When Procare Solutions launched “The Child Care Business Podcast” less than two years ago, our goal was to provide information to help early childhood education professionals fully realize the potential of their child care businesses.
We seek out leaders such as educators, owners and industry experts to share their knowledge to keep you informed on what’s happening in our industry, as well as to innovate to meet the needs of the children you serve.
In 2022, we hit nearly 9,000 podcast downloads! We are thrilled that so many of you are listening.
And it’s no surprise that episodes in 2022 on child care staffing and explainers on government policy affecting child care were the most popular!
So without further adieu … here are the top five podcasts of the year, in no particular order:
1. “A Deep Dive into How ‘Build Back Better’ Would Affect Child Care”
Our first podcast of the year proved to be among the most popular as early childhood educators waited anxiously to learn more about the Build Back Better Act and its potential impacts on the child care industry.
Jacob Stewart, director of state government relations at the Early Care and Education Consortium, closely followed this bill and gives a detailed assessment that included state implementation.
The bill ultimately failed to become law. Still, the consortium said it remained “actively engaged in the fight to build bipartisan support in Congress for increasing funding by $1 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which subsidizes care for low-income families,” according to a recent New York Times article.
That investment would be less than 1 percent of the size of the child care proposals in the Build Back Better bill, the newspaper reported.
We’ll keep tabs on developments and will report back when we learn more.
2. “Building Resilience Among Early Childhood Educators”
Donna Skea, founder of The Infinite Educator, talks about getting back to the basics of why we love child care and early childhood education.
And as child care centers struggle to find and keep good teachers and other staff, building resilience in the child care workforce is key.
Donna also details the importance of building community and offering professional development, and more!
3. “How States are Responding to Child Care Staffing Shortages”
Jacob Stewart joined us for the second time in 2022 to describe what individual states are doing to combat staffing shortages in child care.
Much of the data he shared came from “The Child Care Workforce Shortage: Solutions from Around the Country” report.
Some states are offering wage enhancements, internship programs, a refundable tax credit, financial support to obtain credentials that are state required as well as enabling employees to leverage their experience to move up career ladders.
Massachusetts, for example, launched a general, statewide workforce bonus for which child care providers are eligible to receive $4,000 per new employee hired and retained for 60 days.
Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania have offered multiple bonuses ranging between $300 and $1,200 per worker.
4. “A Look at Colorado’s New Law to Fund 10 Hours a Week of Preschool”
Nicole Riehl, president and CEO of Colorado Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (better known as EPIC), walks us through a new Colorado law that will pay for 10 hours a week of preschool for all 4-year-olds, and what that means for child care providers and families.
She discusses how this new state law was designed for flexibility to allow parents to choose what preschool their children can attend and still be eligible for those 10 hours of preschool, as well as the importance of making the program accessible and easy to use for providers and families.
5. “How Shared Services Benefit Child Care Providers”
Monique Reynolds is the vice president of business support services with Quality Care for Children in Atlanta and her passion is helping child care business owners become successful and sustainable through shared services.
When she describes this model, she said she’s reminded of the African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child. When you think about child care businesses, it’s the same concept. It’s basically having a community of people who put tools and resources together to make each business sustainable with increased profitability, Monique says.
In this podcast, she explains how shared services can help those in the child care industry.
Are You Ready for 2023?
We hope you’ll join us as we share more podcasts in 2023 on the topics you care about! We invite you to subscribe to The Child Care Business Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Google Play … or wherever you get your podcasts! You can always find each episode here as well.
And if you’re setting goals for your child care center in the coming year, check out this blog to help you propel your business forward in a meaningful way.
Procare can help! Our software takes the complexity out of running a child care center with solutions that address every facet of your business, including automated payment processing, ratio tracking, staff management as well as billing and invoicing.
Track each family’s balance including their history of registration fees, tuition charges, family discounts and payments received. Calculate tuition charges, supply and activity fees plus co-payments and family discounts in seconds for easy billing.
You can also simply manage hourly billing, overtime and late pickup fees with ease.
Procare is used by two out of three child care businesses that use software and serves nearly 37,000 child care centers ranging from single-unit operations to multinational enterprises.
Request a free demo today and see how Procare can help you better manage your business, engage parents, retain your staff and increase security in 2023!
