‘I never wanted to believe my kid was at risk.’
Josie Watson was preparing for a season of change. She had become a new mother and felt it was the right time to open her own family child care program to not only benefit her little girl, but also other children in her community.
“I found out that family child care could be career path for me, and it was a way to spend time with my daughter too,” Josie said. “I thought, ‘What if I did my own thing?’”
Josie knew this would be a challenge, but she was confident that she could put her master’s degree in early childhood education to work.
She reached out to 4C for Children in August 2022 to get assistance with starting her new business. Guided by 4C specialists, Josie tapped into the tools, guidance documents, training and coaching she needed to successfully launch her business.
After a lot of hard work, she became the proud owner of the newly licensed Sassafras House in December 2022 in East Westwood. But a letter from the Hamilton County Health Department abruptly stopped the momentum.
A routine blood test for her 1-year-old daughter, Joy, came back with elevated levels of lead.
“[Joy] was poisoned in my own home and it really pulled the rug out from under me,” Josie said.
“I didn’t believe my kid was at risk. I spent a lot of time in shock thinking ‘How could this happen to us?’ I put so much effort in making sure my child is safe and then this happened.”
The Watson family immediately moved out of their early 1900s home and the six-month lead abatement process began. Josie took the initiative to learn more about lead contamination and started renovating and repairing areas of her home. Also, contractors replaced lead pipes and poured new concrete over clean soil.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children under the age of six are at greatest risk for health problems caused by lead exposure. Exposure to lead can cause well-documented health effects including damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, speech and hearing problems.
Despite the stress of the abatement process and being out of her home for six months, Josie and her 4C for Children Specialist Deb Camp remained focused on her business goals.
Josie participated in the 4C for Children All Our Kin Virtual Family Child Care Business Institute Series where she learned about marketing, budgeting and sustainability. She also began working on and received a three-star Step Up to Quality rating for her program.
The Watson family moved back into their home in July 2023 and the doors to Sassafras House opened in August 2023. Funding for the course and materials Josie needed to complete the renovations in her own home was provided through 4C for Children and the City of Cincinnati as part of the supports available for new family child care programs.
Joy has returned to great health and continues to grow and learn at her mother’s family child care program.
Josie was blindsided by her daughter’s lead poisoning diagnosis and as a result, has become a community leader on the topic. After researching lead safety extensively, she became an EPA-certified lead renovator and will soon be able to conduct home inspections.
“I want to give other parents a chance to prevent lead poisoning from happening in the first place,” Josie said.
In addition, Josie partnered with Do It Yourself Darlin (DIYD) to offer classes in February, which was designed to help others learn about lead poisoning prevention. DIYD is a Cincinnati- based nonprofit providing classes to those who want to learn basic “do it yourself” home improvement skills.
Up Next
Josie is partnering with 4C for Children to hold a free Lead Exposure Prevention for Children community session for child care providers in Cincinnati and Miami Valley on April 30, 2024 from 6:30 – 8 p.m.
She will go over hazards in old homes, safe practices for providers, local resources and how to work with children who have experienced lead poisoning. The class is a result of her commitment to raising awareness about potential lead threats and how to protect families and small children from lead poisoning — especially those living in older homes.
“It’s a challenge in so many ways, but it’s wonderful,” Josie said. “It feels like something I’ve been working towards for years. This has helped me grow as an educator and a mother. It’s surreal to be doing it now.”