AWC launches free childcare business training for Yuma entrepreneurs

Arizona Western College is opening a free training track for people who want to turn childcare into a small business, with a 16-session DreamBuilder cohort set to run from May 12 through July 2 at the Reskilling & Technology Center in Yuma.

The hybrid program meets in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with virtual options built in. Registration is required and seating is limited. AWC says the class is designed to help participants plan, build and strengthen a childcare venture from the ground up, making this the college’s second DreamBuilder cohort focused on childcare.

The timing matters in Yuma County, where childcare shortages and high costs have long been tied to workforce problems. Arizona families have been reported to spend about $15,000 a year on childcare, a level that can push working parents to delay jobs, reduce hours or rely on unstable arrangements. Adding more locally owned childcare businesses will not fix the shortage overnight, but it could expand capacity in neighborhoods where waiting lists and limited openings have become part of daily life.

The training is being offered through the Arizona Western College Small Business Development Center, which serves entrepreneurs across Yuma and La Paz counties, a combined area of 10,037 square miles. AWC says the center provides bilingual English-Spanish counseling, resource assistance and training, an important support system in a region where many would-be owners need help with licensing, planning, financing and day-to-day business setup.

DreamBuilder is part of a broader AWC entrepreneurship effort and is offered in partnership with Freeport-McMoRan. The childcare-specific cohort gives local residents another route into an industry that can be both a business opportunity and a community service, especially for parents looking for care closer to home and with more predictable hours.

AWC already has an early childhood education pipeline in place, including an Early Childhood Education A.A.S. degree, a Family Childcare Education certificate and the Child Development Learning Lab, which supports early childhood training and provides a learning environment for young children. The college also previously received child care funding from the Arizona Department of Economic Security to help reimburse student child care expenses.

Taken together, those pieces point to a broader local strategy: train more caregivers, support more small businesses and make it easier for working families in Yuma County to find dependable child care.