MO-SECA Made a Difference

The first year of Missouri Supporting Early Childhood Administrators (MO-SECA) is winding down. Child Care Aware® of Missouri has been privileged to work and support a great group of family child care owners. We want to share some of the stories of those family child care owners who participated in this first year. 

Kaylee Bushmann, Phelps County:

Like a lot of family child care owners, Kaylee started her business with the desire to stay home with her child. Kaylee had previously worked in nursing and acknowledged that business and finances were not her area of expertise. She was struggling and on the verge of quitting. On her way to the first learning session, she prayed for confirmation of whether this was what she should be doing. 

Kaylee enrolled in MO-SECA because the training topics spoke to many of the areas where she was struggling and because it was specifically tailored to family child care businesses. By participating in the training and the TA, Kaylee learned more about networking, policy writing, advertising, and budgeting. She could now look at her expenses through a new lens and reduce her costs. Kaylee loved the opportunity to network. By talking with other providers, she understood she was not alone in some of the issues with which she was dealing. They supported and encouraged her to implement new policies that increased her revenue. 

Kaylee's Trainer and Technical Assistance (TA) Specialist was Judy Bumpus. 

Judy commented that it was great to see Kaylee have immediate results from some of the changes she made during the project. It fueled her excitement and gave her more confidence as a business owner.  

Marketing was not a priority Kaylee's for business. She typically remained full and believed it was something she did not need to do. Through the training and TA with Judy, Kaylee saw the opportunities for connecting with community resources and how marketing can best sustain her program into the future.  

Kaylee said, "I am forever grateful to have met Judy Bumpus! She has been absolutely incredible! Her knowledge of business combined with her experience in child care and social work background made me feel like she truly understood and wanted to help." Because of Judy's support and the MO-SECA project, Kaylee now feels less overwhelmed. She is confident that she now has the tools and strategies to better manage and sustain her family child care business for the foreseeable future. 

A second year of MO-SECA is coming in 2024! Watch for future details.

Explore our other Child Care Aware® of Missouri resources:

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