Firm Foundation Child Development

02/20/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

Families contracted with DHS must attend childcare at least 16 days per month for the center to receive payment.
There are no exceptions — including:
* Family vacations
* Illness
* Custody schedules
* Parents having time off work

This puts providers in an impossible position. We are expected to tell parents their child has to come to daycare — even when a parent has the day off and wants to spend time with their own child. Childcare should support families, not force them to choose between bonding time and keeping their provider paid.

Childcare works best when families and providers are partners. Policies should protect that partnership — not strain it.

02/20/2026

Special days this week 🫶

02/19/2026

Looking for a summer job?
Now is the time to secure that spot with the best team around town. Our team is growing little bundles of joy and we need help while they take that time to bond together. Please give Nicole a call or send your resume to Firmfoundationcdc@gmail.com.

02/18/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

When childcare providers are shorted or not paid by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) for contracted subsidy payments, there is often no clear explanation, no timely resolution, and no direct contact person to answer where the money went or why it wasn’t paid.

Providers deliver the care.
Children are served.
Staff are paid.
Lights stay on.

Yet small businesses cannot operate on missing or inconsistent payments.

What makes this even more concerning is that the State of Oklahoma does not typically treat other businesses contracted with them this way. For example, medical providers contracted under Medicaid or other state-funded healthcare programs operate within structured billing systems, clear reimbursement processes, and defined contacts for resolving payment disputes.

Childcare providers deserve that same level of accountability, transparency, and professional partnership.

We are not asking for special treatment.
We are asking for fair treatment.

DO BETTER OKLAHOMA!

02/18/2026

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

02/17/2026

Ice cream sunday for snack. 🍦

02/17/2026

Did you know, Oklahoma childcare is ranked 5th in the nation while public school in Oklahoma is ranked 50th. 💪

02/15/2026

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Thankful for our parents who make fun days like this possible. Your generosity does not go unnoticed. 💕

02/13/2026

“I Want to Be Present for the Children”

I want to be present for the children—
but the CACFP binder is open on the table,
meal counts waiting,
milk quantities measured,
signatures missing in blue ink instead of black.

I want to be present for the children—
but DHS just changed a rule,
and I am rereading policy pages
while a toddler tugs my sleeve
wanting to show me the worm he found in the garden.

I want to be present for the children—
but the food auditor is coming,
so I double-check the fridge thermometer,
recalculate grain equivalents,
and count strawberries one more time.

I want to be present for the children—
but the state just pulled funding,
and now I am recalculating tuition,
reworking budgets,
wondering how to keep my doors open
without breaking families.

I want to be present for the children—
but licensing just pulled in the driveway.
Ratios.
Training hours.
Emergency forms.
Handwashing logs.
Outdoor square footage.

I want to be present for the children—
but QRIS wants documentation,
evidence,
portfolios,
environmental rating scales,
lesson plan reflections typed and uploaded.

I want to be present for the children—
but the STARS visit is next week,
so I label shelves,
print policies,
highlight credentials
to prove what love already knows.

I want to be present for the children—
but state auditors need reports,
attendance verified by the minute,
sign-in sheets aligned with subsidy portals
that freeze without warning.

I want to be present for the children—
the babies learning to trust the world,
the two-year-old finding her voice,
the four-year-old asking why the leaves fall.

I want to sit in the grass
and listen to their stories.
I want to rock the fussy infant
without glancing at the clock.
I want to kneel eye-to-eye
and marvel at their questions.

But instead,
I document.

I file.

I upload.

I calculate.

I prove.

And somewhere in all the oversight,
all the compliance,
all the monitoring and measuring—

they forget.

They forget
that behind every binder
is a provider holding a baby.

Behind every spreadsheet
is someone wiping tears.

Behind every regulation
is a child who just wants
connection.

We are not factories.
We are not numbers.
We are not portals.

We are caregivers.
Teachers.
Nurturers.
Safe places.

And above all—

We are trying
to be present
for the children.VD

02/09/2026

With Governor Kevin Stitt – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

02/09/2026

Firm Foundation asks that you please sign this petition. Childcare in Oklahoma is near collapse. We need your support, so that we can support you.

Tell Oklahoma Leaders that funding child care supports Oklahoma's Workforce

02/03/2026

Yet another center, CLOSED.

These stories are heartbreaking. They are started with hopes and dreams. People pour everything they have - energy, finances, resources, emotions, and otherwise, into these businesses. This program is licensed for 77 children. When will anyone in power hear what we are saying?