March 14, 2025 • 53 mins
In this important episode, Jon Pollock, chief product officer at Procare Solutions, and Kathlyn McHenry, director of state policy and government relations at the Early Care & Education Consortium, share their expert insights on the latest business trends and legislative updates.
Many of their insights draw on the findings of the 2025 Procare Child Care Business Trends Report. Jon and Kathlyn discuss important trends in ECE in areas including enrollment, staffing, software and what's happening with government policy, both federally and at local levels!
For example, Kathlyn explains the trend of states picking up ideas for helping care centers from each other, creating a domino effect. And the idea of property tax exemptions is another idea being looked at.
Want to know more about the report's findings? Get your free copy here!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hello everyone, and welcome to our newest episode
of the Childcare BusinessPodcast. I'm Leah Woodbury, I'm
the head of content here atProCare Solutions, and today's
podcast is gonna sound a littlebit different than what you're
used to. The reason is werecently did a live webinar
called Shaping the Future ofChildcare Must Know Business
(00:32):
Insights and Trends for 2025,and it contained a lot of
really, really, really goodinformation on Expert Insights,
the latest business trends,legislative updates, and ECE,
all of these things drawing onthe findings of our 2025
ProCare Childcare BusinessTrends report. And we wanted
(00:53):
this to reach as many people aspossible because the
information is so good. Sotoday, you're gonna be hearing
from John. He is the ChiefProduct Officer here at ProCare
Solutions, and KathleenMcHenry, she is the Director of
State policy and GovernmentRelations at the Early Care and
Education Education Consortium.
(01:14):
So if things sound a littledifferent throughout,
understand, that's why. And wehope you enjoy this podcast and
get a lot of really, reallyuseful information out of it.
Let's get started.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I've got the best job in the world. Um, I work at
a company that is superpassionate about , um, our
community, what we do tosupport childcare centers in
their mission to create ,create great outcomes for these
youngsters. Um, I love buildinggreat products that surprise
(01:47):
and delight our, our users andthat create great outcomes for
the people that we serve. Andso, just delighted to be here.
We actually just announced thatwe had , uh, our new CEO join
us. Um, and so we had an allhands meeting , um, and we're
super excited about , uh,welcoming , uh, Kim . His name
(02:08):
is Joe Gomes, great guy. Um,but he reminded me of a quote ,
uh, by Jim Collins that I , I'mreally, really liked. I've
heard it before, but it's agreat quote and I think it's
very meaningful to share. Andhe said, you know, basically it
says, A great life is when youspend your time absorbed in
meaningful work you love withpeople you love. And I cannot
(02:33):
think of a better situationthat we have. We have
meaningful work surrounded bypeople that we love doing
things that make an impact. Andso that's why I'm so glad to
be, you know, in this industrypartnering with you all. Um,
and I love this trends report.
Again, this is, we've done itmultiple years. There's so much
(02:55):
great insights that come fromthis. One of the things I
challenge my team with all thetime is we have to list ,
listen to our customers. Wehave to have empathy for the
issues and challenges that theyhave, so that we can
essentially walk in your shoesfor mile after mile so that we
can , um, you know, betterunderstand how we can solve
(03:16):
those, those issues for you.
Um, so we get it. You are in achallenging business. Um,
you've gotta manage enrollment.
You've gotta make sure thattuition and billing and
payments all align . You'vegotta communicate with parents.
Uh, you've gotta , you know,make sure you're tracking all
the children where they're at.
(03:36):
You've gotta make sure that,that you stay in compliant with
various different statestandards, all that sort of
stuff. Um, it is a busy,difficult job. And for that, my
hat's off to you. Thank you forall that you guys do. And so,
the , the, what we're trying todo is create a resource that
you can use to say, okay, yeah,that, that I have a similar
(03:58):
problem. Here's some datapoints that might help me in ,
in how I can better run andmanage my business going
forward. And so, think ofthose, those opportunities to
use the report and is like,okay, how do you understand the
growth trends? What's happeningin the industry? How do we
forecast out what will happendemographics wise ? How many
(04:20):
two year olds are coming intothe market? How should I shift
kinda my my care outlook , uh,based on those industry trends?
So we have those, there's datainsights that come from what's
happening at certain centers.
What are the impacts thatteachers are having, the
challenges? How can we kind ofglean those insights to provide
(04:43):
you all some meaningful , um,data so that you can better run
your centers? Um, how do youlearn from that by exploring
various different technologyand business strategies to help
you kind of bridge the gapbetween your parents, your
teachers, your children, andyour business. How do you
connect all of those usingtechnology and process? Um, and
(05:07):
then how do you, how do youthink about managing your
business in a different way?
What are the benchmarks youshould care about? What are the
things you should look at on anongoing basis? And then
probably most important is howdo we support the educators in
the classroom better? Becauseas you all know, it starts,
ends and begins in theclassroom with that teacher,
(05:29):
that teacher's connection withthe parent, that teacher's
connection with the child. Andso those are all insights that,
that we wanna bring forward ,uh, with this industry trends
report. So, a couple ofhighlights. Um, they might be
low lights because they'rechallenges, but we'll, we'll
(05:50):
call 'em highlights. But theseare challenges you all have.
Um, number one, you'restruggling to hire and retain
good staff. And this has beengoing on for the last three to
four years. I, I , this hasbeen at the top of our trends
report , uh, pretty much everyyear. So it's an ongoing
challenge, and that challengeis getting harder , uh, going
(06:14):
forward. The next one is,there's burnout that's
happening with your staff.
There's a lot going on withinyour centers between the
parents and the children andrunning the business. And so
you're dealing with burnout.
The next one is, there'sfluctuations in enrollment.
Sometimes you're over-enrolled,sometimes you're right at
(06:35):
enrollment. But often moreoften that we're seeing now is
your under enrollment, and thatputs pressure on your business
, uh, and , and is a challengegoing forward. And then finally
, um, you know, since COV , thegovernment has really
understood the importance ofchildcare . Childcare is
(06:56):
mission critical for the USeconomy. And because of that,
there's all of these funds thatflowed into the childcare , uh,
market. Many of those fundshave evaporated. Some have have
kind of been reconstituted andpushed down to the state. So
it's really important to kindof understand the, the , the
(07:17):
structure of those funds andhow to gain access to those
funds. Um, and, and overall,just how can you tap into that?
So those are the, the top fourchallenges that we're seeing.
And I think you would all kindof nod your head and say, yeah,
we , we see those, those fouracross the board. A couple
other ones to highlight that,that are a part of the trends
(07:38):
report. And again, you allshould download it and , and
take a look at it in moredetail. A couple of other ,
other ones that are significantare professional development
opportunities for staff. So,you know, we wouldn't think
about putting a lawyer in acourtroom without them going
to, to law school and passing abar and doing a bunch of stuff.
(08:00):
We wouldn't think about puttinga doctor into an operating room
without giving him the properhim or her or the proper
training. So we've gotta do thesame for our teachers. And it's
not just the minimums, but it'sreally developing them in their
professional development asthat ECE teacher and all the
resources that go into that tomake them successful. So
(08:22):
really, really critical that wefocus on , um, professional
development for the staff,financial management. Uh, you
know, I've talked to so manyowners that say, I , I got into
, um, into this business forlove of the children, and I
don't really love running abusiness. But these are the
absolute critical things toactually be able to provide
(08:44):
that service to your familiesand your children is to have
that financial managementpiece. So , big deal
communicating with family huge, uh, since Covid hit even
before that, that direct linecommunication, digital
communication with the parentsis absolutely critical.
Curriculum and development ,um, assessment standards are
(09:06):
really, really important. Andit's important that we support
the teachers in that. Um, acouple of things that we know
that are really important,simplify the ECE curriculum for
the teachers so that they cankeep that simple in the
classroom. Give them simpleways to assess. Uh , we're
(09:26):
gonna talk , uh, you know,about insufficient state and
government support. Um , wehave Kathleen with us, so she's
gonna be an awesome support to, to figure that stuff out. And
then don't, don't forget aboutthe importance of marketing and
being an active member in yourcommunity. All of those things
create word of mouth and createthe opportunity for you to make
connections within yourcommunity. And again, these are
(09:48):
all challenges that you dealwith . We've got a couple of
insights that we can do to, toget after some of these
challenges, the other four thatwe just presented. Alright , so
let's talk hiring and retainingyour staff. Um, this is a tough
(10:10):
one. Um, there's a number ofchallenges related to this, but
let , let's talk about theimpacts to your , um, to your
business. So if you haveconstant re you know, churn of
your staff, it's difficult tomaintain your, your quality ,
uh, quality in the classroom,quality in the front office,
(10:32):
quality of your business. Soretaining your good staff and
your great teachers is priorityone. Um, we know that, that
oftentimes there are, there's,when you lose people, that puts
more pressure on the peoplethat stay. And it creates kind
(10:52):
of this negative, like, I'vegot more work just because I've
lo I'm , I'm covering fourpeople as well. And then , uh,
again, there are limited growthopportunities , um, for the
entire thing. So the , thefocus is invest in your staff's
development and then create asupportive work culture. And so
(11:14):
this applies wherever you'reat. And I think this, this goes
back to the Jim , um, Collins ,um, quote, you've gotta love
what you do and be passionateabout it. And you have to love
the people that you work with.
And that does mean servantleadership for them. How do we
serve them? How do we lovethem? How do we meet them where
(11:35):
they're at? Here are all the ,the time constraints of a
teacher on the right. Um, thereare lots of challenges around
time. There's lots ofinteractions between coworkers
. Um, communication withparents, take up time. Tracking
attendance takes up time andchallenges. Um, handling
(11:56):
administrative tasks , planningfor lessons, and then
ultimately managing , uh, theclassroom. And so the, the
bottom four, the big meaty onesare really, really critical
that you have good technologyand great curriculum and great
professional development. Soprofessional development
(12:19):
integrated into your workflows,into your processes will help
them manage the classroom, willhelp the teachers. Here are
issues that you're dealingwith. Here are real world
examples of those issues, andhere are ways that you can cope
with them. So investintentionally on teacher
development. Number two,planning in the classroom. Um,
(12:42):
it's really important that youhave a plan for the classroom
across your age groups that youcommunicate that plan, ideally
digital to the teachers, andallow the teachers to kind of
interact with that digital ,um, curriculum that are in the
classroom. Tying in theassessments to piece of that,
(13:02):
simplifying that whole processso they can execute it day in,
day out is critical. Um,handling administrative tasks .
