Transcript The Many Roles of an ECE Director

Scale and Sustainability
for the ECE Industry:
An Overview of Shared Services
Louise Stoney, Alliance for Early Childhood Finance
May, 2010
What is Shared Services?
• A framework for improving quality and reducing costs by
sharing resources
– Helps providers get the benefit of scale where scale
matters, while keeping independence and “personal touch”
• Builds from existing institutions and strengths
– Not a “franchise” - looks different in different communities
• Can create benefits for policy-makers and funders
– Better data, fewer errors
– Easier to reach a range of providers through one
coordinated entry point
Typical Participant Benefits
Cost savings on products and services
•Examples: office supplies, insurance, classroom
supplies
Time savings
•Examples: policies, marketing, hiring
Quality enhancements
•Examples: training, shared quality supports
ECE community strengthening
•Examples: research & development, networking tools
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ECE is a Small Business Sector
 Nationally, the average child care center
serves only about 75 children;
 ANY DATA on program size in MS???
 More than eight out of ten ECE businesses
employ 20 or fewer workers
 In many centers a single director has
multiple roles
The Many Roles of an ECE Director
Bottom-Line Issues for
ECE Businesses
 Ensure Full Enrollment – every day, in every
classroom
 Collect Tuition & Fees – in full and on-time
 Fees cover cost or have 3rd party revenue source
to fill the gap
National Context:
Focus on Quality, Accountability, Results
 Higher Standards
 More accountability
 More complexity – in service
delivery and reporting
 Increased costs
Achieving good results for kids isn’t easy!
Funding and Oversight for ECE:
a Hodge-podge of ‘Siloed’ Programs
21st Century
Schools
Early Childhood
Comprehensive
Services
School-Age
Child Care
Public PreK
Silos typically have their own:
•Standards
•Data Definitions
•Procedures
•Forms
•Rate Policies, etc.
And each silo fights
for it’s own $$
FFN
Initiative
TANF Subsidy
Nanny
Service
USDA Food
Program
Early Head Start
Head Start
Educare
United Way
& Private
Foundation $
Early
Intervention
CCDF Subsidy
Accreditation
Support
A Potential ECE Network
Research & Development:
Information Technology,
data collection & analysis, etc.
Bulk Purchase of
Goods and
Services
Comprehensive
Services: health,
mental health, social
services, family
support
Green
Hills
Child
Care
Center
Happy
Acres
Day
Care
Tender
Tots PreSchool
Network
Hub
(Shared Staff)
Annie’s
Nursery
School
Classroom Supports:
mentor teachers,
classroom assessments,
QRIS support, etc.
Administrative Services:
payroll, billing, fee
collection, marketing,
tax/finance support, etc.
Mary’s
Family
Child
Care
Home
The
Newberry
After
School
Program
Human Resources
including health &
retirement benefits,
Unemployment
Insurance, etc.
Staff Recruitment &
Screening,
including
substitutes
Fundraising and Fund
Development (from public
and private sources)
The Children’s Home Approach:
Many services provided by a single hub
 Management/Administration (e.g. team of
directors/supervisors)
 Fiscal (Billing and Fee Collection)
 CACFP administration
 Fundraising
 Human Resources & Staffing
 Health/Mental Health/Family Support
 Food Services
 Purchasing goods & services
United Way is a key partner in this Alliance
Philadelphia & Atlanta:
A Two-Level Approach
Region-wide services
•Delivered, via web portal, to large number of centers
throughout the region
•Examples: bulk purchasing, health insurance, payroll
services, marketing templates, credit card payment
In-depth services
•Delivered to a pilot group of centers who are ready for
much more intensive interaction
•Examples: fiscal management information system, thirdparty billing and collections, HR and staffing services
Goizetta (Atlanta) and William Penn (Philadelphia) Foundations
are key partners
Colorado:
Operating Foundation with Linked LLCs
 Early Learning Ventures (ELV) is a private operating
foundation – established by the David and Laura Merage
Foundation that focuses on operational efficiencies in the
early care and education industry.
 ELV provides tools, I/T systems, venture funding, business
planning and technical assistance to regional Alliances.
 Each Alliance, structured as an LLC, includes up to 100
providers
Early Learning Ventures – CMS (Sample Screen)
• [Add screen shot of CMS here]
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Shared Services as Economic
Development Strategy
Short-Term:
 Regional Economies: stronger, more sustainable
businesses; better jobs & wages; good ripple effect in
local economies.
 Parent Productivity: stable ECE, available in a variety of
settings, to support working families.
Long-Term:
 Children succeed: high-quality ECE enables positive child
outcomes for success in school and life.
For More Information
www.ECESharedResources.com
www.Earlylearningventures.org
www.opportunities-exchange.org
Extra Slides – in
case I need them
Growing Philanthropic Engagement
Annie E. Casey Foundation
David and Laura Merage Foundation
William Penn Foundation
Miriam and Peter Haas Fund
Goizuetta Foundation
United Way in CO, IA, NH, OH, TN, WA,
WK Kellogg Foundation
Community Development Agencies
….and many other local funders