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Stronger Together

Business solutions that make child care work for owners and workers

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Child Care Business Resilience Program for Retiring Owners
Learn More

Covid-19 Exacerbates a Looming Crisis in Child Care
Read ICA’s statement

Find out how ICA can support your child care business  

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Employee Ownership for Child Care Businesses

Many child care business owners expect to one day sell their business to a family member, employee, or an outside buyer. But finding a single buyer with the resources, skills, and vision to carry the business forward is not an easy feat. Creating an employee-owned cooperative by selling the business to workers offers another path—one that helps owners meet their financial goals while providing lasting benefits for workers, families, and communities.

Selling Owners

secure the legacy they’ve built, exit on their timeline, and receive a fair return from the sale of the business

Employees

retain jobs, build wealth through equity in the business, and gain a seat at the decision-making table

Families

are reassured that their chosen child care provider is not going to change its staff, values, or quality of care

Communities

retain jobs, build wealth through equity in the business, and gain a seat at the decision-making table

Contact us to explore whether employee ownership is right for you.

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Employee Ownership Works
Childspace, Philadelphia PA

Employee-owned since 1988, this multi-site business now serves over 200 families. Childspace enjoys half the staff turnover of other child care businesses, and staff earn more than the industry average.

Learn More – see our resources on worker cooperatives in the child care industry

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A Better Option for Retirement

Planning Your Transition to Employee Ownership

What kind of legacy do you want to leave? Employee ownership is a powerful child care succession strategy that offers a fair return and more flexibility than other business transfer options. Through employee ownership, you can ensure the continuation of the quality child care programs and workplace culture you’ve built, while rewarding loyal staff with the opportunity to become business owners that share in profits and decision making into the future.

How can we help?

ICA consultants offer support to 50 child care businesses every year. We partner with owners and employees to guide the process of transitioning to employee ownership by:

Helping Owners Define and Achieve Goals for Exit

Facilitating Financing for Employee-Owned Businesses

Training Employees to Think Like Owners

Building Lasting Networks of Support

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Leaving a Positive Legacy
Rose Garden, Buffalo NY

The Rose Garden transitioned to employee ownership in 2017 and five of seven employees now own the business. Employee-owners serve on the board, set organizational policy, and participate in community events to help grow the business.

Learn More – see our resources on exit planning with employee ownership

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Strengthening Family Child Care

The ICA Group is working to make it easier and more profitable to operate family child care homes.  We are creating purchasing cooperatives that offer shared services and resources that meet local needs. Through cooperatives, family child care businesses can maintain independence while lowering operating costs and raising profits.

CoRise Cooperative is building a provider-led network to ease providers’ administrative load and reduce other business-related burdens, while lowering their costs, and creating access to new forms of revenue for greater financial security.

Family child care providers in Chicago and Springfield, IL met to co-design digital tools for family child care providers.

The Family Child Care Coalition opens doors for family child care providers by offering unique professional development opportunities and sharing evidence-based practices to provide excellent care and elevate the family child care industry.

Video Profile: Laverne Cheeseboro from the Family Child Care Coalition shares why she’s working to build a network of support for family providers in Philadelphia.

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Employee Ownership in Child Care

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Planning for Retirement and Business Transfer

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