Issue Briefs
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This brief outlines a framework for state agencies to modernize their technology systems, which are often outdated and struggling to keep up with current demands.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.
Connecting Automation to Action:
Leveraging CCMS with Targeted Business Coaching
By Johanna Borden and Amy Friedlander, Opportunities Exchange | December, 2024
Business coaching that aligns with Child Care Management Software (CCMS) can be a game-changer for child care providers. This issue brief outlines how organizations can tackle this work with intention and partner effectively with providers to realize critical goals such as time savings on administrative tasks, increased revenue, improved cash flow and more.
Right Sizing Child Care Regulation:
Crafting Standards That Encourage Supply and Protect Children
By Megan Irwin, Opportunities Exchange | November, 2024
This issue brief poses provocative questions and explores steps that can be taken to streamline regulation and make room for the innovations we need to build a child care system that works in a new economy.
Health Insurance for the Early Childhood Workforce: Strategies for Leveraging the Affordable Care Act and More
By Sharon Easterling, Opportunities Exchange
and Ashley LiBetti, Pillars Research and Strategy | July, 2024
The Affordable Care Act is a game changer for the early childhood sector. This Issue Brief highlights both the Individual Marketplace as well Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) as viable alternatives to the private health insurance route. It offers examples of innovative health care models, ancillary medical benefits, public sector strategies, resources on finding a benefits broker, and more.
Worried About Implementing New CCDF Rules? Modern Technology Can Help.
By Louise Stoney | June, 2024
New rules for implementation of the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) offer myriad opportunities to improve services for children, families and early care and education (ECE) providers. By harnessing the power of modern technology, states can implement these changes effectively, efficiently and in ways that are user-friendly for families and service providers. A new issue brief from Opportunities Exchange highlights many of those opportunities.
Iowa Leads the Way: How Modern Technology Can Improve Access to High-Quality Child Care
By Louise Stoney | July, 2023
NEW Issue Brief on ground-breaking work in Iowa that links billing and reporting for publicly funded child care to the automated Child Care Managment Systems providers use everyday to manage their businesses.
Retirement Planning: How Shared Service Alliances and Intermediaries Can Help
By Louise Stoney and Gary Romano | March, 2023
Retirement benefits are an important part of any compensation strategy, yet this benefit is rarely available in child care settings, and rarely included in systemic strategies to boost teacher compensation. This issue brief describes potential retirement strategies for staff in center- and home-based care along with ways that Shared Service Alliances can serve as change agents.
RATE SETTING IN REALITY: Moving Beyond the Myth of Market-Based Pricing
By Louise Stoney | September 2020
A deeper look at rate policy underscores significant systemic problems that must be addressed, most especially inequities for infants and toddlers and rural or under-resourced communities.
REINVENT VS. REBUILD: Let’s Fix the Child Care System
By Louise Stoney | April 2020
With smart, strategic investments, recovery dollars can help reinvent the child care industry. Opportunities Exchange has been focused on ECE system reform for over ten years, and our experience suggests that addressing key issues could be game changers for the field.