What are all the things thathas to happen? There's name to
face checks. How do yousimplify that to make it simple
for them? And then finally,tracking attendance and
communicating with parents areall critical, that you have a
solution that can go do thatand kind of streamline that
(13:25):
entire process. So staffburnout , very similar to
hiring, entertaining. When,when they burn out , they don't
stay. And so that, thatinfluences your high turnover,
decrease in your quality. Um,more sick leave that happens
just because they're dealingwith mental and emotional and
(13:48):
other challenges there. Um , solesson planning is, is we've
talked to a number of teachersthat say, listen, you know, I
love my class. I love what I dowithin my class, but I spend
time outside of the classroomprepping for the lesson that I
need to provide. So anythingthat we can do to provide that
(14:09):
prep work pre-planned and readyto go so that when they step
into the classroom, they don'tneed to be thinking about what
a , what do I need to prep foras I get ready for that day?
Um, oftentimes communicatingwith parents take a lot of
their time away from thechildren in the classroom, an
issue, administrative overheadand reporting and all the other
(14:31):
things. Take time away from thechild in the classroom,
attendance, tracking, all theother things that are going on
there. The key thing I thinkthat will help reduce burnout
is getting that teacher moretime with the children, what
they're passionate about, andreducing those overall
administrative burdens thatthey have to deal with. And so
(14:54):
whatever you can do to reducethose burdens on that teacher
so they can spend more timewith the child, you're gonna
reduce burnout exponentially.
The other thing is get thatteacher development in there.
Give them the tools that theyneed to have so that they can
immediately start taking actionwithin the classrooms to
(15:14):
address behavior, to addressconcerns with parents and all
of that sort of stuff. One ofthe things I'm a big fan of is,
is stepping back, giving yourteachers time to sharpen the
saw so that when they get backinto the classroom, they have
the ability to be moreproficient in what they do. So
teacher development is reallyimportant right there.
(15:38):
Enrollment inconsistency. Um,you'll see in the trends report
that there was actually anegative trend downward of in
2024, it was 60% at capacity.
In 2025, there was 57%. Andyou'll see under capacity went
from 33 up to 38%. So you'rehaving a difficult time
(16:02):
maximizing your center'scapacity, and therefore that
puts downhill pressure on thebusiness. And so making sure
that you focus on a healthypipeline of, of students coming
into your classroom is reallycritical for that going
forward. And the way that youdo that is a number of things.
(16:25):
Your involvement in thecommunity , um, word of mouth
from the parents, what are youusing technology wise to make
sure that you're tracking thoseleads and then following up on
those leads very quickly. Um ,ProCare has some rudimentary
lead management capabilitiesthat we'd recommend that you
take a look at using. Thenthere are fairly rudimentary
(16:48):
and , and therefore , uh,customers that don't
necessarily have an issue withfull enrollment. If you have an
issue with full enrollment, Ihighly , um, recommend that
you, you take a look at a CRMuh , product and a CRM product
that's specifically custombuilt for childcare centers.
We've got a great partnershipwith Intelli kids , and we have
(17:10):
an integration with thembetween our, our center
management software and Intellikids that really helps optimize
enrollment by making sure thatyou're following up on every
single lead going forward. Soif you're struggling with full
enrollment, I highly recommendthat you, you adopt the CRM
solution. We've got a greatsolution and a great partner in
Intelli Kids Limited publicfunding. And this is when I, I
(17:35):
wanna lean in with Kathleen .
Uh, she's the expert here, butwe know there's all of this
money that flowed into thesystem. We know in the last
couple of years that a lot ofthat money is dried up, but we
also know there's still moneyout there. The states are
empowered. Um, and now it'sjust about advocating for you
(17:55):
and your classrooms , uh, andyour students to make sure you
get the full capacity of that.
And we've got a ton of that.
We'll hear from Katherine , butKatherine , I'd love to hear
kind of your point of view onthat at this point.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Yeah, thank you, John . Um, it is something that
we're hearing from providersacross the country. Um, you
know, the challenges with , um,kind of the expiration of the
funding that was , um, given tous through and during the Covid
pandemic. Um, there were morethan $50 billion that were
funneled into the industry ,um, to providers, additional
(18:30):
money to help families accesschildcare. Um, and states are
really having to grapple with ,um, the loss of that funding.
And states are, we'll get intothis a little bit later, but
really all over the place , um,with what they've been able to
do over the last year or soafter that money , um, from the
federal government has expired.
Um, and so I think providersare really starting to feel
(18:51):
that pinch , um, with the lackof that, that money. Um, but at
the same time, prices are goingup for goods. Um, you know,
what, you know, price ofdiapers, kind of anything that
you might be of that you needto purchase for your centers ,
um, has gone up. So it's notonly , um, you know, the fact
that you no longer get this ,um, this grant or these
(19:12):
resources from the state , um,it's that at on top of that,
your , your prices are goingup. Um, and so I think kind of
the confluence of all of that ,um, makes it a really, really
challenging businessenvironment. Um, and we know
that the childcare providersalready struggle to , um, to
have, you know, profit margins.
So , um, we can get into kindof some of the examples of, of
(19:33):
what states are doing in alittle bit, but from a high
level, just know that , um,every state is really grappling
with this in a , in a differentway.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Awesome. Thanks Kaplan . And, and so because it
was one of your major issuesand challenges , uh, we've,
we've invited Kaplan here to,to give us a deep dive in what
is , how has it evolved interms of federal and state
funds? What does it mean toyou? And more importantly, what
(20:02):
can you do to start advocating?
So with that, I'll turn it overto Catherine for the remainder.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
Thank you, John. Um, and hi everybody. Thank you ,
um, to the ProCare team for,for having me today. Um, I'll
just kind of state , take astep back and introduce myself.
Um, so Catherine McHenry, I am, um, one of the early care and
education , um, consortiums,directors of government
relations. It's a mouthful, butECEC is , um, a nationwide
trade association of childcareproviders. Um , we also work
(20:31):
with state childcareassociations and education
service providers , um, likeProCare. So I'm really glad to
be able to talk to you todayabout some of , um, the things
that are going on across thecountry in terms of public
policy. Um, and if we can goonto the next slide , um, a few
of the, the topics that I'dlike to , um, talk about today
(20:53):
, um, you know, we're , uh,limited public funding is of
course, you know, one of themajor challenges that, that you
all , um, had had kind ofselected in the report. Um,
it's, and like I said, everystate is, is kind of grappling
with, with what to do afterthe, the federal funding from
(21:14):
the Covid pandemic ran out. Um,most of you, I'm sure, received
some sort of basic grant , um,from your state that was funded
with federal dollars to helpyou , um, kind of remain in
business and continue payingyour staff even if your , um,
centers weren't operating at ,um, anywhere close to to
capacity. Um, and with thatfunding, you know, I think
(21:36):
states and lawmakers reallystarted to understand , um, the
importance of the childcareindustry. Um, you know, John
said they recognize it asmission critical, and I think
that that's absolutely right.
Um, you know, childcare centersand homes were some of the
first businesses to , um, kindof open up , uh, after, you
(21:57):
know, a week or two of thefirst lockdown. And that was
because, you know, firstresponders and, and other
essential workers , um, hadchildren and they needed
someone to care for them . So ,um, you know, with that came
this, this really , um,broadened understanding of the
important work that childcareproviders and teachers and
staff do every day to keep oureconomy open and running. Um,
(22:19):
and, you know, that has , um,in a, in a really great way,
elevated this conversation postpandemic to how can we make
sure that the childcareindustry , um, you know, is
really on strong footing movingforward. Because as we all
know, before the pandemic , um,there were a lot of challenges
within the industry that wereonly heightened and exacerbated
(22:41):
, um, by those challenges wesaw with the pandemic. Um, so
what we're seeing across thestates right now, and I'll kind
of talk about this in a coupleof different buckets , um, in
response to the , um, you know,kind of , um, the, the state
trend report , um, is, youknow, staffing is number one.
That is something thatlawmakers have heard loud and
(23:01):
clear is a challenge. Um, andthey really understand now that
without , um, without childcarestaff, all other workers are
impacted. Um, so you lose onechildre teacher out of a
classroom that's potentially 10families who , um, can no
longer participate in theworkforce, who now have to
struggle to find care , um,might, might, you know, remove
(23:24):
themselves from the workforce.
Um, and that of course has abigger impact on our economy
and on other companies , um,within that community. So we're
seeing some trends withstaffing. Um, I'll talk a
little bit about, you know, youin terms of enrollment
declines, kind of what isleading to that. Um, there's a
lot of , um, you know, knowconversation around pre-K , um,
(23:47):
in, in the states across thecountry. Um, I saw someone in
the chat asked about some taxpolicy , um, and business side
solutions, and there'sdefinitely a lot of that going
on. Um, and then kind ofculminating all of that , um,
what states are doing in termsof some broader , um, public
funding initiatives. Uh, so onthe next slide , um, go ahead.
(24:09):
Yep , thank you. Um, so one ofthe things that we're seeing ,
um, that we've seen pop up overthe last year or two, really,
I'd say , um, again, on in aeffort to support , um, early
childhood educators, the , theteachers and the staff that are
in the classrooms every singleday , um, the , you know, at
the state level, I think that ,um, they've really recognized,
(24:33):
again, like I said, keepingteachers in the classroom is
paramount to making sure thatall other workforce , um, are
able to , um, come to workevery day . And so one of the
things that we've seen aninterest in is providing
childcare assistance for earlyeducators. I know many of you
probably already offer your,your staff , um, tuition
(24:55):
discounts , um, you know, sothat their own children can
attend your center or anothercenter. Um, and I'm sure that
you've seen that we've heardtime and time again that
providers who do that , um, seebetter retention rates for
their staff. You know, theycome back after they've had a
kid, or they're able to , um,you know, to come into the
classroom with their youngchild. So , um, you know, I
think the benefit of that , um,is, is immense. And so several
(25:19):
states have created programswhere they've actually fund ,
you know, put in their ownmoney to make sure that early
educators, teachers and staff ,um, are able to afford
childcare for their ownchildren. Um , we saw that ,
uh, really pop up in Kentuckyfor the first time, and many
states kind of took that onand, and followed Kentucky's
(25:41):
lead. Um, last year I think itwas, you know, maybe 12 states
that did the same thing. Um,and Arizona this year is
looking to do the same. So ,um, one , one sort of challenge
in that , um, in, you know , inpursuing this policy is that it
does cost a lot of money. Andso right now we're seeing
states , um, not have as muchin their budget as they did ,
(26:05):
um, you know, last year and ,and two years ago after covid.
