257: How Can We Transform Childcare for Children with Special Needs? With Carson Wagner

In this episode, Kate and Carrie sit down with Carson Wagner, the heart behind Lifetime of Love Nannies in Reno. Carson shares her inspiring journey from teen caregiver to agency owner, opening up about the real-life challenges—and joys—of supporting kids with special needs. The trio chats about why hands-on experience often trumps formal education, the power of partnerships in childcare, and creative ways to diversify income. 

If you’re curious about building a more inclusive, resourceful childcare community, this episode is packed with friendly wisdom and practical tips!

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Transcript

Marie 00:00:01  Welcome to child care conversations with Kate and Carrie.

Kate 00:00:06  Welcome back. And today we might have some secrets for you. Our guest today. I love secrets, don't you? Our destiny. Our guest. Our guest today is Carson Wagner. And Carson is based out of Reno, Nevada. And I think that what she's got to share not only her story and her passion, but some tips that I think that she might give some of y'all might be exactly the solution you need for staffing.

Carrie 00:00:39  Also for serving a growing portion of the market, which anyway, we'll talk about all that. Also, I didn't say in our pre talk. Carson, my sister, used to live in Reno and that's where she did her first two director jobs. So I've been out there a couple of world. Yeah.

Kate 00:01:02  I've just been there to play in the snow. Yes.

Carson 00:01:07  We definitely have that. We have all four seasons that that is something we have.

Kate 00:01:13  Absolutely. So, Carson, I know we talked earlier, but why don't you share a little bit about your story? And you made a great point, and I hope that you will bring it back up.

Kate 00:01:23  about your experience and what you noticed in the industry as far as creating your business.

Carson 00:01:28  Yeah, most definitely. So one of my first jobs, as a teen was caring for adults with special needs. I had no idea what I was applying to. I just knew I got the job and I showed up and I ended up loving everything about it. And so I was always within behavioral therapy, kind of that realm I had managed. I had done, in home care, special needs care specifically. And then I was going to college and I just. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I knew I had a passion in the child care field. And I realized doing behavioral therapy for kiddos with autism in home, that a lot of the parents just really needed a trusted source to care for their child while they went to the grocery store, or did just about anything outside of the home, and just to get that break. And, I just wanted to be able to offer that to the families within our area.

Carson 00:02:27  So I dropped out of college and I started my agency, to offer 24 over seven childcare to all children of all capabilities. And, five years later, we're in three different locations. And one of the things I'm most proud of is that we, accept state funding. So palco respite. And it's we're able to take that financial burden off of families that need it the most. And that's been a big, heart Passion of. Of mine. Within my agency. So. Yeah, it's it definitely doesn't feel like work every day. It's work. It's a lot of work. But I really love it, I really do.

Kate 00:03:06  Oh, well, thank you for sharing your story. But there was another thing that you said, that you noticed, about experience and education and how you got here.

Carson 00:03:17  Yes. Experience and education and how I got here. and tell me in what terms.

Kate 00:03:23  Basically, that you realized you didn't need a degree to be successful.

Carson 00:03:26  Oh, yes. No, that was definitely a big one for me.

Carson 00:03:31  I, I learned that, I mean, when I first got started, my agency, I did not know what I was doing. I did not know how to write a professional email. I tell people that all the time. I did not have good punctuation to say the least. I definitely had clients point that out in the beginning. I just I knew that I really enjoyed what, you know, the I enjoyed the mission, but I just didn't really know how to get there. And like I told you earlier, I just learned to say yes and figure it out later. I knew that there was never going to be the right time to start an agency. I did not know what payroll was in the beginning. I did not know what a contract was. In the beginning, my first family was like, hey, where do we sign? I'm like, you know what? That's a great question. So I, I just didn't I didn't know anything, in the beginning. But it really has been great because that hands on experience, I mean, I couldn't have gotten that from working for someone else or researching and, you know, doing so much research, it becomes overwhelming.

Carson 00:04:33  I just knew I need to say yes, and I need to figure it out later. And that's exactly what I did, which has gotten us to where we are. So I'm a big advocate for you need zero education. Just make sure you have a drive and you put some time and energy into it and it'll work out.

Kate 00:04:48  Oh, spoken like a true entrepreneur. Let me just tell you I love that. And Kerry looked like she was going to say something.

Carrie 00:04:55  Yeah, I was just going to say I had a really hard time finishing my degree, because working with kids was so much more fun than my classes about learning how to work with kids. Yeah.

Carson 00:05:09  Yes. Yeah. No, I think, you know, if you want to be a lawyer, you definitely need a degree. But if you have something you're passionate about and it doesn't require that, I'm all for, you know, diving in the deep end and figuring it out as you go. Because, like I said, that hands out experience.

Carson 00:05:25  You're just not going to find anywhere else. I feel like over this last five years, I have learned more about not just business, but about myself and my strengths and my weaknesses. it's it's definitely made me feel like I'm, you know, 25 going on 50. because I just I feel like.

Kate 00:05:44  That's a book title. That's a book title. We need to talk about that. so, Carrie, I know that you had when you started your programs. You had a real passion for, children with special needs. And we know we hear about it literally every single day about child care centers that are having a hard time staffing for that. How could a program like Carson's help augment? There's the word I'm.

Carrie 00:06:16  Looking for is a great word. So a lot of people who are running programs are kind of blindsided, which I'm always amazed by. But it happens that they're blindsided by the fact that a family wants to enroll. Who has the one of the children has an ASD, an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, and they're like, I don't know how to do that.

Carrie 00:06:43  And they need somebody to step in and sort of Provide maybe a few weeks or a couple of hours each day of this is somebody who has some training, some expertise, but is not at the level of being an occupational therapist or a physical therapist. And to me, having someone from Carson's agency would be a good resource to help that center be able to bridge the gap. Because if you've had 12 kids with, with an ASD diagnosis, you have 12 different experiences because no two kids with an ASD diagnosis are going to be the same. We were like, oh, I took a class on how to handle children on the spectrum. And then I got a kid who doesn't fit any of the things that were in those classes in that workshop. So I think Having, kind of like a resource teacher, I guess, is what I would say, that maybe Carson's folks could be. Also, I think if you have members of your team who have a passion for working with kids, who have some more challenges.

Carrie 00:08:07  working with an organization like Carson's to get some evening or weekend hours, because part of what she does is set up respite care for families that have children with high needs.

Kate 00:08:21  So I just.

Carrie 00:08:22  Realized.

Kate 00:08:23  We didn't actually let Carson tell us about her business. So, Carson, why don't you tell us the name of your business and exactly what your business does? Because we know. Because we read your application and nobody else here read it.

Carson 00:08:36  You got it. Yeah. So I, I own it's called Lifetime of Love. Nannies. LOL. Nannies. and we are a 24 700% customizable household staffing agency, providing newborn all the way up to senior care. So we do newborn overnights. We do on call before after school care, transportation to and from full time, part time, really anything in between. We're 24 over seven and customizable, so families may need 40 hours, one week and 20 hours the next. We know life can be a juggle to say the least, especially with kids running around.

Carson 00:09:14  And so we really try to modernize childcare, in the best way we can. And one thing, actually, Carrie, to your point that I want to mention, we also provide sick care. So for a child care facility, what we've done a lot in the past is let's say they have a sick kiddo. And we all know that, you know, when you're, in the child care facility and you call and you say, hey, your kid's sick, you need to come pick them up, the parent goes, I am in the middle of a workday. What in the world do you mean? I can't leave right now, but let me try to juggle it. We actually take on that burden for parents where we will go. We will pick up the child that is sick, bring them to the house, care for them, and then wait for the parents to arrive. So that's, you know, there's so many different facets of how we can mold into child care facilities. in a general sense, including the special education.

Carson 00:10:07  and to touch on your point, Kate, with the special education, like I said earlier, that's a really big passion of mine. And so we wanted to be, one of the first nanny agencies in Nevada to offer respite and palco to the families that we serve. We just know it's really an underserved community that needs the support more than ever. in my opinion. And we just knew that, you know, having a nanny or childcare is like a mortgage. I mean, let's let's be real. It is a mortgage. It can sometimes be more than that. and we just wanted to be able to take off that financial burden to the families that just genuinely need that support. You know, it takes a village, and we want to be able to provide that village for them. So, yeah, no, we we really can mold to any facet, whether it's that 24 over seven aspect and families are, you know, in a child care facility and they're running from 8 to 5, we can go ahead and pick up the 6 to 9, or really anything in between.

Kate 00:11:06  So one of the things, and one of the reasons that I was intrigued and really interested in bringing Carson on, and Carson has agreed to allow us to go down this rabbit hole is a lot of times, child care centers. first of all, we're struggling with ASD diagnoses across the country. Kerry and I just got back from a conference in New England, and there were three workshops on exactly this particular, behavior track for, child care teachers to learn skills and patience and how to understand how. What they can and cannot do. We have childcare directors and staff who've been part of our organization for over 20 years, who they personally have children and their family on the spectrum, and it's part of the reason why they had a passion to create a program that they thought their child would really flourish in. So I think that, like currently listening to today's episode, I can think of probably 30 of you who should listen to this, because I think that this is a great thing to leverage your child care business and create a second revenue source, create a second business that works so neatly together, whether it is a step up above that of a just a traditional substitute service, or actually providing some really qualified, trained support staff to other programs in the community who might have children that have that need.

Kate 00:12:43  And Carson, I loved you bringing up this a care. that has been something I haven't worked with a program since I worked with programs out of Ohio. another program that really kind of specialized in that sick care piece. So thank you for for for bringing that tying that in. So tell us a little bit about how somebody might start, a placement agency or exactly however you call it, I want to call it a substitute service. But I know that's not exactly how you're structured.

Carson 00:13:11  Yeah. So we are we employ all of our nannies. that's one of our big missions is to ensure that everyone's W-2 employees, as they should be. and we actually just started offering health care to every single one of our employees that actually goes through today. So yay to that. so as, as far as starting the agency, really in the beginning, it's for us in Nevada. I can only really speak to Nevada. It's really just getting that licensing. We're under personal services. It really is a simple process, and there are different resources out there that can help you significantly with getting that licensing.

