A celebrity? Tom Copeland?

Well, maybe no one is accusing Copeland of attracting the paparazzi or gracing the covers of supermarket tabloids. But in the world of family child care, the director of Redleaf National Institute has been nothing short of a godsend to a segment of the child care workforce that has historically had little experience or support in running their businesses.

His Calling?

Admittedly, not even Copeland himself was sure exactly which direction his work would take him after college. In the years following his graduation from St. Paul's William Mitchell College of Law, he had kept busy doing everything from picking apples and making and selling yogurt at a food co-op to doing oral history with a senior citizen program and writing a biography of a labor lawyer.

Then in 1981, Copeland saw a television program on public TV about the communication age. He had always been interested in communication, particularly writing and speaking. Why not pursue it as a career?

Not long after, he came upon an ad for a position as an employer educator at Resources for Child Caring (RCC)—a child care resource and referral (R & R) agency in St. Paul, MN. The position would require him to work with employers and educate them about the child care needs of their employees. Despite his lack of knowledge about the child care field, Copeland attempted to sell himself as the master communicator he believed himself to be.

"I didn't know anything about employers or child care," remembers Copeland. "But I convinced the person who interviewed me that this was a communication job and that I was good at communication, even though I didn't have any knowledge of the job content."

The nature of his new position required that he become as familiar as possible with the wide variety of child care options available to parents. In doing so, Copeland's attention became inexplicably drawn to a form of at-home care known as family child care. More specifically, he noticed that there was a lack of quality information on business issues for family child care providers.

"Family child care trainers were often giving out inaccurate information, and IRS trainers couldn't make themselves understood," remembers Copeland. "So, I thought I could make a difference by explaining the relatively complicated record-keeping and tax issues in a manner that could be understood."

This revelation led Copeland to write a forty-page booklet, published by RCC's Redleaf Press, entitled The Basic Guide to Record Keeping and Taxes. The booklet was enthusiastically welcomed by members of the still-burgeoning profession, and Copeland had found a niche in the field that seemed to fit him perfectly.

Within no time, he began fielding calls from family child care providers with questions on just about every business issue imaginable. His knack for research and attention to detail proved to be invaluable tools for curious providers, as well as in his own education about the profession.

Then in 1992, Copeland teamed with Redleaf Press to create the Redleaf National Institute (RNI). Touted as "The National Center for the Business of Family Child Care," the creation of RNI gave Copeland a solid organizational structure from which he could more effectively offer support to the providers who needed it.

A Profession in Transition

Much has changed since Copeland started at Resources for Child Caring in 1981, both in his professional life and the family child care field.

These days, a typical week for Copeland consists of answering over fifty telephone calls and e-mails from providers, tax preparers, and people in the field on a wide range of business questions. It also includes writing a variety of articles for RNI's Web site and e-newsletters, researching business issues, lobbying the IRS on family-child-care-friendly changes to federal tax laws, and preparing for his upcoming trainings, of which he leads about seventy annually across the country.

Of course, this is all in addition to the writing he does for Redleaf Press, as one of the nonprofit publisher's bestselling authors. To date, Copeland has published eight titles with Redleaf Press, with topics ranging from preparing taxes and record keeping to marketing and legal advice. (And that first little booklet he wrote? Over 150,000 family child care providers have benefited from the Family Child Care Record-Keeping Guide, now in its seventh edition.)

But even with a schedule as jam-packed as Copeland's, don't expect him to voice many complaints. Put simply, he draws his ultimate inspiration and reward from helping providers in need of assistance.

"Nobody else does exactly the same type of work that I do, and providers are very grateful for our help," says Copeland. "As one provider told me, 'If it wasn't for your books, my wife and I would be picking up cans by the side of the road!' Knowing that no one else can help them in the ways that we do is very satisfying."

As for the changes in the family child care field, they have been equally noticeable—if not to the public eye, at least to those within the field.

"Twenty years ago providers went into the business because they loved children and left the field when they were burned out," states Copeland. "Today, providers enter the field because they love children and need to make a living. They leave the field primarily because of financial reasons."

Among the financial reasons providers find it hard to survive, Copeland points to insurance problems, housing discrimination, and difficulty obtaining legal assistance as some of the most troubling. Despite the obstacles that may exist, however, Copeland still sees the family child care profession as a very worthwhile endeavor—as long as providers have the right mind-set from the beginning.

"Many providers are not prepared for the business side of their work because what attracts them to this field is working with children," states Copeland. "Providers need to understand that they need to take care of business when they take care of children."

What's Next?

About the only question Tom hasn't been asked over the phone recently is this--"What's next for Tom Copeland?"

Aside from all that keeps him busy at RNI, Copeland plans to write the last book in his business series on money management in 2005. He is also working on a new resource to help providers educate their tax preparers. And he's not about to disconnect his phone or e-mail just yet.

For more information about Tom Copeland, who recently received the Advocate of the Year award from the National Association for Family Child Care, or the Redleaf National Institute, visit www.redleafinstitute.org.