Virtual Business Train-the-Trainer Institute

All Our Kin is excited to announce two upcoming Business Institutes in Spring 2021!

Participants will leave equipped to lead our Virtual Family Child Care Business Series, an engaging and accessible 10-week online course for providers that covers everything from contracts and policies to financial management. All Our Kin will provide detailed training guides and follow up support as trainers pilot this series in their communities.  

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Virtual Family Child Care Business Series?

All Our Kin is in the process of adapting our time-tested business series to a virtual platform to offer family child care providers around the country an opportunity to advance their knowledge about business and build connections to their peers. We developed our business curriculum over the past decade as we heard directly from family child care providers about the business topics most important to them. These topics include marketing, contracts, recordkeeping, the Time-Space Percentage, and more. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, we have worked to re-design the same lessons to engage participants at a wide range of technological abilities in virtual, activity-based learning. We have embedded a diversity of virtual strategies to encourage relationship-building between participants so that they can support one another after the series. forward. We are excited to offer a curriculum that is accessible moving forward, meeting the needs of providers in rural areas or with other transportation and child care barriers to in-person participation. The series will offer roughly 20 hours of professional development for participants.

When is the Institute?

The dates of the upcoming virtual Business Train-the-Trainer Institute will be announced shortly. It will be offered via Zoom. Whole group training hours will be set to accommodate participants from multiple time zones in the Continental U.S.

What can participants expect in the Virtual Business Train-the-Trainer Institute?

The Virtual Business Train-the-Trainer Institute will prepare trainers to teach the Virtual Family Child Care Business Series in their communities. All Our Kin mentor trainers will present sections of the Virtual Business Series to model the activities and teach the content. They will pause and reflect often, pulling back the curtain to give trainers all the tips and best practices that they know. The Institute is designed to be engaging and fun, and is flexible to meet the needs of all participants. Participants should be prepared to use a computer, rather than a phone or tablet. 

What follow-up support will participants receive?

When participants in the Virtual Train-the-Trainer Institute go on to teach the Family Child Care Business Series in their home communities, they will receive guidance and support from All Our Kin. We will work with participants to develop a follow-up plan that meets their needs. 

Who should apply for the Virtual Institute?

The Institute is best suited for trainers at organizations that have direct contact with family child care providers, which can include staffed family child care networks, associations, Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, nonprofit organizations, or child care unions. Participants should have a passion for supporting family child care providers, a commitment to equity for all caregivers, and dedicated work time and resources to implement the Business Series after the Institute.  They do not need to have extensive business knowledge, though they should be comfortable with basic math. Participants should also have a basic level of comfort with technology, such as Zoom and Google Suite. 

We are especially seeking bilingual applicants who can offer the Business Series in Spanish in their home communities. The ideal number of participants who should apply per organization is 2-3, though we may consider up to 4.

What resources are required to implement the virtual Business Series?

Delivering the series was trained will require: 

• Access to pro-level Zoom for trainers delivering the series (cost is $15/month)

• Ensuring all interested participants have access to adequate technology for full participation (for example, this could mean providing a lending library of laptops and/or mobile hotspots). Computers are preferred over smartphones or tablets for best engagement in the virtual business series.

• At least 10 hours of staff time per trainer per week for at least 8 weeks (including prep time)

• A budget of up to $75 per participant for materials

• Optional: Administrative or technical staff support for the trainer (for example, this could include promotion of the series, managing registration, ensuring participants are set-up technologically to participate, creating certificates etc.)

We are happy to help you think through how to secure funding and organize the logistics of the Virtual Business Series.

What is the commitment if I am accepted?

We ask that you commit to participating in the Virtual Institute in its entirety and to delivering the Virtual Business Series in your community within 6 months of the Institute. If accepted, we will ask you to sign a Memorandum of Understanding detailing the use agreement for our curriculum and other expectations, such as sharing evaluation results with All Our Kin. 

How will the application process work?

We are choosing participants based on the criteria above (see “Who should apply for the Institute?”) as well as geographic and linguistic diversity. After you submit an application, you may hear from us for a 30-minute follow up call to learn more about your organization and your interest in the Institute. We will notify participants of their acceptance by [Date TBD]. At that point we ask you to review the Memorandum of Understanding and confirm your attendance within 2 weeks.

Click here to apply to attend the Institute.

Please contact us at technicalassistance@allourkin.org with questions.