Um, and so they're , it'sstarting to become a challenge
to , um, to continue pursuingthat policy. But it is really
exciting. Um, and I think a fewother states are looking to do
this within their subsidysystem. Um, so if , uh, an
early educator or or teacherdoes qualify for , um, the
(26:27):
state's subsidy for childcare,then they might be prioritized
on that list again to make surethat that teacher is able to
get into the classroom , um,and serve more children and
families. Um, so that'ssomething that we really love
to see. It's, it's got greatbenefits , um, for, of course,
not only our staff, but for therest of the economy. Um, oh,
(26:47):
sorry, let's go back. One , um,uh, in terms of wage
supplements and increases , um,we, I think it's, it has
resonated for quite some time,even before covid that , um,
with lawmakers that , um,childcare teachers do not make
enough money. Um, but they'vealso, they also understand that
(27:11):
, um, parents can't afford topay more I tuition. And so it's
not just as simple asincreasing their wages, because
of course, we would all love topay our teachers more. Um, but
in order to do that , um, wehave to find the money from
somewhere. And so we can'tcharge parents much more as
we'll price them out of thesystem. Um, and so some states
(27:32):
have really stepped in here to, um, to supplement teacher
wages and a few creative ways.
Um, a couple of states have ,um, kind of really robust
programs to supplement teacherwages. Um, and building off of
that, Pennsylvania isconsidering doing that this
year, supplementing teacherwages , um, in a similar way to
Illinois, Massachusetts, andMinnesota. And then Colorado
(27:55):
took a little bit of adifferent approach. Last year,
they passed a couple of taxcredits , um, that support
early childhood educators , um,that have been , um, pretty
successful as the first year ofthose tax credits. But , um, we
were very excited to see thosepass. Um, and then on the flip
side, we're watching a few ,um, bills that would, you know,
(28:16):
there's, I think a lot of folksin this industry have really a
lot of lawmakers when they're ,um, thinking about bills. They
all have really greatintentions for the most part,
but sometimes those greatintentions might have some
unintended consequences. Um, sowe're watching a bill in
Washington state that wouldestablish a childcare workforce
standards board that would setmandatory compensation
(28:37):
standards for early childhoodeducators. And I think truly
that comes from a really goodplace of wanting to make sure
that our, our teachers andstaff are compensated fairly.
Um, I think the challenge withthat is, of course, where does
that money come from? Um, ifthere's not money from the
state associated withincreasing wages, then you
(28:57):
know, you as a business owner ,um, you know , are , are kind
of, your hands are tied withwhere to get that money. So ,
um, I think again, you , youknow, you see kind of some of
these proposals coming from areally well intended place ,
um, but sometimes can be , um,there again, unintended
consequences. Next slide here.
(29:18):
Um, oops , ,thanks. Um, we, and again, just
on the, on that bill inWashington , um, I think one of
the other things to note hereis that, you know, once , um,
once one state passes a build anew idea , um, that kind of
catches fire , um, it canexpand to other states across
(29:41):
the country. So, you know,something passes up in
Washington , um, lawmakers inOregon and California and
Colorado, you know, they alltake note and it starts to
spread. Um, so that's why, youknow, we, we've talked about in
, um, as an example, the trendof , um, you know, supporting
childcare for early educatorsthat caught on like wildfire.
(30:02):
Um, and that was obviously areally positive policy. But ,
um, sometimes, you know, withthese bills that might have
unintended consequences , um,that can also, you know, take
root and , and kind of spreadacross the country. So , um,
always really important towatch not only for the state
that you might do business in,but for others across the
country to understand sort ofwhat might be coming down in
(30:23):
the future , um, in your state.
Alright . Um, so I wanted tokind of , um, give some, I know
context maybe , um, to some ofthe , um, declines in
enrollment that you all areseeing and facing. I think
(30:44):
there's a lot to be said hereand a lot of different reasons
why families might not beenrolling in care as much as
they were before. Um, we getasked a lot if we think that,
you know, COVID had anything todo with it if people, you know,
parents are still worriedabout, you know, safety and
health. Um, and that's notsomething we've necessarily
(31:07):
heard much about. I think it'sprobably true to some extent
for some families, but I don'tthink that that's likely
causing , um, these, thesetrends that you're seeing
throughout the industry. Um, soit could certainly be true for,
you know, some families theywould rather, you know, stay at
home or, or keep their childrenat home for fear of , um, you
know, kind of safety and healthreasons. But I don't think
(31:29):
that's not necessarily whatwe've kind of seen , um, as the
cause root cause of all ofthis. Um, I think , uh, from a
broader perspective, what, whatwe're really seeing , um, are
big impacts , uh, with publicpre-K in, in many states. Um,
and then of course, families,you know, facing issues with
(31:52):
affordability , um, and, youknow, not being able to, to
afford the increased rates thatwe're seeing , um, that are,
like we said, due to , um, ofcourse increased costs of all
of the goods. And then ofcourse , um, increases in
teacher pay. So I think thoseare kind of the two big things
that we're really seeing here.
(32:12):
Um, kind of contributing todeclines in enrollment. Um, in
terms of preschool and pre-K ,um, I know we have folks here
from all across the country,and so every state has a
different , um, pre-K programand a few states don't have any
at all. Um, they really rangein terms of how many children
(32:34):
are served through the program, um, and where children can
receive preschool services. Soin some states , um, there are
really robust, what we callmixed delivery pre-K programs
where community-based providerslike yourselves can participate
and serve children throughpublic preschool. Um, but in
other states it is really ranthrough the public school
(32:56):
system. And in those states,that's where , um, at least
what we're hearing is there'sbeen a , a really big decrease
in enrollment for three andfour year olds. Um, which of
course has a major impact onyour bottom line and your
ability to run a successfulbusiness. Um , because the
ratios for three and four yearolds are , are so much greater.
(33:18):
Um, so that's something that wetalk a lot about at the state
level, improving mixed deliverypre-K so that your businesses
are, are better able tooperate. Um, I think, you know,
we talked to some of ourmembers and providers and they
say, you know , we're at 50%enrollment , um, in our
4-year-old classroom right now,which is just killing us. So ,
(33:38):
um, that's something that we'rewatching. You know, one of the
things , um, that we've seenthis year actually in Texas,
which does not have a robustmixed delivery system , um, and
so most pre-K students are, aregoing to the public schools.
Um, they recently , um, haveproposed including pre-K
(33:58):
students in their school choiceprogram , um, one of the first,
if not the first state to dothat. Um, so that would
completely kind of upend howthings are, are operating right
now in Texas. And, you know,just given the size and the
nature of, of Texas , um,again, something that might
catch on in a few other places.
I actually just saw Wyomingpropose the same thing. So ,
(34:20):
um, something kind of to, towatch there. Um, and then in
New Jersey right now, there are, um, kind of partnerships that
are possible betweencommunity-based providers and
school districts. Um, and we'relooking to, to expand on those
and make those a bit morerobust by kind of changing some
of the requirements to make iteasier for community-based
(34:41):
providers to participate. Um,and then developing a funding
set aside for preschoolpartnerships to ensure that,
again, the funding is there ,um, to help community-based
providers serve those students.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
And just real quick on that topic , um, so I know
four year olds in states thathave the pre-K program, a lot
of them are , are attendingthose publicly provided or
mixed delivery. Are you seeingstrategies that of centers that
said, okay, fine, four yearolds are gonna be down, I'm
gonna double down on my infant,1-year-old, 2-year-old,
(35:17):
three-year-old programs wherethey expand those classrooms in
order to adjust for the, thedecline in enrollment rates on
the four year olds ?
Speaker 4 (35:26):
They do. Um, and that is, I mean, that is the
strategy, right? You don'twanna have a, a classroom
that's empty. And so whendemand for infants and toddlers
is so much greater , um, youknow, I think the solution that
we're hearing is, okay, well,I'm gonna close one of my
preschool classrooms and I'mgonna open another infant
classroom. Um, you know, Idon't have to tell anyone on
(35:47):
this webinar this, but , um,you know, the, the just the
numbers are so much morechallenging with that approach.
Um, and so, you know, what doestuition look like for, for
infants? Can you pay yourteachers , um, you know, with
those rates are infant, do youstill have the same demand, I
suppose, if you're , um, youknow, charging the rates that
you might need to , um, to keepthat infant classroom , um,
(36:10):
open? So I think it's, it's aquestion that providers are
grappling with and they in alot of places don't want to
give up their preschoolclassrooms just yet. Um , I
think some of them see thewriting on the wall and have
moved in that direction, andthen others are still fighting
really hard to participate inpre-K.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
That's helpful.
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (36:33):
Um, in terms of, you know, ensuring that families
can better afford childcare ,um, a couple of sort of
strategies that we're seeing ,um, first at the federal level
, um, many of you might befamiliar with the childcare and
development block grant. Um,the funding stream that helps
states , um, provide subsidiesto families. It's called
(36:54):
something different in everystate, but every state has a ,
a program , um, to , to providescholarships to low income
families. Um, there was a , anew regulation that was adopted
last year , um, that among manyother changes will reduce the
amount of a copayment that thefamily is required to
contribute. Um, and so we'reseeing states start to try or
(37:19):
start to , um, work towardsimplementing that. Um, now
states are required to capcopayments at 7% of a family's
income. Um, before that stateswere kind of all over the
place. It ranged, you know,everywhere from 2% to 30%
depending on the state. Um, andso again, that that's something
that states are , um, arehaving to grapple with because
(37:40):
it does cost states more money, um, to reduce copayments and
cover a more significant shareof , um, of the subsidy rate.
Um, and then in other states ,um, they're very aware that ,
um, the childcare anddevelopment block grant, that
subsidy system only reaches afraction of eligible families.
And so they're, you know, doinga lot of different , um, things
(38:04):
to try and , and reach thosefamilies who aren't , um,
receiving assistance already orthose who are just over , um,
that eligibility threshold. Um,because a lot of families
still, you know, of course ,um, are struggling to pay with
for childcare even if theydon't qualify for public
assistance. And so , um, kindof addressing that, that
missing middle, if you will.
