Oregon Child Care Owner Wants to Preserve Culture for Families

After working her entire career in child care, Leticia Virruate – owner of Early Bird Child Care LLC in Sandy, OR – has some important advice for future child care providers. 

“I started out taking care of kids because it is what I love. But I’ve had a lot of challenges as a business owner: learning payroll, taxes, enrollment, staffing. It’s a lot!” Leticia says. “My advice would be to learn that business side first before anyone starts caring for kids because that is the most difficult side.” 

Leticia’s family child care provides care for about 10 children. “Some are just certain days each week; some are more on a drop-in basis.” 

Spanish is Leticia’s native language, and she is proud to be able to provide child care using Spanish. 

“Many of our families are second-generation and the parents really value the Hispanic culture and language. They want their children to be bi-lingual, but they don’t want to lose their native culture.” 

Leticia learned about First Children’s Finance when she started to apply for Oregon Child Care Infrastructure Fund (CCIF) grants through Business Oregon. As part of the CCIF process, First Children’s provided technical assistance during the application process. 

“I also started to receive information about training offered by First Children’s Finance. The topics covered the areas where I needed to know more; I was also pleased to receive state credit through ORO (Oregon Registry Online),” Leticia says. “These credits help show the quality of your child care program.” 

Leticia began taking trainings in areas such as personnel, taxes, and business leadership. “I’ve even taken some classes twice because I thought they were so interesting, and I learned more each time!” 

She said that while she has learned a lot, it hasn’t always been easy. “My level of computer skills sometimes makes me nervous because technology isn’t always that easy; it can be very intimidating. But the instructors always made sure that everyone understood the material. And the fact that the courses could be in Spanish was very helpful to me.” 

Leticia has also enjoyed working with many FCF Oregon staff members. 

“(Business Development Manager) Juan (Muros) has been very helpful to be. He was actually the person who first helped me register my business with the state. He has always been there for me. 

“(Business Development Specialists) Ingrid (Perez) and Jeniffer (White) are also so experienced and helpful. They speak my language: both Spanish and child care!” 

Leticia said her next dream is to open a child care center, but the dream was originally a co-worker’s. “Many years ago a friend told me that she had a dream where I owned a center and she worked for me. She put the seed of my dream in my mind.” 

“I’ve had the privilege of knowing Leticia for about five years, and throughout that time she has consistently demonstrated determination, independence, and an unwavering commitment to turning her dreams into reality,” Muros said. “The first time we worked together, I helped her choose a name for her child care business through business counseling, and it has been incredibly rewarding to continue supporting her journey at FCF. Watching her grow as an entrepreneur, secure CCIF funding, and expand her vision for the future has been inspiring.  I am excited to see what she accomplishes next and wish her every success as she continues building her dream.” 

She knows that there will be steps to building that center and achieving that dream. She must start with a solid business plan and then seek funding. 

“The first year of my current program I received a stipend from FCF that helped me buy materials for my child care program. It was so helpful when I really needed it. But I saw then how much even a small playground costs. I know a new center will be very expensive.” 

At the end of the day, Leticia knows why she does what she loves. 

“I have five grown children, so I have a lot of mom experience. When they were little I needed to work full time and couldn’t always finding quality care. I said, ‘One day I will provide good services and parents will trust me as a provider.’” 

And the best benefit? “When the kids arrive and reach their arms to me, I know I am doing a good job. It makes everything worth it!”