Opportunities Exchange
2025
Collecting Data on Child Care Supply in Real Time: A New Approach to Data Collection
By Louise Stoney, Adam Lucas and Mia Pritts, Opportunities
Exchange | January, 2025
Currently available data on child care supply is often a few years old and does not count vacancies in all ECE sites, nor can it be accurately sorted by age of child or length of day or location or price. This brief summarizes ground-breaking work to address these challenges via an industry data standard for tracking child care supply that can be scaled across all ECE settings—regardless of who funds or regulates the program.
The Urgency of Digital Transformation: A Framework for Transforming State IT Systems
By Kelly Pope, Opportunities Exchange | December, 2024
This brief outlines a framework for state agencies to modernize their technology systems, which are often outdated and struggling to keep up with current demands. It emphasizes the urgency of this transformation, highlighting the risks of delaying upgrades, including security vulnerabilities, inefficiencies and poor user experiences.
Understanding the ECE Technology Landscape
By Louise Stoney, Opportunities Exchange | November, 2024
Empowering Providers with Modern Technology—This podcast describes how Iowa planned and launched a strategy to strengthen child care by encouraging use of Child Care Management Software. Statewide surveys revealed that many providers were not using business software and experienced issues such as late payments and long working hours. To address these issues, Iowa crafted an initiative that paid for CCMS licenses and needed hardware as well as targeted technical assistance and integration with state data systems.
New CCDF Rules + Modern Technology: A Pathway for Change
By Louise Stoney | June, 2024
New CCDF rules present opportunities to improve early care and education (ECE) services. Modern technology, especially Child Care Management Software (CCMS) and cloud-based systems, can help states effectively implement these changes and improve fund administration, data collection, and service delivery. Opportunities Exchange is providing resources and support for this ECE technology transformation, including an issue brief and a website page.
Connecting Automation to Action: Leveraging CCMS with Target Business Coaching
By Amy Friedlander and Johanna Borden | December, 2024
Pairing targeted business coaching with Child Care Management Software (CCMS) licenses is crucial in supporting child care providers to overcome barriers like limited time and enabling them to fully leverage the software's potential. Business coaching ensures that providers have the knowledge and support needed to adopt and optimize CCMS, leading to measurable business improvements in areas such as enrollment growth, cash flow stability, and administrative efficiency.
Ultimately, this strategy has the power to generate success for both child care businesses and the children and families that they serve.
The Iron Triangle: A Simple Formula for Financial Policy in ECE Programs
By Louise Stoney, Opportunities Exchange
Early childhood education (ECE) program finances heavily rely on the "iron triangle" of enrollment, fee collection, and ensuring revenues cover the per-child cost. Maintaining full enrollment is crucial because most revenue is tied to enrolled children, and any vacancies directly impact income. Collecting fees fully and on time is essential for turning budgeted amounts into actual cash flow. Furthermore, the total of parent fees and third-party payments must meet or exceed the cost of educating each child to avoid financial losses. These three interconnected elements are fundamental for sound fiscal management in ECE programs, especially during challenging economic times.