partnership with key child care stakeholders in Kentucky, including Kentucky Youth Advocates, Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, Childcare Aware of Kentucky, and Family Childcare Network of Kentucky. These collaborations improve the economic well-being of the commonwealth's children and expand the availability of essential child care services.
“We recognize the important role childcare services play in our communities, supporting both working parents and early childhood development. With this grant, we will only strengthen the childcare industry. We aim to provide Kentucky's small child care providers with the resources they need to help them grow and thrive.” added Mr. Joyce.
Ongoing efforts will focus on increasing the number of childcare slots available, while supporting entrepreneurs in launching new childcare businesses. Additionally, this initiative prioritizes improving the quality of current child care facilities with the goal of enhancing kindergarten readiness and providing significant benefits to Kentucky children and their families.
The Kentucky SBDC Childcare Initiative provides a variety of assistance to child care providers. This includes, but is not limited to, startup assistance, financial management guidance, operational and compliance consulting, marketing and enrollment strategies, training and professional development programs, and early childhood education resources. , health and safety protocols, and business skills development services.