(38:25):
Um, we've seen several statesput in their own money to the
subsidy system to serve morefamilies or , um, kind of
expand eligibility on their ownto serve those families who
might not qualify, but stillagain, have a, a major
challenge in affording , um,childcare on their own. Um, and
(38:45):
then one of the things that hasbeen really interesting coming
out of covid, as we mentioned,is an interest from the
business community , um, and aneagerness to help solve this
problem and contribute to , um,to solutions. So, so states
really , um, are , um, beinglobbied by their chambers of
commerce , um, which has been a, a , you know, wonderful
(39:08):
advancement after COD . Um, weare working with Chambers of
Commerce in many states , um,to think of some solutions that
can encourage the businesscommunity to help , um,
contribute to the childcareexpenses of their employees
because those businesses allknow that , um, they are also
direct beneficiaries of astrong childcare system. Um,
(39:29):
and so a couple of , um,different methods that that
states have taken , um, one interms of business tax credits.
Um, so last year , um, Floridapassed some legislation that ,
um, provides a tax credit tocompanies who do contribute to
the childcare expenses of theiremployees, either by , um, you
(39:50):
know, developing an onsite ,um, program or contracting out
with a local community-basedprovider and sort of covering
tuition. Um, and Texas is alsovery interested in sort of
modeling that legislation thatFlorida passed. So again, kind
of you're seeing these trendsfrom states and one picking up
an idea of the other , um, andthey'll kind of domino effect
from there. Um, in terms ofyour own businesses, property
(40:14):
taxes , um, are , is somethingthat has started to pop up. Um,
we are actually just had a billintroduced , um, yesterday in
Florida. Um, so we'll have toupdate this slide, which is
really good news. But , um, inFlorida there's an existing ,
um, property tax exemption forchildcare providers who own
(40:35):
their facility, which is a verysmall portion of childcare
providers. And so we're lookingto , um, expand that to those
who also lease their facility.
Um, and we think that thatwould really help providers
bottom line and also , um, uh,reduce expenses for families,
reduce tuition for families. Sothat's an exciting development
(40:56):
there. Um, North Carolina isalso interested , um, the
Chamber of Commerce I thinkjust released a report today
that might include that as arecommendation. Um, and then
last year, again, building offof, of all of this , um, Texas
passed legislation that allows, um, local tax assessors to
waive , um, uh, property taxesfor childcare providers who ,
(41:20):
um, participate in the statesubsidy program. So , um,
we're, you know, that'ssomething that I think we will
, we'll continue to see pop upover the next couple of years.
Um, and then finally , um,there are some exciting , um,
kind of pilot programs poppingup across the country. One you
might have heard of called thetri share , um, approach.
(41:41):
That's when the state , uh,sort of partners with , um, a
local , uh, business and thatparent to split the cost of, of
childcare sort of three ways.
And so the state's resources gofarther, the business has a
stake in that, and the parentis still paying a little bit
for childcare . So that'ssomething that we've seen a lot
of interest in across thecountry. Um, and this kind of
(42:07):
just, again, goes back to whatI was talking about with regard
to CCBG, that, that , um,childcare subsidy program , um,
and the final rule that waspublished last year, I will say
we're hearing with the newadministration that , um, there
this rule will be , um, revisedor potentially , um, even
(42:31):
rescinded. And so , um, youknow, we are , we're still
remains to be seen what's gonnahappen with this rule that that
came down last year. Um, butit, you know, for those of you
who do participate in yourstate subsidy programs, the
reimbursement rates , um, forthe state subsidy programs are,
(42:52):
you know, in, in nearly everysingle case much lower than
what you're charging fortuition for your private paid
families. And so that's a majorchallenge for , um, for
families because they can't ,um, take their subsidy to their
highest quality providers,they're gonna have to pay a
large copay. Um, and, you know,you are kind of operating at a
(43:13):
loss when you serve thosefamilies. Um, and so one of the
things we talk a lot withstates about is increasing
reimbursement rates to moreclosely match the cost of
providing high quality care.
Um, unfortunately that coststates a lot of money. Um, and
so they, you know, with their,with tight budgets that they're
facing right now , um, justhave a lot on their plate that
(43:33):
they're trying to , um, managebetween, especially within
childcare funding. Um, so their, I think their major challenge
within , um, the subsidy systemis deciding whether or not to
serve more families or increaserates. Um, and that's always
really a struggle that we see.
Um, and so some states are ,um, and you know, kind of as a
(43:55):
footnote to all of that, thecovid money did help them
increase rates. Um, but ofcourse now that that has gone ,
um, that's an even moresignificant challenge. So , um,
we're seeing states, you know,kind of take one of two
approaches either , um, servingmore families, you know , we,
or sorry, fewer families, wesaw wait list , um, you know,
(44:16):
in Arizona for the first timein a long time , um, serving
fewer children, Texas has await list of almost 90,000
children. So , um, you know, Ithink over the next couple of
years if, if more money doesn't, um, come down from the
federal government, we're gonnaunfortunately see fewer
children served. Um, so wouldlove to answer any questions ,
(44:42):
um, or John, we can sort ofkind of go back and forth and
you can , uh, make sure I've,I've hit on everything that you
wanted me to. But I think , um,you know, the key takeaway that
I would leave you with is that, um, there's a lot more going
on at the state and federallevel now than there ever has
been with childcare . Um, we'retracking a lot of different
(45:03):
ideas and policies andapproaches and , um, you know,
nearly every single governorhas mentioned a childcare and
early learning in their stateof the state addresses, has
budget proposals on this, ismaking childcare a really top
priority. Um, and so that is avery good thing, even if there
(45:23):
isn't a lot of money or , um,you know , aren't a lot of, you
know, big high , um, highdollar programs coming down, it
is something that legislatorsand governors care a lot about.
Um, and so we, you know, comingout of covid, I think are in ,
um, at least a very goodposition to advocate for , um,
(45:46):
improvements to the industryand more money for businesses
and for families.
Speaker 5 (45:58):
Alright , John, I think you're gonna take it from
here. Is that right?
Speaker 3 (46:04):
Yeah, yeah. Um, just, just trying to wrap up
what Kathleen just provided.
Um, thank you Kaly , that thatwas fantastic. And what I would
also say is , uh, in additionto the awareness , um, and the
need, we now understand whatadvocacy can do to go influence
(46:25):
the state and federallawmakers. Um, you know, let me
just say, you know, eec , EECwakes up every day trying to
advocate across the board. Youhave , um, you know, lots and
lots of interest that we talkedabout, and now it's turning
that advocacy into actionwithin the federal and state
levels. And I saw in the chatjust a number of folks saying,
(46:48):
Hey, how do I get involved? Allthat? I'm assuming the best way
to get involved is go out tothe ECE website, start engaging
with your local folks. Justanything you would say is kind
of a starting point, Kathleen ,in terms of how they could get
involved.
Speaker 4 (47:03):
Yeah. Um, absolutely. You're, you're
welcome to, and I can put ouremail in the chat or my email
in the chat, welcome to reachout to us. Um, excuse me. I
would also , um, suggestlooking to see if your state
has an active state childcareassociation. Um, that's often a
very great place to start. Andwe, like I said, partner and
work really closely with anumber of them . Um, but often
(47:26):
they have, you know, boots onthe ground, you know, every day
as well. And , um, so we canpoint you into some of the
directions there. Um, yourlocal , um, you know, NCI
chapter as well as often veryinvolved. So feel free to reach
out and , um, depending on yourstate, we might be able to
point you in the rightdirection.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Awesome, thank you.
And thank you for all the workyou do to advocate for all of
us. Okay, so let's , uh, let'stry and wrap some things up
here. Um , got a couple ofthings that we, we definitely
wanna talk. You want to go backone slide please? Uh , uh, yes.
Perfect. Um, so if you were totake away one thing from this
(48:08):
webinar is it, it starts and itends with your teachers. Um,
and you have to meet theteachers where they're at. We
know that we're , they'refacing burnout. We know that
they're , they're challenged todo the job in the classroom
with the right skillset . Weknow they feel undervalued.
(48:29):
We've talked about at a highlevel some of the strategies
about creating a culture ofinclusion, about , uh,
providing them with developmentopportunities. We've also heard
from a number of centers thathave really good programs about
mentorship and developmentwithin the center. So building
the capabilities within yourleadership team to mentor and
(48:52):
help , um, prioritizing mentalhealth and wellness and giving
them the tools so that they cango , um, have the time and the
tools to go develop themselves.
We also have found, you know,great trends around recognition
and rewards , uh, for retainingthose, those teachers as well.
(49:15):
Um, in the , uh, in the surveythat we provided, we asked them
what resources and primarilythese are the teachers, what
resources would help. And sohere's some examples of, Hey,
gimme a template for myclassroom. Um, give me a
starting point. Give me astructure that I can take at a
high level and tweak , um, tomy, my specific needs. But
(49:40):
don't gimme a blank slate,gimme some structure so that I
can start from there. They'reasking for professional
development. Um, you know, PDis really important that the
centers lean in, not only ongetting them into the classroom
as a minimum requirement, haveyour CDA and , and and hours
behind that, but actuallygiving them the tools in the
(50:04):
classroom on a consistentbasis, making sure they have
time to go focus on thatprofessional development. Um,
and then we've heard over andover that collaborative
planning, like, you know,getting the toddler teachers
together, the infant teacherstogether and, and figuring out
things that they can doplanning together. And we've
(50:24):
also mentioned, you know, theimportance of a mentorship
program. So listen to yourteachers, meet them where
they're at, give them space fordevelopment, are gonna be
absolutely key for retainingthem going forward. Okay, so
let's go ahead and, and wrapthis thing up. Next slide. What
(50:48):
we have found is that, thathaving a partner is absolutely
critical for the mission ofyour company. Um, we have found
that that centers that havemanual processes or processes
that aren't well documentedjust are struggling to maintain
(51:10):
and connect all the dots andwork through all of that. Um ,
20 years ago, you could run acenter without a, a software
package holding it alltogether. In today's world,
it's impossible. Um, and so werecognize all of the challenges
you have. And ProCare over thelast 30 years have been
(51:31):
building an ecosystem, asoftware that basically
understands all of theadministrative tasks , all the
compliance requirements, allthe attendance requirements,
all the teacher requirementsthat will drive the best
outcomes in your classroom. Andfor 30 years, we've been
building that intelligence intoour platform to help you guys
(51:53):
optimize your centers goingforward. Um, I love the fact
that we're in the center ofyour ecosystems. I love the
fact that we are helping youall provide a safe place where
your children can be, receivethe education you've done.
We're we at ProCare, arepassionate about your mission,
(52:14):
and we're passionate aboutdriving great outcomes , uh,
for those that you serve. Andthank you for the opportunity
for us to share with you ourtrends report. Please download
it. It is a great resource.
We're super excited about, youknow, the, the trends, the
insights, and all of that that, uh, we have from it. And with
that, I'll turn it back over toLeah .
Speaker 2 (52:37):
Thanks for joining us today. And if you'd like a
copy of the 2025 ChildcareBusiness Trends report, please
check our show notes. We'llhave a link there where you can
download it for free. Thanks asalways, we'll see you next
time.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hello everyone, and welcome to our newest episode
of the Childcare BusinessPodcast. I'm Leah Woodbury, I'm
the head of content here atProCare Solutions, and today's
podcast is gonna sound a littlebit different than what you're
used to. The reason is werecently did a live webinar
called Shaping the Future ofChildcare Must Know Business
(00:32):
Insights and Trends for 2025,and it contained a lot of
really, really, really goodinformation on Expert Insights,
the latest business trends,legislative updates, and ECE,
all of these things drawing onthe findings of our 2025
ProCare Childcare BusinessTrends report. And we wanted
(00:53):
this to reach as many people aspossible because the
information is so good. Sotoday, you're gonna be hearing
from John. He is the ChiefProduct Officer here at ProCare
Solutions, and KathleenMcHenry, she is the Director of
State policy and GovernmentRelations at the Early Care and
Education Education Consortium.
(01:14):
So if things sound a littledifferent throughout,
understand, that's why. And wehope you enjoy this podcast and
get a lot of really, reallyuseful information out of it.
Let's get started.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I've got the best job in the world. Um, I work at
a company that is superpassionate about , um, our
community, what we do tosupport childcare centers in
their mission to create ,create great outcomes for these
youngsters. Um, I love buildinggreat products that surprise
(01:47):
and delight our, our users andthat create great outcomes for
the people that we serve. Andso, just delighted to be here.
We actually just announced thatwe had , uh, our new CEO join
us. Um, and so we had an allhands meeting , um, and we're
super excited about , uh,welcoming , uh, Kim . His name
(02:08):
is Joe Gomes, great guy. Um,but he reminded me of a quote ,
uh, by Jim Collins that I , I'mreally, really liked. I've
heard it before, but it's agreat quote and I think it's
very meaningful to share. Andhe said, you know, basically it
says, A great life is when youspend your time absorbed in
meaningful work you love withpeople you love. And I cannot
(02:33):
think of a better situationthat we have. We have
meaningful work surrounded bypeople that we love doing
things that make an impact. Andso that's why I'm so glad to
be, you know, in this industrypartnering with you all. Um,
and I love this trends report.
Again, this is, we've done itmultiple years. There's so much
(02:55):
great insights that come fromthis. One of the things I
challenge my team with all thetime is we have to list ,
listen to our customers. Wehave to have empathy for the
issues and challenges that theyhave, so that we can
essentially walk in your shoesfor mile after mile so that we
can , um, you know, betterunderstand how we can solve
(03:16):
those, those issues for you.
Um, so we get it. You are in achallenging business. Um,
you've gotta manage enrollment.
You've gotta make sure thattuition and billing and
payments all align . You'vegotta communicate with parents.
Uh, you've gotta , you know,make sure you're tracking all
the children where they're at.
(03:36):
You've gotta make sure that,that you stay in compliant with
various different statestandards, all that sort of
stuff. Um, it is a busy,difficult job. And for that, my
hat's off to you. Thank you forall that you guys do. And so,
the , the, what we're trying todo is create a resource that
you can use to say, okay, yeah,that, that I have a similar
(03:58):
problem. Here's some datapoints that might help me in ,
in how I can better run andmanage my business going
forward. And so, think ofthose, those opportunities to
use the report and is like,okay, how do you understand the
growth trends? What's happeningin the industry? How do we
forecast out what will happendemographics wise ? How many
(04:20):
two year olds are coming intothe market? How should I shift
kinda my my care outlook , uh,based on those industry trends?
So we have those, there's datainsights that come from what's
happening at certain centers.
What are the impacts thatteachers are having, the
challenges? How can we kind ofglean those insights to provide
(04:43):
you all some meaningful , um,data so that you can better run
your centers? Um, how do youlearn from that by exploring
various different technologyand business strategies to help
you kind of bridge the gapbetween your parents, your
teachers, your children, andyour business. How do you
connect all of those usingtechnology and process? Um, and
(05:07):
then how do you, how do youthink about managing your
business in a different way?
What are the benchmarks youshould care about? What are the
things you should look at on anongoing basis? And then
probably most important is howdo we support the educators in
the classroom better? Becauseas you all know, it starts,
ends and begins in theclassroom with that teacher,
(05:29):
that teacher's connection withthe parent, that teacher's
connection with the child. Andso those are all insights that,
that we wanna bring forward ,uh, with this industry trends
report. So, a couple ofhighlights. Um, they might be
low lights because they'rechallenges, but we'll, we'll
(05:50):
call 'em highlights. But theseare challenges you all have.
Um, number one, you'restruggling to hire and retain
good staff. And this has beengoing on for the last three to
four years. I, I , this hasbeen at the top of our trends
report , uh, pretty much everyyear. So it's an ongoing
challenge, and that challengeis getting harder , uh, going
(06:14):
forward. The next one is,there's burnout that's
happening with your staff.
There's a lot going on withinyour centers between the
parents and the children andrunning the business. And so
you're dealing with burnout.
The next one is, there'sfluctuations in enrollment.
Sometimes you're over-enrolled,sometimes you're right at
(06:35):
enrollment. But often moreoften that we're seeing now is
your under enrollment, and thatputs pressure on your business
, uh, and , and is a challengegoing forward. And then finally
, um, you know, since COV , thegovernment has really
understood the importance ofchildcare . Childcare is
(06:56):
mission critical for the USeconomy. And because of that,
there's all of these funds thatflowed into the childcare , uh,
market. Many of those fundshave evaporated. Some have have
kind of been reconstituted andpushed down to the state. So
it's really important to kindof understand the, the , the
(07:17):
structure of those funds andhow to gain access to those
funds. Um, and, and overall,just how can you tap into that?
So those are the, the top fourchallenges that we're seeing.
And I think you would all kindof nod your head and say, yeah,
we , we see those, those fouracross the board. A couple
other ones to highlight that,that are a part of the trends
(07:38):
report. And again, you allshould download it and , and
take a look at it in moredetail. A couple of other ,
other ones that are significantare professional development
opportunities for staff. So,you know, we wouldn't think
about putting a lawyer in acourtroom without them going
to, to law school and passing abar and doing a bunch of stuff.
(08:00):
We wouldn't think about puttinga doctor into an operating room
without giving him the properhim or her or the proper
training. So we've gotta do thesame for our teachers. And it's
not just the minimums, but it'sreally developing them in their
professional development asthat ECE teacher and all the
resources that go into that tomake them successful. So
(08:22):
really, really critical that wefocus on , um, professional
development for the staff,financial management. Uh, you
know, I've talked to so manyowners that say, I , I got into
, um, into this business forlove of the children, and I
don't really love running abusiness. But these are the
absolute critical things toactually be able to provide
(08:44):
that service to your familiesand your children is to have
that financial managementpiece. So , big deal
communicating with family huge, uh, since Covid hit even
before that, that direct linecommunication, digital
communication with the parentsis absolutely critical.
Curriculum and development ,um, assessment standards are
(09:06):
really, really important. Andit's important that we support
the teachers in that. Um, acouple of things that we know
that are really important,simplify the ECE curriculum for
the teachers so that they cankeep that simple in the
classroom. Give them simpleways to assess. Uh , we're
(09:26):
gonna talk , uh, you know,about insufficient state and
government support. Um , wehave Kathleen with us, so she's
gonna be an awesome support to, to figure that stuff out. And
then don't, don't forget aboutthe importance of marketing and
being an active member in yourcommunity. All of those things
create word of mouth and createthe opportunity for you to make
connections within yourcommunity. And again, these are
(09:48):
all challenges that you dealwith . We've got a couple of
insights that we can do to, toget after some of these
challenges, the other four thatwe just presented. Alright , so
let's talk hiring and retainingyour staff. Um, this is a tough
(10:10):
one. Um, there's a number ofchallenges related to this, but
let , let's talk about theimpacts to your , um, to your
business. So if you haveconstant re you know, churn of
your staff, it's difficult tomaintain your, your quality ,
uh, quality in the classroom,quality in the front office,
(10:32):
quality of your business. Soretaining your good staff and
your great teachers is priorityone. Um, we know that, that
oftentimes there are, there's,when you lose people, that puts
more pressure on the peoplethat stay. And it creates kind
(10:52):
of this negative, like, I'vegot more work just because I've
lo I'm , I'm covering fourpeople as well. And then , uh,
again, there are limited growthopportunities , um, for the
entire thing. So the , thefocus is invest in your staff's
development and then create asupportive work culture. And so
(11:14):
this applies wherever you'reat. And I think this, this goes
back to the Jim , um, Collins ,um, quote, you've gotta love
what you do and be passionateabout it. And you have to love
the people that you work with.
And that does mean servantleadership for them. How do we
serve them? How do we lovethem? How do we meet them where
(11:35):
they're at? Here are all the ,the time constraints of a
teacher on the right. Um, thereare lots of challenges around
time. There's lots ofinteractions between coworkers
. Um, communication withparents, take up time. Tracking
attendance takes up time andchallenges. Um, handling
(11:56):
administrative tasks , planningfor lessons, and then
ultimately managing , uh, theclassroom. And so the, the
bottom four, the big meaty onesare really, really critical
that you have good technologyand great curriculum and great
professional development. Soprofessional development
(12:19):
integrated into your workflows,into your processes will help
them manage the classroom, willhelp the teachers. Here are
issues that you're dealingwith. Here are real world
examples of those issues, andhere are ways that you can cope
with them. So investintentionally on teacher
development. Number two,planning in the classroom. Um,
(12:42):
it's really important that youhave a plan for the classroom
across your age groups that youcommunicate that plan, ideally
digital to the teachers, andallow the teachers to kind of
interact with that digital ,um, curriculum that are in the
classroom. Tying in theassessments to piece of that,
(13:02):
simplifying that whole processso they can execute it day in,
day out is critical. Um,handling administrative tasks .
