Several business, education and support agencies are joining forces to help people become New York State registered and licensed in-home child care providers.

The home-based child care business program is offered by Oswego County, Integrated Community Planning of Oswego County, Inc. (IPOOC), Small Business Development Center, Jefferson Community College and Oswego County Workforce New York (OCWNY) to support those interested in launching their own child care service.

Program participants will receive free business and education training to gain the knowledge and skills needed to provide high quality child care, as well as support with state registration and licensing processes.

Jefferson Community College provides virtual workshops to support participants as they are getting started. The classes will help them evaluate their ideas and make decisions about how to best plan their programs and daily routines. They will also cover behavior management and discipline policies. All of these components will help participants personalize the Family Policy Handbook to meet the needs of their individual business.

In addition, the Small Business Development Center offers five virtual workshops covering business basics, marketing, liability and insurance, accounting and entrepreneurship.

The Child Care & Development Council of Oswego County, part of ICPOC, will help with the New York State Child Care registration process as well as provide assistance with regulations and licensing.

Interested participants can learn more about this program by attending a free informational session, either virtually or in person.

• Virtual: Wednesday, Feb. 22 from 10 to 11 a.m.
• In-person: Wednesday, March 1 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the OCWNY Career Center, 200 N. Second St., Fulton.

Register to attend an information session at https://forms.gle/SVqT6zaUgG9iQ67S9 or by contacting Erica DeLong at 315-343-2344 ext. 110 or edelong@icpoc.org.