社区黑料

Having eyes in the back of your head isn鈥檛 in the job description, but it sure helps. One twin is grumpily sitting out yoga because it鈥檚 the other鈥檚 turn to be the 鈥渢eacher.鈥� A 1-year-old toddles at the margins of the room, swinging a toy keyboard over his head, while the expression on a 2-year-old鈥檚 face suddenly, subtly indicates that it鈥檚 time for a potty break.

Over the course of any given day, Tiffany Jones manages all of these situations and a hundred more. Drawing upon her knowledge of child development, she recognizes and addresses diverse learning styles and abilities, cultivating a sense of belonging and curiosity within her program. 鈥淚 see them growing into a generation of confident, empathetic and capable individuals,鈥� she states.

As owner and operator of , Jones educates eight children in two large rooms of her home in Rockville, Maryland. And if it weren鈥檛 for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, this dedicated and talented educator might have gone out of business, leaving the parents of these children unable to keep their jobs. And Precious Moments certainly wouldn鈥檛 be in these bright, capacious rooms without ARPA dollars.

Jones has plans for improving her business if and when more public investment comes 鈥� including a better outdoor space and a greater capacity to accommodate families who cannot normally afford child care 鈥� but first she has to make sure nobody swallows a Lego.

Jumping through Hoops

Originally from Bowie, Maryland, Jones aspired to be a doctor before motherhood and economics nudged her onto another career path. Enrolling in the rigorous pre-professional program in early care and education at Washington Adventist University meant bringing her three children along with her from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. four nights a week.

鈥淚 had to learn the business and jump through all those hoops,鈥� she recalls. Her administrative skills came in handy during the pandemic, when she secured ARPA funding to relocate Precious Moments. It cost $8,000 to move three blocks away and to furnish the new site. The rent is higher here, but it allows her to have separate areas for living and working.

鈥淚 was closed for 18 months during the pandemic,鈥� she recalls, 鈥淪o the funding had to last to pay the living expenses of a single mom to three kids.鈥�

When a facility closes, she adds, it cannot open the next day in the new location, owing to licensing and fire marshal certification. 鈥淚t was really closer to two years from when I closed to when I reopened and was fully operational. The parents were like, 鈥榃e need this place and you need to open.鈥欌��

Since the pandemic, and thanks to ARPA funding, the racial makeup of Jones鈥檚 class transformed. 鈥淔or 15 years,鈥� she says, 鈥淚 didn’t have one Black client. Child care is very expensive, and in Rockville it鈥檚 just really hard to find high-quality, affordable care. But when I started to accept pre-K funds, that was the first time that I had a client of color.鈥�

The expanded space she secured helped her qualify for the pre-K expansion funds. On the day I visited, Margie Ryan, the pre-K coach assigned to Jones by the , was there to observe class.聽鈥淭iffany is way ahead of the game,鈥� Ryan told me, praising her vocabulary-building games centered on everyday household objects. Jones serves on the board of the Montgomery County and received a Montgomery County Innovative Leadership Excellence Award in October 2023.

Erica Phillips, executive director at the (NAFCC), praises Jones for 鈥渢aking full advantage of ARPA to upgrade her program.鈥� Thanks to the pre-K expansion and other factors, Phillips explains, Precious Moments is a more sustainable business today, which matters for Jones and her family, for the families she supports and for the local employers and economy that rely on her. Jones is the Maryland State Representative for NAFCC as well as an NAFCC policy fellow.

Jones鈥檚 financial situation is far from unique. 鈥淚 know lots of providers that have used the ARPA funding,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 what sustained their business.鈥� Obstacles to receiving money included not having a separate bank account for their business or not having sufficient English-language skills to navigate the application. Montgomery County, Maryland has an unusually robust that helped providers with the process.

Beyond Precious Moments

Having learned to advocate for herself, Jones has proven effective at advocating for family care educators in Maryland. According to Phillips, 鈥淧eer leaders like Tiffany were incredible in disseminating information during the pandemic. Our child care leaders really stepped up, sharing information and making sure that no family child care program was left behind.鈥�

Last year, care providers successfully lobbied Montgomery County to pilot a program for wellness benefits, including access to mental health counseling. A new goal on the horizon is what Jones describes as 鈥渁 shared services model, where we’re all in a consortium of sorts to get access to benefits.鈥� The vision includes business coaching, bulk purchasing and child care management software.

As Phillips points out, most family child care providers don鈥檛 have the means to save for retirement. Jones opened a self-employed pension at her credit union, but it is on her to make contributions to it. Given her slim profit margins, the account鈥檚 growth is slower than she would like.

What does the future hold for Precious Moments? 鈥淎ny kind of funding would be helpful,鈥� Jones says. 鈥淭hat outdoor classroom would be at the top of my list.鈥� She also mentions curriculum upgrades, wraparound supports for her families and a backstop for her constant cash flow problem.

鈥淚 could resolve the cash flow issue by taking all privately paying families who pay before care is given,鈥� Jones notes, 鈥渂ut then I wouldn’t be able to help families that really need care in order to work their jobs, and are looking for high-quality early education.鈥�

Support for this reporting was provided by the Better Life Lab at New America.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 社区黑料. Learn more here.