What are all the things thathas to happen? There's name to
face checks. How do yousimplify that to make it simple
for them? And then finally,tracking attendance and
communicating with parents areall critical, that you have a
solution that can go do thatand kind of streamline that
(13:25):
entire process. So staffburnout , very similar to
hiring, entertaining. When,when they burn out , they don't
stay. And so that, thatinfluences your high turnover,
decrease in your quality. Um,more sick leave that happens
just because they're dealingwith mental and emotional and
(13:48):
other challenges there. Um , solesson planning is, is we've
talked to a number of teachersthat say, listen, you know, I
love my class. I love what I dowithin my class, but I spend
time outside of the classroomprepping for the lesson that I
need to provide. So anythingthat we can do to provide that
(14:09):
prep work pre-planned and readyto go so that when they step
into the classroom, they don'tneed to be thinking about what
a , what do I need to prep foras I get ready for that day?
Um, oftentimes communicatingwith parents take a lot of
their time away from thechildren in the classroom, an
issue, administrative overheadand reporting and all the other
(14:31):
things. Take time away from thechild in the classroom,
attendance, tracking, all theother things that are going on
there. The key thing I thinkthat will help reduce burnout
is getting that teacher moretime with the children, what
they're passionate about, andreducing those overall
administrative burdens thatthey have to deal with. And so
(14:54):
whatever you can do to reducethose burdens on that teacher
so they can spend more timewith the child, you're gonna
reduce burnout exponentially.
The other thing is get thatteacher development in there.
Give them the tools that theyneed to have so that they can
immediately start taking actionwithin the classrooms to
(15:14):
address behavior, to addressconcerns with parents and all
of that sort of stuff. One ofthe things I'm a big fan of is,
is stepping back, giving yourteachers time to sharpen the
saw so that when they get backinto the classroom, they have
the ability to be moreproficient in what they do. So
teacher development is reallyimportant right there.
(15:38):
Enrollment inconsistency. Um,you'll see in the trends report
that there was actually anegative trend downward of in
2024, it was 60% at capacity.
In 2025, there was 57%. Andyou'll see under capacity went
from 33 up to 38%. So you'rehaving a difficult time
(16:02):
maximizing your center'scapacity, and therefore that
puts downhill pressure on thebusiness. And so making sure
that you focus on a healthypipeline of, of students coming
into your classroom is reallycritical for that going
forward. And the way that youdo that is a number of things.
(16:25):
Your involvement in thecommunity , um, word of mouth
from the parents, what are youusing technology wise to make
sure that you're tracking thoseleads and then following up on
those leads very quickly. Um ,ProCare has some rudimentary
lead management capabilitiesthat we'd recommend that you
take a look at using. Thenthere are fairly rudimentary
(16:48):
and , and therefore , uh,customers that don't
necessarily have an issue withfull enrollment. If you have an
issue with full enrollment, Ihighly , um, recommend that
you, you take a look at a CRMuh , product and a CRM product
that's specifically custombuilt for childcare centers.
We've got a great partnershipwith Intelli kids , and we have
(17:10):
an integration with thembetween our, our center
management software and Intellikids that really helps optimize
enrollment by making sure thatyou're following up on every
single lead going forward. Soif you're struggling with full
enrollment, I highly recommendthat you, you adopt the CRM
solution. We've got a greatsolution and a great partner in
Intelli Kids Limited publicfunding. And this is when I, I
(17:35):
wanna lean in with Kathleen .
Uh, she's the expert here, butwe know there's all of this
money that flowed into thesystem. We know in the last
couple of years that a lot ofthat money is dried up, but we
also know there's still moneyout there. The states are
empowered. Um, and now it'sjust about advocating for you
(17:55):
and your classrooms , uh, andyour students to make sure you
get the full capacity of that.
And we've got a ton of that.
We'll hear from Katherine , butKatherine , I'd love to hear
kind of your point of view onthat at this point.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Yeah, thank you, John . Um, it is something that
we're hearing from providersacross the country. Um, you
know, the challenges with , um,kind of the expiration of the
funding that was , um, given tous through and during the Covid
pandemic. Um, there were morethan $50 billion that were
funneled into the industry ,um, to providers, additional
(18:30):
money to help families accesschildcare. Um, and states are
really having to grapple with ,um, the loss of that funding.
And states are, we'll get intothis a little bit later, but
really all over the place , um,with what they've been able to
do over the last year or soafter that money , um, from the
federal government has expired.
Um, and so I think providersare really starting to feel
(18:51):
that pinch , um, with the lackof that, that money. Um, but at
the same time, prices are goingup for goods. Um, you know,
what, you know, price ofdiapers, kind of anything that
you might be of that you needto purchase for your centers ,
um, has gone up. So it's notonly , um, you know, the fact
that you no longer get this ,um, this grant or these
(19:12):
resources from the state , um,it's that at on top of that,
your , your prices are goingup. Um, and so I think kind of
the confluence of all of that ,um, makes it a really, really
challenging businessenvironment. Um, and we know
that the childcare providersalready struggle to , um, to
have, you know, profit margins.
So , um, we can get into kindof some of the examples of, of
(19:33):
what states are doing in alittle bit, but from a high
level, just know that , um,every state is really grappling
with this in a , in a differentway.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Awesome. Thanks Kaplan . And, and so because it
was one of your major issuesand challenges , uh, we've,
we've invited Kaplan here to,to give us a deep dive in what
is , how has it evolved interms of federal and state
funds? What does it mean toyou? And more importantly, what
(20:02):
can you do to start advocating?
So with that, I'll turn it overto Catherine for the remainder.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
Thank you, John. Um, and hi everybody. Thank you ,
um, to the ProCare team for,for having me today. Um, I'll
just kind of state , take astep back and introduce myself.
Um, so Catherine McHenry, I am, um, one of the early care and
education , um, consortiums,directors of government
relations. It's a mouthful, butECEC is , um, a nationwide
trade association of childcareproviders. Um , we also work
(20:31):
with state childcareassociations and education
service providers , um, likeProCare. So I'm really glad to
be able to talk to you todayabout some of , um, the things
that are going on across thecountry in terms of public
policy. Um, and if we can goonto the next slide , um, a few
of the, the topics that I'dlike to , um, talk about today
(20:53):
, um, you know, we're , uh,limited public funding is of
course, you know, one of themajor challenges that, that you
all , um, had had kind ofselected in the report. Um,
it's, and like I said, everystate is, is kind of grappling
with, with what to do afterthe, the federal funding from
(21:14):
the Covid pandemic ran out. Um,most of you, I'm sure, received
some sort of basic grant , um,from your state that was funded
with federal dollars to helpyou , um, kind of remain in
business and continue payingyour staff even if your , um,
centers weren't operating at ,um, anywhere close to to
capacity. Um, and with thatfunding, you know, I think
(21:36):
states and lawmakers reallystarted to understand , um, the
importance of the childcareindustry. Um, you know, John
said they recognize it asmission critical, and I think
that that's absolutely right.
Um, you know, childcare centersand homes were some of the
first businesses to , um, kindof open up , uh, after, you
(21:57):
know, a week or two of thefirst lockdown. And that was
because, you know, firstresponders and, and other
essential workers , um, hadchildren and they needed
someone to care for them . So ,um, you know, with that came
this, this really , um,broadened understanding of the
important work that childcareproviders and teachers and
staff do every day to keep oureconomy open and running. Um,
(22:19):
and, you know, that has , um,in a, in a really great way,
elevated this conversation postpandemic to how can we make
sure that the childcareindustry , um, you know, is
really on strong footing movingforward. Because as we all
know, before the pandemic , um,there were a lot of challenges
within the industry that wereonly heightened and exacerbated
(22:41):
, um, by those challenges wesaw with the pandemic. Um, so
what we're seeing across thestates right now, and I'll kind
of talk about this in a coupleof different buckets , um, in
response to the , um, you know,kind of , um, the, the state
trend report , um, is, youknow, staffing is number one.
That is something thatlawmakers have heard loud and
(23:01):
clear is a challenge. Um, andthey really understand now that
without , um, without childcarestaff, all other workers are
impacted. Um, so you lose onechildre teacher out of a
classroom that's potentially 10families who , um, can no
longer participate in theworkforce, who now have to
struggle to find care , um,might, might, you know, remove
(23:24):
themselves from the workforce.
Um, and that of course has abigger impact on our economy
and on other companies , um,within that community. So we're
seeing some trends withstaffing. Um, I'll talk a
little bit about, you know, youin terms of enrollment
declines, kind of what isleading to that. Um, there's a
lot of , um, you know, knowconversation around pre-K , um,
(23:47):
in, in the states across thecountry. Um, I saw someone in
the chat asked about some taxpolicy , um, and business side
solutions, and there'sdefinitely a lot of that going
on. Um, and then kind ofculminating all of that , um,
what states are doing in termsof some broader , um, public
funding initiatives. Uh, so onthe next slide , um, go ahead.
(24:09):
Yep , thank you. Um, so one ofthe things that we're seeing ,
um, that we've seen pop up overthe last year or two, really,
I'd say , um, again, on in aeffort to support , um, early
childhood educators, the , theteachers and the staff that are
in the classrooms every singleday , um, the , you know, at
the state level, I think that ,um, they've really recognized,
(24:33):
again, like I said, keepingteachers in the classroom is
paramount to making sure thatall other workforce , um, are
able to , um, come to workevery day . And so one of the
things that we've seen aninterest in is providing
childcare assistance for earlyeducators. I know many of you
probably already offer your,your staff , um, tuition
(24:55):
discounts , um, you know, sothat their own children can
attend your center or anothercenter. Um, and I'm sure that
you've seen that we've heardtime and time again that
providers who do that , um, seebetter retention rates for
their staff. You know, theycome back after they've had a
kid, or they're able to , um,you know, to come into the
classroom with their youngchild. So , um, you know, I
think the benefit of that , um,is, is immense. And so several
(25:19):
states have created programswhere they've actually fund ,
you know, put in their ownmoney to make sure that early
educators, teachers and staff ,um, are able to afford
childcare for their ownchildren. Um , we saw that ,
uh, really pop up in Kentuckyfor the first time, and many
states kind of took that onand, and followed Kentucky's
(25:41):
lead. Um, last year I think itwas, you know, maybe 12 states
that did the same thing. Um,and Arizona this year is
looking to do the same. So ,um, one , one sort of challenge
in that , um, in, you know , inpursuing this policy is that it
does cost a lot of money. Andso right now we're seeing
states , um, not have as muchin their budget as they did ,
(26:05):
um, you know, last year and ,and two years ago after covid.
