Rosi Paredes
Rosi is an American success story. Originally from Ecuador, she moved to America in 1998 to seek economic opportunity. She started working in fast food restaurants and babysitting on the weekends. Then, when she got a job at a daycare, she found her calling. She had a passion for childcare, and after working as an employee for daycares for a few years, Rosi took the next step and opened her own business: a small daycare that she ran from her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.
It was everything she’d dreamed. She was able to connect with her neighbors, be her own boss, and spend time with her own daughter. But kids grow up, and soon Rosi was sending her daughter Nadia off to get her nursing degree in Texas.
Missing her daughter, and growing weary of Midwest winters, Rosi decided she’d follow Nadia. Together the two purchased a home in Venus, Texas, a small town outside of Dallas. It was close enough to Nadia’s school and in a neighborhood that was growing quickly among young families. It should have been the perfect fit for Rosi to open a new home daycare.
Rosi got to work setting up her home daycare. The state of Texas came to her home, inspected it, tested her, and gave her the green light to open a small home daycare for no more than six children. That was exactly what Rosi wanted: something small, quiet, and neighborly.
But when the city learned that Rosi was planning on opening her business, they posted a big red warning on her door that her business was illegal under Venus’ local ordinances. That’s because while the city lets people open all kinds of other home businesses, home daycares are on a list of explicitly banned businesses—no exceptions—along with things like boat painting and automotive repair.
