The Ground Floor: Cedar Rapids child care center owner aims for 24/7 service

As a working mother of three children who travels extensively for her job as a software consultant, Marie Vanourny discovered how difficult it can be to find suitable child care outside normal business hours.

So in March, Vanourny - whose youngest child is now 19 - purchased CR Building Blocks Childcare & Learning Center. Her plan is to offer first- and second-shift child care services and eventually expand to a 24/7 operation.

“No other centers in the area offer that,” Vanourny said. “For people who are working nights, weekends and holidays, their only options are private home care or nannies.”

Vanourny is taking a methodical approach to implementation of her round-the-clock business model. She already has extended the center's hours to a 12-hour operation, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

She also has established a waiting list for clients seeking child care outside those hours to identify what future staffing needs will be, given staff-to-child ratio requirements.

Being new to the closely regulated child care industry, Vanourny is finding there is much to learn about her business.

“There are a lot of things to know, from insurance coverage to (Department of Human Services) regulations to how to prepare a baby's bottle,” she said.

She relies heavily on the center's director, Sarah Fitzpatrick, who handles day-to-day operations, and a staff of 10. All were retained in the transition from the earlier owner.

One of the things Vanourny wants to learn more about is managing a food program to provide a balanced diet and sound nutrition.

“For a very long time I've been troubled by the obesity rate among young children,” she explained.

She said her center participates in the Child Care and Adult Food Program, a federal program that provides subsidies to child care institutions for serving nutritious meals and snacks and fostering lifelong habits related to healthy eating and physical activity.

• Owner: Marie Vanourny
• Company: CR Building Blocks Childcare & Learning Center
• Address: 350 Third Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids
• Phone: (319) 366-7717

Know a start-up in business less than a year that would fit in “The Ground Floor”? Contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.