Um, and so they're , it'sstarting to become a challenge
to , um, to continue pursuingthat policy. But it is really
exciting. Um, and I think a fewother states are looking to do
this within their subsidysystem. Um, so if , uh, an
early educator or or teacherdoes qualify for , um, the
(26:27):
state's subsidy for childcare,then they might be prioritized
on that list again to make surethat that teacher is able to
get into the classroom , um,and serve more children and
families. Um, so that'ssomething that we really love
to see. It's, it's got greatbenefits , um, for, of course,
not only our staff, but for therest of the economy. Um, oh,
(26:47):
sorry, let's go back. One , um,uh, in terms of wage
supplements and increases , um,we, I think it's, it has
resonated for quite some time,even before covid that , um,
with lawmakers that , um,childcare teachers do not make
enough money. Um, but they'vealso, they also understand that
(27:11):
, um, parents can't afford topay more I tuition. And so it's
not just as simple asincreasing their wages, because
of course, we would all love topay our teachers more. Um, but
in order to do that , um, wehave to find the money from
somewhere. And so we can'tcharge parents much more as
we'll price them out of thesystem. Um, and so some states
(27:32):
have really stepped in here to, um, to supplement teacher
wages and a few creative ways.
Um, a couple of states have ,um, kind of really robust
programs to supplement teacherwages. Um, and building off of
that, Pennsylvania isconsidering doing that this
year, supplementing teacherwages , um, in a similar way to
Illinois, Massachusetts, andMinnesota. And then Colorado
(27:55):
took a little bit of adifferent approach. Last year,
they passed a couple of taxcredits , um, that support
early childhood educators , um,that have been , um, pretty
successful as the first year ofthose tax credits. But , um, we
were very excited to see thosepass. Um, and then on the flip
side, we're watching a few ,um, bills that would, you know,
(28:16):
there's, I think a lot of folksin this industry have really a
lot of lawmakers when they're ,um, thinking about bills. They
all have really greatintentions for the most part,
but sometimes those greatintentions might have some
unintended consequences. Um, sowe're watching a bill in
Washington state that wouldestablish a childcare workforce
standards board that would setmandatory compensation
(28:37):
standards for early childhoodeducators. And I think truly
that comes from a really goodplace of wanting to make sure
that our, our teachers andstaff are compensated fairly.
Um, I think the challenge withthat is, of course, where does
that money come from? Um, ifthere's not money from the
state associated withincreasing wages, then you
(28:57):
know, you as a business owner ,um, you know , are , are kind
of, your hands are tied withwhere to get that money. So ,
um, I think again, you , youknow, you see kind of some of
these proposals coming from areally well intended place ,
um, but sometimes can be , um,there again, unintended
consequences. Next slide here.
(29:18):
Um, oops ,
on the, on that bill inWashington , um, I think one of
the other things to note hereis that, you know, once , um,
once one state passes a build anew idea , um, that kind of
catches fire , um, it canexpand to other states across
(29:41):
the country. So, you know,something passes up in
Washington , um, lawmakers inOregon and California and
Colorado, you know, they alltake note and it starts to
spread. Um, so that's why, youknow, we, we've talked about in
, um, as an example, the trendof , um, you know, supporting
childcare for early educatorsthat caught on like wildfire.
(30:02):
Um, and that was obviously areally positive policy. But ,
um, sometimes, you know, withthese bills that might have
unintended consequences , um,that can also, you know, take
root and , and kind of spreadacross the country. So , um,
always really important towatch not only for the state
that you might do business in,but for others across the
country to understand sort ofwhat might be coming down in
(30:23):
the future , um, in your state.
Alright . Um, so I wanted tokind of , um, give some, I know
context maybe , um, to some ofthe , um, declines in
enrollment that you all areseeing and facing. I think
(30:44):
there's a lot to be said hereand a lot of different reasons
why families might not beenrolling in care as much as
they were before. Um, we getasked a lot if we think that,
you know, COVID had anything todo with it if people, you know,
parents are still worriedabout, you know, safety and
health. Um, and that's notsomething we've necessarily
(31:07):
heard much about. I think it'sprobably true to some extent
for some families, but I don'tthink that that's likely
causing , um, these, thesetrends that you're seeing
throughout the industry. Um, soit could certainly be true for,
you know, some families theywould rather, you know, stay at
home or, or keep their childrenat home for fear of , um, you
know, kind of safety and healthreasons. But I don't think
(31:29):
that's not necessarily whatwe've kind of seen , um, as the
cause root cause of all ofthis. Um, I think , uh, from a
broader perspective, what, whatwe're really seeing , um, are
big impacts , uh, with publicpre-K in, in many states. Um,
and then of course, families,you know, facing issues with
(31:52):
affordability , um, and, youknow, not being able to, to
afford the increased rates thatwe're seeing , um, that are,
like we said, due to , um, ofcourse increased costs of all
of the goods. And then ofcourse , um, increases in
teacher pay. So I think thoseare kind of the two big things
that we're really seeing here.
(32:12):
Um, kind of contributing todeclines in enrollment. Um, in
terms of preschool and pre-K ,um, I know we have folks here
from all across the country,and so every state has a
different , um, pre-K programand a few states don't have any
at all. Um, they really rangein terms of how many children
(32:34):
are served through the program, um, and where children can
receive preschool services. Soin some states , um, there are
really robust, what we callmixed delivery pre-K programs
where community-based providerslike yourselves can participate
and serve children throughpublic preschool. Um, but in
other states it is really ranthrough the public school
(32:56):
system. And in those states,that's where , um, at least
what we're hearing is there'sbeen a , a really big decrease
in enrollment for three andfour year olds. Um, which of
course has a major impact onyour bottom line and your
ability to run a successfulbusiness. Um , because the
ratios for three and four yearolds are , are so much greater.
(33:18):
Um, so that's something that wetalk a lot about at the state
level, improving mixed deliverypre-K so that your businesses
are, are better able tooperate. Um, I think, you know,
we talked to some of ourmembers and providers and they
say, you know , we're at 50%enrollment , um, in our
4-year-old classroom right now,which is just killing us. So ,
(33:38):
um, that's something that we'rewatching. You know, one of the
things , um, that we've seenthis year actually in Texas,
which does not have a robustmixed delivery system , um, and
so most pre-K students are, aregoing to the public schools.
Um, they recently , um, haveproposed including pre-K
(33:58):
students in their school choiceprogram , um, one of the first,
if not the first state to dothat. Um, so that would
completely kind of upend howthings are, are operating right
now in Texas. And, you know,just given the size and the
nature of, of Texas , um,again, something that might
catch on in a few other places.
I actually just saw Wyomingpropose the same thing. So ,
(34:20):
um, something kind of to, towatch there. Um, and then in
New Jersey right now, there are, um, kind of partnerships that
are possible betweencommunity-based providers and
school districts. Um, and we'relooking to, to expand on those
and make those a bit morerobust by kind of changing some
of the requirements to make iteasier for community-based
(34:41):
providers to participate. Um,and then developing a funding
set aside for preschoolpartnerships to ensure that,
again, the funding is there ,um, to help community-based
providers serve those students.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
And just real quick on that topic , um, so I know
four year olds in states thathave the pre-K program, a lot
of them are , are attendingthose publicly provided or
mixed delivery. Are you seeingstrategies that of centers that
said, okay, fine, four yearolds are gonna be down, I'm
gonna double down on my infant,1-year-old, 2-year-old,
(35:17):
three-year-old programs wherethey expand those classrooms in
order to adjust for the, thedecline in enrollment rates on
the four year olds ?
Speaker 4 (35:26):
They do. Um, and that is, I mean, that is the
strategy, right? You don'twanna have a, a classroom
that's empty. And so whendemand for infants and toddlers
is so much greater , um, youknow, I think the solution that
we're hearing is, okay, well,I'm gonna close one of my
preschool classrooms and I'mgonna open another infant
classroom. Um, you know, Idon't have to tell anyone on
(35:47):
this webinar this, but , um,you know, the, the just the
numbers are so much morechallenging with that approach.
Um, and so, you know, what doestuition look like for, for
infants? Can you pay yourteachers , um, you know, with
those rates are infant, do youstill have the same demand, I
suppose, if you're , um, youknow, charging the rates that
you might need to , um, to keepthat infant classroom , um,
(36:10):
open? So I think it's, it's aquestion that providers are
grappling with and they in alot of places don't want to
give up their preschoolclassrooms just yet. Um , I
think some of them see thewriting on the wall and have
moved in that direction, andthen others are still fighting
really hard to participate inpre-K.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
That's helpful.
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (36:33):
Um, in terms of, you know, ensuring that families
can better afford childcare ,um, a couple of sort of
strategies that we're seeing ,um, first at the federal level
, um, many of you might befamiliar with the childcare and
development block grant. Um,the funding stream that helps
states , um, provide subsidiesto families. It's called
(36:54):
something different in everystate, but every state has a ,
a program , um, to , to providescholarships to low income
families. Um, there was a , anew regulation that was adopted
last year , um, that among manyother changes will reduce the
amount of a copayment that thefamily is required to
contribute. Um, and so we'reseeing states start to try or
(37:19):
start to , um, work towardsimplementing that. Um, now
states are required to capcopayments at 7% of a family's
income. Um, before that stateswere kind of all over the
place. It ranged, you know,everywhere from 2% to 30%
depending on the state. Um, andso again, that that's something
that states are , um, arehaving to grapple with because
(37:40):
it does cost states more money, um, to reduce copayments and
cover a more significant shareof , um, of the subsidy rate.
Um, and then in other states ,um, they're very aware that ,
um, the childcare anddevelopment block grant, that
subsidy system only reaches afraction of eligible families.
And so they're, you know, doinga lot of different , um, things
(38:04):
to try and , and reach thosefamilies who aren't , um,
receiving assistance already orthose who are just over , um,
that eligibility threshold. Um,because a lot of families
still, you know, of course ,um, are struggling to pay with
for childcare even if theydon't qualify for public
assistance. And so , um, kindof addressing that, that
missing middle, if you will.
(38:25):
Um, we've seen several statesput in their own money to the
subsidy system to serve morefamilies or , um, kind of
expand eligibility on their ownto serve those families who
might not qualify, but stillagain, have a, a major
challenge in affording , um,childcare on their own. Um, and
(38:45):
then one of the things that hasbeen really interesting coming
out of covid, as we mentioned,is an interest from the
business community , um, and aneagerness to help solve this
problem and contribute to , um,to solutions. So, so states
really , um, are , um, beinglobbied by their chambers of
commerce , um, which has been a, a , you know, wonderful
(39:08):
advancement after COD . Um, weare working with Chambers of
Commerce in many states , um,to think of some solutions that
can encourage the businesscommunity to help , um,
contribute to the childcareexpenses of their employees
because those businesses allknow that , um, they are also
direct beneficiaries of astrong childcare system. Um,
(39:29):
and so a couple of , um,different methods that that
states have taken , um, one interms of business tax credits.