Carson 00:13:50  and then really the Ein number, if you are looking to employ there's some agencies that do not employ. We're an agency that does employ. The reason being is, there's a lot of reasons, but we really think it's important to be able to train our staff. And you cannot train your staff if they're 1099, legally. So we want to be sure that if someone says, hey, I know how to swaddle, awesome. Show us. Or if someone says, hey, I have tons of experience with autism and behavioral, management. Great. Tell us about that. And let us, tell us, let us tell you our process and what that looks like and what we want you to follow. because we just want a sense of consistency. And so employing has definitely been able to offer that sense of consistency. And like I was telling you earlier, Kate, I'm more than happy to, be a resource to others that are really looking to start an agency and, you know, hit the ground running.

Carson 00:14:51  It's something I'm really passionate about. It's a lot, I think, talking about it, it may sound intimidating to the listeners because there's so many different steps, and it's definitely significantly different than starting a childcare, you know, facility. it's there's just a lot of differences, different pros and cons to it. So I'd be more than happy to, you know, be a resource to others that are really looking to start it because I promise you, it really is not that hard or intimidating as it sounds. That's coming from me. but it really isn't. The licensing is not as strenuous as it is for childcare, facility we're not having. No one has to come in and test our fire alarms, and we don't have to be within code, you know. So there's there's a lot of pros to it. where it's a lot more, less intimidating than having the actual facility itself.

Kate 00:15:44  Absolutely. Well, I just think it's a great way to leverage, relationships they may already have with staff. If you are in a community where this is a need.

Kate 00:15:55  we know that a lot of need in.

Carrie 00:15:57  I think it's a need in every community.

Kate 00:15:59  It absolutely. And I think it's something that you can really build a partnership with existing childcare centers. So you might be the one that offers this program, but you can service. You don't have to just service your families. And so I just feel like this is a great, companion business and would love. And so if you are listening, in the show notes, we will have all of Carson's contact information so that you can reach out to Carson. And like she said, she's willing to help you and give you all the all the all the bits and ins and outs and contracts and, and kind of how she has structured it on her end and, you know, remember that you will always hear us say and you will hear a lot of other business coaches say to you, if you're in childcare, don't put all your eggs in one basket and find different funding sources. And this to me is a step above just having a substitute service, which those of you who have been listening to us know that Kerri and I did that back in the days of landlines and pagers, and we want to hopefully encourage you to, think about whether or not this is something that one you have the bandwidth for and to the passion for, because you can definitely tell that Carson has the passion and Carrie has questions.

Kate 00:17:20  I can see them. They're there.

Carrie 00:17:23  But even if the person listening, you know, the person we're talking to right now, if they're like, no, no, no, I'm running one business. That's all the business I want. I still want you to think through what Carson is doing and going. Okay, maybe I reach out to Carson, and she, can be that person to provide the respite care for the families who are in foster care or who have high needs kids or are having a lot of illness. Like whether you take this as another way to get another basket to put your eggs in or whether you are like, oh my God, this is a service that I need to give money to. I think either way.

Kate 00:18:09  Yes, if you are definitely in any of Carson's markets, you definitely, for those folks who are listening that are in the Reno, Vegas.

Carson 00:18:17  Sacramento, basically Nevada and California, we are going.

Kate 00:18:21  There were other places and I forgot already.

Carson 00:18:25  We are looking to expand, to all 50 states.

Carson 00:18:28  That's really our goal. We're really hybridizing things as much as we can. and so if someone reaches out and says, hey, there's a huge need in this city or in this state, we are all ears. We don't have a certain, you know, strategic plan of, hey, this is everywhere we're going to go. Like I said, I say yes and I figure it out later. So maybe you call me and I say yes, we'll come out there and you know what? What do you need? So, no, it really is a great service. And I think to just within any business, creating those systems is so powerful and so important. And if people are looking for not a crazy hands on and more so hands off. business model, that's definitely what we have. I mean, my internal team is phenomenal, and it's really nice because I'm able to do these podcasts and do things like this while they're running the day to day and just creating those systems. That's one thing I wish when I first started that I would have put more focus into, but how in the world was I even supposed to know a system when I didn't even know how to write an email? So, I, I think just creating those systems over the the years has been, incredibly helpful.

Carson 00:19:39  And I'd be happy to talk more about that. And, you know, the systems that work so well for us, passing that along to the next.

Kate 00:19:46  Absolutely. Carrie, what do you want to tell everybody?

Carrie 00:19:49  Well, I want to tell everybody that you've got to get in touch with Carson. She's looking for licenses. You might need another basket to put some eggs in. Or you might need to hire her one way or the other. And if you learn something from today's show, share it with somebody who needs to know. And we will talk to you next week.

Marie 00:20:10  Thank you for listening to Child Care Conversations with Kate and Carrie. Want to learn more? Check out our website at Texas Director. And if you've learned anything today. Leave us a comment below and share the show.