Jeannie Owsley:

Jeannie Owsley is the co-owner of Imagination Station Licensed Family Child Care Home in LaGrange County

Good morning. It is an honor to be here today. My name is Jeannie Owsley. I have co-owned and operated Imagination Station Early Learning Daycare, a family childcare home, since 2011 with my sister, Jessica Downey. We are located in LaGrange which is in the Northeast region of the state. When we first started, we were both mothers and each had run license exempt homes but otherwise had no prior education in early childhood development and education. Through the licensing process, we were supported by the employees of Early Childhood Alliance and introduced to the Paths to Quality Program. We knew nothing about the program, nor did families who live in our area. Though we did not see any business advantages to joining Paths to Quality, ECA employees were persuasive that we would benefit personally, even if a paths to quality rating did not bring in new clients. They were right! It was the support of having a coach, first from ECA and then INAEYC regularly visit our program and the encouragement they provided that pushed us to increase the quality of our program. Within the next 3 years we both received our CDA’s using funding from the TEACH scholarship through INAEYC. By 2016, we acquired National Accreditation through NAFCC and level 4 on PTQ. INAEYC’s Indiana Accreditation Project provided the funding for us to achieve and maintain accreditation. Also in 2016, I received the TEACH scholarship from INAEYC and began the Early Childhood Education program at Ivy Tech, Fort Wayne. I graduated summa cum lade in 2020. I immediately began the Education Preschool-Grade 3 and mild intervention program through St. Mary of-the-Woods college, again receiving the TEACH scholarship from INAEYC. I graduated in May of 2024, summa cum lade and received the Rockwell Medal for Academic Excellence. I can say with certainty that we would not be the high-quality program we are, without the support and funds from INAEYC.

I tell you my story for two reasons, first, to emphasize the impact that the licensing process as well as the in person coaching for paths to quality has had on our program and second, to show how capable family childcare professionals are. You will never find a more dedicated person in early childcare and education than family childcare providers. We open our homes to children, complying with licensing requirements, many of us rising in PTQ and continuing our education all while working 12 or more hours a day and filling all roles – teacher, administrator, cook, nutritionist, nurse, custodian, maintenance, among others. We literally live this career. And yet, many of us feel that we are treated as less professional than our early childhood educator counterparts. Among the reasons for these feelings is the CCDF pay disparity and deregulation efforts.

In my area, centers who are not on PTQ, receive 250% MORE per infant than a PTQ level 4 home while registered ministries receive 220% more. I appreciate the efforts that have been made to raise CCDF rates and obtain information on Family Childcare Homes to assess the true cost of care. I just ask that when looking into this information, a few things are kept in mind including the number of hours a family childcare provider works, the roles that a family childcare provider fills, and what could change if family childcare homes were better funded. With more funding, providers could possibly hire staff, work less hours, prevent burnout, have more time to continue education, extend their hours, or even open more programs.

Family childcare homes offer a unique and personal touch. Because they are smaller in scale, caregivers can build strong, trusting relationships with both the children and their families. This close-knit environment fosters a sense of belonging and security, which is crucial in a child’s early years. Children thrive in environments where they feel safe, loved, and supported, and family childcare homes offer just that.

 At the same time, CCDF must stay enrollment-based as this is the only way for programs to be sustainable, while also allowing parents with alternating work schedules to spend time with their children without being penalized.

I understand the draw to deregulate childcare. According to Brighter Futures Indiana, LaGrange County has an estimated 1,085 children in need of care. We have very few licensed childcare options and families who work unusual hours. Camper factories, who are a major employer in our area, sometimes start at 4:30 in the morning, combine this with families who work retail or other factories running second and third shift and we have a very large amount of families who need care outside of normal childcare hours. The raise in allowance of the number of children in unlicensed homes that was passed last year seems like an easy way to close this gap. However, I urge you to consider the long-term impacts deregulation in any form will have. When an unlicensed home may have 7 children plus first-generation relatives, and a licensed home with no assistant, may have 10 children including their relatives under age 7, there is very little motivation to become licensed. Actively discouraging homes to be unlicensed is a disservice not only to the children, but to their parents who could receive support from educated childcare providers; employers, as parents miss work every time their babysitter quits; our communities as we raise an ill-prepared generation and the provider of the unlicensed home who gets no support.

The most common phone call we receive from prospective clients is of distraught parents whose babysitter just quit. I realize that most people who run an unlicensed home will say they have no desire to be licensed but this is not a career that is sustainable without support and knowledge. 

The benefits of investing in childcare are undeniable. 80% of brain development happens in the first 3 years of a child’s life, making these years the most important. Research shows that children who receive high-quality early education are more likely to succeed academically, develop strong social skills, and become productive members of society. Early childhood education fosters cognitive development, creativity, and emotional well-being, laying the foundation for a lifetime of learning.

With this in mind, I urge you to support early childhood care and education. We need the continued support of INAEYC & our CCR&R services, funding for local childcare assistance programs, and more equitable CCDF reimbursement rates. I also urge you to hold all programs to the high standards that I know they are capable of achieving. Let us all work together to ensure that all providers receive the resources they deserve, so they can continue shaping bright futures for our youngest generation.