Um, so last year , um, Floridapassed some legislation that ,
um, provides a tax credit tocompanies who do contribute to
the childcare expenses of theiremployees, either by , um, you
(39:50):
know, developing an onsite ,um, program or contracting out
with a local community-basedprovider and sort of covering
tuition. Um, and Texas is alsovery interested in sort of
modeling that legislation thatFlorida passed. So again, kind
of you're seeing these trendsfrom states and one picking up
an idea of the other , um, andthey'll kind of domino effect
from there. Um, in terms ofyour own businesses, property
(40:14):
taxes , um, are , is somethingthat has started to pop up. Um,
we are actually just had a billintroduced , um, yesterday in
Florida. Um, so we'll have toupdate this slide, which is
really good news. But , um, inFlorida there's an existing ,
um, property tax exemption forchildcare providers who own
(40:35):
their facility, which is a verysmall portion of childcare
providers. And so we're lookingto , um, expand that to those
who also lease their facility.
Um, and we think that thatwould really help providers
bottom line and also , um, uh,reduce expenses for families,
reduce tuition for families. Sothat's an exciting development
(40:56):
there. Um, North Carolina isalso interested , um, the
Chamber of Commerce I thinkjust released a report today
that might include that as arecommendation. Um, and then
last year, again, building offof, of all of this , um, Texas
passed legislation that allows, um, local tax assessors to
waive , um, uh, property taxesfor childcare providers who ,
(41:20):
um, participate in the statesubsidy program. So , um,
we're, you know, that'ssomething that I think we will
, we'll continue to see pop upover the next couple of years.
Um, and then finally , um,there are some exciting , um,
kind of pilot programs poppingup across the country. One you
might have heard of called thetri share , um, approach.
(41:41):
That's when the state , uh,sort of partners with , um, a
local , uh, business and thatparent to split the cost of, of
childcare sort of three ways.
And so the state's resources gofarther, the business has a
stake in that, and the parentis still paying a little bit
for childcare . So that'ssomething that we've seen a lot
of interest in across thecountry. Um, and this kind of
(42:07):
just, again, goes back to whatI was talking about with regard
to CCBG, that, that , um,childcare subsidy program , um,
and the final rule that waspublished last year, I will say
we're hearing with the newadministration that , um, there
this rule will be , um, revisedor potentially , um, even
(42:31):
rescinded. And so , um, youknow, we are , we're still
remains to be seen what's gonnahappen with this rule that that
came down last year. Um, butit, you know, for those of you
who do participate in yourstate subsidy programs, the
reimbursement rates , um, forthe state subsidy programs are,
(42:52):
you know, in, in nearly everysingle case much lower than
what you're charging fortuition for your private paid
families. And so that's a majorchallenge for , um, for
families because they can't ,um, take their subsidy to their
highest quality providers,they're gonna have to pay a
large copay. Um, and, you know,you are kind of operating at a
(43:13):
loss when you serve thosefamilies. Um, and so one of the
things we talk a lot withstates about is increasing
reimbursement rates to moreclosely match the cost of
providing high quality care.
Um, unfortunately that coststates a lot of money. Um, and
so they, you know, with their,with tight budgets that they're
facing right now , um, justhave a lot on their plate that
(43:33):
they're trying to , um, managebetween, especially within
childcare funding. Um, so their, I think their major challenge
within , um, the subsidy systemis deciding whether or not to
serve more families or increaserates. Um, and that's always
really a struggle that we see.
Um, and so some states are ,um, and you know, kind of as a
(43:55):
footnote to all of that, thecovid money did help them
increase rates. Um, but ofcourse now that that has gone ,
um, that's an even moresignificant challenge. So , um,
we're seeing states, you know,kind of take one of two
approaches either , um, servingmore families, you know , we,
or sorry, fewer families, wesaw wait list , um, you know,
(44:16):
in Arizona for the first timein a long time , um, serving
fewer children, Texas has await list of almost 90,000
children. So , um, you know, Ithink over the next couple of
years if, if more money doesn't, um, come down from the
federal government, we're gonnaunfortunately see fewer
children served. Um, so wouldlove to answer any questions ,
(44:42):
um, or John, we can sort ofkind of go back and forth and
you can , uh, make sure I've,I've hit on everything that you
wanted me to. But I think , um,you know, the key takeaway that
I would leave you with is that, um, there's a lot more going
on at the state and federallevel now than there ever has
been with childcare . Um, we'retracking a lot of different
(45:03):
ideas and policies andapproaches and , um, you know,
nearly every single governorhas mentioned a childcare and
early learning in their stateof the state addresses, has
budget proposals on this, ismaking childcare a really top
priority. Um, and so that is avery good thing, even if there
(45:23):
isn't a lot of money or , um,you know , aren't a lot of, you
know, big high , um, highdollar programs coming down, it
is something that legislatorsand governors care a lot about.
Um, and so we, you know, comingout of covid, I think are in ,
um, at least a very goodposition to advocate for , um,
(45:46):
improvements to the industryand more money for businesses
and for families.
Speaker 5 (45:58):
Alright , John, I think you're gonna take it from
here. Is that right?
Speaker 3 (46:04):
Yeah, yeah. Um, just, just trying to wrap up
what Kathleen just provided.
Um, thank you Kaly , that thatwas fantastic. And what I would
also say is , uh, in additionto the awareness , um, and the
need, we now understand whatadvocacy can do to go influence
(46:25):
the state and federallawmakers. Um, you know, let me
just say, you know, eec , EECwakes up every day trying to
advocate across the board. Youhave , um, you know, lots and
lots of interest that we talkedabout, and now it's turning
that advocacy into actionwithin the federal and state
levels. And I saw in the chatjust a number of folks saying,
(46:48):
Hey, how do I get involved? Allthat? I'm assuming the best way
to get involved is go out tothe ECE website, start engaging
with your local folks. Justanything you would say is kind
of a starting point, Kathleen ,in terms of how they could get
involved.
Speaker 4 (47:03):
Yeah. Um, absolutely. You're, you're
welcome to, and I can put ouremail in the chat or my email
in the chat, welcome to reachout to us. Um, excuse me. I
would also , um, suggestlooking to see if your state
has an active state childcareassociation. Um, that's often a
very great place to start. Andwe, like I said, partner and
work really closely with anumber of them . Um, but often
(47:26):
they have, you know, boots onthe ground, you know, every day
as well. And , um, so we canpoint you into some of the
directions there. Um, yourlocal , um, you know, NCI
chapter as well as often veryinvolved. So feel free to reach
out and , um, depending on yourstate, we might be able to
point you in the rightdirection.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
Awesome, thank you.
And thank you for all the workyou do to advocate for all of
us. Okay, so let's , uh, let'stry and wrap some things up
here. Um , got a couple ofthings that we, we definitely
wanna talk. You want to go backone slide please? Uh , uh, yes.
Perfect. Um, so if you were totake away one thing from this
(48:08):
webinar is it, it starts and itends with your teachers. Um,
and you have to meet theteachers where they're at. We
know that we're , they'refacing burnout. We know that
they're , they're challenged todo the job in the classroom
with the right skillset . Weknow they feel undervalued.
(48:29):
We've talked about at a highlevel some of the strategies
about creating a culture ofinclusion, about , uh,
providing them with developmentopportunities. We've also heard
from a number of centers thathave really good programs about
mentorship and developmentwithin the center. So building
the capabilities within yourleadership team to mentor and
(48:52):
help , um, prioritizing mentalhealth and wellness and giving
them the tools so that they cango , um, have the time and the
tools to go develop themselves.
We also have found, you know,great trends around recognition
and rewards , uh, for retainingthose, those teachers as well.
(49:15):
Um, in the , uh, in the surveythat we provided, we asked them
what resources and primarilythese are the teachers, what
resources would help. And sohere's some examples of, Hey,
gimme a template for myclassroom. Um, give me a
starting point. Give me astructure that I can take at a
high level and tweak , um, tomy, my specific needs. But
(49:40):
don't gimme a blank slate,gimme some structure so that I
can start from there. They'reasking for professional
development. Um, you know, PDis really important that the
centers lean in, not only ongetting them into the classroom
as a minimum requirement, haveyour CDA and , and and hours
behind that, but actuallygiving them the tools in the
(50:04):
classroom on a consistentbasis, making sure they have
time to go focus on thatprofessional development. Um,
and then we've heard over andover that collaborative
planning, like, you know,getting the toddler teachers
together, the infant teacherstogether and, and figuring out
things that they can doplanning together. And we've
(50:24):
also mentioned, you know, theimportance of a mentorship
program. So listen to yourteachers, meet them where
they're at, give them space fordevelopment, are gonna be
absolutely key for retainingthem going forward. Okay, so
let's go ahead and, and wrapthis thing up. Next slide. What
(50:48):
we have found is that, thathaving a partner is absolutely
critical for the mission ofyour company. Um, we have found
that that centers that havemanual processes or processes
that aren't well documentedjust are struggling to maintain
(51:10):
and connect all the dots andwork through all of that. Um ,
20 years ago, you could run acenter without a, a software
package holding it alltogether. In today's world,
it's impossible. Um, and so werecognize all of the challenges
you have. And ProCare over thelast 30 years have been
(51:31):
building an ecosystem, asoftware that basically
understands all of theadministrative tasks , all the
compliance requirements, allthe attendance requirements,
all the teacher requirementsthat will drive the best
outcomes in your classroom. Andfor 30 years, we've been
building that intelligence intoour platform to help you guys
(51:53):
optimize your centers goingforward. Um, I love the fact
that we're in the center ofyour ecosystems. I love the
fact that we are helping youall provide a safe place where
your children can be, receivethe education you've done.
We're we at ProCare, arepassionate about your mission,
(52:14):
and we're passionate aboutdriving great outcomes , uh,
for those that you serve. Andthank you for the opportunity
for us to share with you ourtrends report. Please download
it. It is a great resource.
We're super excited about, youknow, the, the trends, the
insights, and all of that that, uh, we have from it. And with
that, I'll turn it back over toLeah .
Speaker 2 (52:37):
Thanks for joining us today. And if you'd like a
copy of the 2025 ChildcareBusiness Trends report, please
check our show notes. We'llhave a link there where you can
download it for free. Thanks asalways, we'll see you next
time.
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