Building a Family Child Care Business

AngelaIn 1991, Angela Siharath learned about Children’s Council from another child care provider at the neighborhood playground. She’d started out caring for her own children and some neighbors. Now she saw a chance to build on that experience and create a business. But she learned that to legally care for more children, she needed a license.

Soon Angela met with a member of our provider support team, who assisted her through the licensing process, then enrolled her in our required child development, health and safety, and CPR classes. When Angela got her license we entered her new family child care home in our citywide database of licensed providers. Now parents could learn about her program through referrals from our child care counselors.

Those referrals helped Angela build and sustain her business. She continued to serve neighborhood families, but no longer had to rely solely on word-of-mouth. Now she serves families from all over San Francisco.

Over the years, Angela has also deepened her knowledge of child development and small business operations by attending dozens of Children’s Council classes. And coaching visits by our staff help her continually find ways to support the learning and needs of the children in her care.