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The Child Care Partnership Project Coastal Enterprises Child Care Development Project |
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Description Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) in Maine uses its ingenuity, strong work ethic, and entrepreneurship to support community-based economic development. As a private, non-profit community development corporation, Coastal Enterprises helps communities find solutions to their problems. One of CEI's many statewide efforts, the Child Care Development Project (CCDP), focuses on child care. The CCDP encourages entrepreneurship by supplying child care providers with the funding and training they need to grow and succeed. The Project also encourages employer-supported child care. CEI works to increase the amount of quality child care in the state, so that more of Maine's families can work without worrying about the well-being of their children. Partners The Child Care Development Project works with a variety of state and local government agencies and private organizations to provide services to employers and providers. These groups include:
History and Development Coastal Enterprises, Inc., was founded in 1977 as a private, non-profit community development corporation. Based in Wiscasset, Maine, CEI provides financing and technical assistance to a variety of businesses. These businesses range from natural resource-based industries and innovative, job-generating manufacturers to small enterprises. They also include women-run businesses, and family- and center-based child care facilities. In 1988, the need for affordable, quality child care rose dramatically, due to a strong and growing economy. The Ford Foundation and the state gave CEI money to create the Child Care Development Project. This project was intended to help fund and develop employer-supported child care. Over the years, the focus of CEI’s Child Care Development Project has changed in response to shifts in the economic climate. In the early 1990s, as a downturn in the state's economy decreased child care demand, the Project began to focus on serving providers through financial counseling and by providing direct loans. Since 1994, CEI has provided financing and general business counseling through its Loan and Investment Officers. A Child Care Committee at CEI, representing each CEI department (Targeted Opportunities Program, Technical Assistance, Research & Development, Lending, and Women's Business Initiatives) meets regularly to coordinate activities and services. Child care technical assistance is provided by a Resource Development Center network and CEI’s on-site Small Business Association Center, which is similar to child care resource and referral networks in other states. Current Activities The Child Care Development Project has four main activities. These are:
The CCDP lends money to all types of new and existing licensed child care providers in the state. Loans are generally made to:
The CCDP also uses its funds to address the lack of quality, affordable, licensed child care, particularly in rural areas of Maine. To receive a loan, a provider must demonstrate at least one of the following impacts:
The project also links child care providers who serve low-income families with other state and local services such as ASPIRE/JOBS, a welfare-to-work program through the Maine Department of Human Services. Resources As of December 1997, CEI had made more than $2.7 million in loans. Its capital comes primarily from the Ford Foundation grant, as well as the Small Business Association's Micro-loan Program and U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Economic Development funds. These funds have leveraged over $4.6 million from other private and public sources to support expansion and improvement of child care throughout the state. Results As of December 1997, CEI's Child Care Development Project financed 97 providers, including 52 family providers and 45 centers, with 105 loans. All of these loans have benefited low-income families, and most of them are in rural areas. Total funding of over $7.4 million has been directed to child care providers in Maine as a result of this Project. CEI has found that child care borrowers are a good risk. In fact, the delinquency rate for loans to child care providers is slightly lower than the delinquency rate for other loans that CEI makes. An evaluation of the impact of the Child Care Development Project is being conducted. Results, including the total number of child care slots created and the financial impact on the providers, will be available late in 1998. Sustaining and Replicating A shifting economy has once again initiated changes within the Project. As in 1988, Maine's economy is growing in 1998. The need for safe, quality child care is also growing. In response to these changes, the Project plans to do the following.
Lessons Learned Partnerships are not created in a vacuum. CEI’s child care partnership builds on the expertise of the partner organizations and the existing infrastructure of the state. This has involved carefully and strategically partnering with child care providers and networks that exist to support them. Money isn't everything. While grant funds can be very helpful in sustaining a partnership, CEI found that money is not essential for the partnership to be successful. The act of partnering often brings its own rewards—at no cost—through information sharing and non-monetary resources. Business needs to be involved. Child care, especially for infants, is not affordable for many working parents. With the help of CEI, businesses are understanding the importance of affordable child care and working to make quality child care more affordable for their employees. CEI uses businesses that have employer-supported and/or on-site child care as models for businesses that are considering an investment in child care. Dedicate staff to the partnership. CEI has learned that it is critical to have a dedicated staff person who knows the issues and can spend the time building the partnership. Even if staffing needs change over time as the partnership expands and contracts, it is essential to dedicate staff to get the partnership off the ground. Contact Information Phebe Royer Sally Haggerty |
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