Family Child Care Homes Provide Care and Opportunity

Kenia PhotoInvest in Children partners with Starting Point to support Family Childcare Homes (FCCHs) to be viable high-quality sites for young children -- a support system which helps more than just the kids. This partnership can be life-changing for those with the determination to start a small business, but who have limited capital.    

Kenia Hilario came to Cuyahoga County from her native Dominican Republic in 2015. She had limited English proficiency and the only trade she knew was childcare, having cared for her younger siblings. She soon learned English by reading books and watching television.

In the fall, she took in two kids for private care, and in 2016 was granted a Family Child Care License which formalized her small business. She then took advantage of the valuable and free assistance made available through the significant investments made by Invest in Children.

Kenia connected with Starting Point, northeast Ohio’s state designated resource and referral agency. With programs funded by Invest in Children, Starting Point staff helped in many important ways. Kenia quickly earned her Child Development Associate credential through free training courses. She also received free technical assistance in helping her business become star-rated in Ohio’s quality rating system - Step Up to Quality

By 2019, her FCCH was now rated high-quality with three stars.  One year later, she received the coveted notice that her FCCH had achieved the highest rating for quality – five stars. Kenya is also one of the few providers that has three shifts, and they are all full, for a total of 20 children weekly.

Funding the FCCH support programs is an important part of Invest in Children’s work in developing Cuyahoga County’s system of early care and education. These programs helped Kenia, and now she’s helping others. She now provides her perspective as a mentor for other aspiring Hispanic providers.

Invest in Children is proud of Kenia’s remarkable success, and we are thankful we were able to support her along the way!

More information on FCCH assistance programs: