Talking WIth Tashia~ Is in home care more profitable for ECE professionals?

In this episode of ECE Unhinged, we return to our wage transparency series with a perspective we have not covered yet: an in-home childcare provider.

Tashia Lush joins us from Illinois to share how she went from working as a teacher and director in childcare centers to opening a licensed program in her own home. She talks honestly about startup costs, licensing, ratios, food reimbursement, supplies, grants, household expenses, and what it really takes to make an in-home program profitable.

We also dig into one of the biggest questions facing early childhood educators right now: Is opening an in-home daycare a more sustainable path than continuing to work in a traditional center?

Tashia shares how her program became profitable within its first year, why her husband was able to leave his outside job and join her as an assistant, and how running her own program has affected her stress, health, and quality of life.

This conversation offers a candid look at the financial realities, responsibilities, risks, and rewards of becoming an in-home childcare provider.