Voller, Vanessa2018-05-212018-05-212018https://hdl.handle.net/11299/197284Between 2005 and 2014, approximately 3,000 licensed in-home family childcare providers in the state of Minnesota closed their businesses, leaving an estimated loss of over 36,000 childcare spaces (Legislative Task Force on Childcare Affordability - Access Report 2017). Although openings in new childcare centers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area surpassed the lost family childcare spaces, at the neighborhood level the loss of licensed family childcare providers leaves many families struggling to find childcare that meets their family’s specific needs. One reason explaining this child care shortage is the poor working conditions of the child care workforce. In response to this crisis, WomenVenture secured a USD$ 375,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to develop, implement, and evaluate an educational program to support women childcare providers in developing worker-owned cooperative child care centers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Worker-owned cooperatives have the potential to ensure that both the childcare providers receive a livable wage for their services and that parent-clients have access to quality child care for their children. This evaluation, commissioned by WomenVenture, will assess the first, pilot phase of the project which is the “Getting Ready for Cooperative Ownership” and the “Childcare Worker-Owned Cooperative Business Training” curriculum. The evaluation will be used to determine if the curriculum (1) meets the needs and expectations of the participants and (2) the intended learning outcomes and course objectives. The evaluation will be two-fold including both a summative and a formative portion.enReport