Alyssa Foskey, director of the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center at Valdosta State University, is on a mission to help child care businesses thrive across the Peach State. She will be offering four two-hour webinars and free consulting services this year and next as part of the Georgia Early Child Care Learning Authority’s newly launched Thriving Child Care Business Academy. |
VALDOSTA — Alyssa Foskey, director of the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center at Valdosta State University, is on a mission to help child care businesses thrive across the Peach State.
“Many UGA SBDC consultants across Georgia have specialties,” she shared. “Since 2020, my field of expertise has been child care. Over the past few years, I have worked with the Georgia Department of Early Childhood and Learning and the licensed child care programs it oversees to address the child care needs of Georgia’s children and their families. We had an opportunity to support efforts to meet these needs.”
Foskey will offer four two-hour webinars and free consulting services this year and next as part of the Georgia Early Child Care Learning Authority’s newly launched Thriving Child Care Business Academy. Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, this free virtual training covers several business-related topics, including planning and budgeting, financial accounting and tax preparation, organizational leadership, staff recruitment and retention, enrollment management, and marketing. subjects will be covered.
“The Georgia Department of Early Childhood Learning understands that childcare workers are very good at caring for children and families, but they don’t necessarily have the skills necessary to successfully manage the business side of things. It’s not,” she said. “The purpose of the Thriving Child Care Business Academy is to provide these child care providers with the skills, training and resources they need to run an efficient and effective business.”
The Georgia Early Child Care Learning Authority’s Thriving Child Care Business Academy is an online platform of free training and resources for owners and managers of licensed center and home-based child care providers. The training and materials offered through the academy are tailored to the child care business landscape and were developed by Civitas Strategies, the National Center for Early Childhood Quality Assurance, and the University of Georgia Valdosta State University Small Business Development Center.
According to the Georgia Department of Early Childhood and Learning, a stable early childhood care and education industry consisting of thriving childcare businesses is critical to Georgia’s economic growth and the future academic success of young learners.
For his unwavering dedication to developing leaders and helping small businesses succeed, Foskey was recently named to the 2023 American Small Business Development Center’s 40 Under 40 list.
For more information about business training and resources available through Georgia’s new Thriving Child Care Business Academy, visit www.decal.ga.gov/Thriving.
To learn more about the variety of services offered by the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center at Valdosta State University, visit www.valdosta.edu/sbdc.