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4. Ideas for Improved Efficiencies, Cost Savings and Innovative Business Models for Care
The concepts described below have come up repeatedly in conversations with providers, employers and state and national level experts about the state of dependent care in West Virginia and the United States and ways the current models could be modernized. This section also includes a tool designed to improve the finances and profit margins of child care businesses.
West Virginia University Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship students [154] have developed a Cost Calculator Tool for Child Care Businesses as part of the implementation of the “Moving WV's Workforce Forward: Identifying and Addressing Dependent Care Barriers and Opportunities” grant project. The cost calculator tool is intended to assist those interested in starting or expanding a child care business make more informed financial decisions.
The tool is customizable and can be modified based on the unique characteristics of a given child care business, including provider type, location, tier level, property ownership and more. It also is accompanied by a user-friendly guide designed to help those navigate its features. While this tool is a work in progress and will continue to be refined by Encova Center students over the next couple months, it has been well received in this first-phase version. Once finalized, it can function as a powerful cost estimator tool for new and established child care providers in West Virginia.