Year in Review 2023
Denise Sayer Vice President & Innovator CCA For Social GoodTM
ECE
Shared ResourcesTM
Cellissa Hoyt Director
ECE Shared ResourcesTM
Dear friends and colleagues,
The team at ECE Shared Resources is honored to be a part of supporting the ECE community for over 16 years! Cellissa and I are so delighted to see first-hand the many ways that partners, agencies, and states are collaborating to support their ECE communities. We are grateful for and privileged to have the opportunity to support the work of our 35 state clients who are dedicated to strengthening the business of child care in their communities. They are some of the brightest, most innovative, passionate individuals in the field. This year we celebrate strong community connections with featured stories from our ECE colleagues sharing the impact of their work and the platform in their states:
• From South Carolina’s huge accomplishment in partnering with their state to allow all providers free access to their shared resources platform,
• To Arkansas’ launch of a customized Licensing Best Practices toolkit as a provider and licensing specialist support tool designed to strengthen compliance,
• And the incredible collaboration in Nevada to create a one-stop shop of resources and community partners to respond to all kinds of provider needs, and
• Last, but not least, the amazing way Georgia’s hands-on coaching has become a beacon for facilitating strong business practices resulting in provider financial sustainability.
The list could go on and on. In fact, we’ve collected so many great stories that couldn’t fit into this Year In Review that we are creating a section in our ECESharedResources.com website for all to see.
Embedding and engagement have been two priorities over this past year as we fortify our state partners efforts in reaching the networks that form the bootson-the-ground community support system across the United States. Customized training presentations, hands-on telephone support, and implementing real world tools are ways we are helping states strengthen the many powerful partnerships they need and want to nurture. A spirit of cooperation and collaboration is growing and becoming central to ECE success.
At the core of our work, our focus continues to be on providing the solutions that address emerging needs across states. Today the shared resources platform serves 35 states and reaches over 45,000 providers with an array of digital toolkits that change the game in overall provider programmatic and operational quality as well as enriching coaching and technical assistance. Our solutions are building bridges to providers within communities, extending across state boundaries, and reaching from coast to coast of this United States.
We are humbled and honored to be a part of this work and look forward to the myriad ways 2024 will delight and amaze all of us. We hope you will join us in our efforts to buoy the ECE community in your state.
Warmest regards,
Denise Sayer Vice President & Innovator
Cellissa Hoyt Director
BUILDING BRIDGES
5-6
POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS
9-10
HELPING HANDS
HELPING HANDS
We all need a helping hand sometimes. In child care, experts from many different agencies support providers with business coaching and technical assistance to transform ECE communities and strengthen provider businesses.
HELPING HANDS ARE IMPACTING:
33K+ Programs
OF PEOPLE AGREE:
1.98M Children
OF PEOPLE AGREE:
45K+ Educators
My shared resources platform offers substantial opportunities to save money. 99% 91%
My shared resources platform has the tools and resources I need.
It’s a great one-stop shop for resources, information, discounts, and tools.
Erin Carey, GA on the benefits of Provider Resources Hub
I can find all my handbook templates following the state guidelines, and get my questions about HR answered.
Katrina Brooke, WA on the benefits of Washington Child Care Business Edge
With all these resources, I have the guidance I need to update our written plan and the knowledge and confidence to communicate this plan with our staff and community of families.
Beth Workman, VT on the benefits of Shared Services Vermont
CLIENT SUCCESS STORY
LOCAL COACHING LENDS A HAND FOR PROVIDER SUCCESS
MACI LOCKE
Caterpillar Corner, Oklahoma
OK Shared Services and local coaching have impacted the work of child care in my state by giving me the resources in order to succeed. When I first started my child care business I wasn’t really sure of all the ins and outs. I had been doing child care for years, but never really dealt with the business side of things. Having the resources to put together my handbook and get my finances in order have been the best features!
When I began the process of expanding into a large home, I was struggling to find reliable, trustworthy teacher assistants to help me maintain ratio and keep up with all the craziness of working at a home daycare, especially with the cost of posting on sites like Indeed. My small Facebook post was not doing the work I needed. Using OK Shared Services, I was able to use their Acquire4Hire feature and create a job posting and received over 50 applicants for my open position! I ended up hiring a full time assistant and a part time assistant thanks to this feature alone.
OK Shared Services is also a big help with keeping up my 5 Star Rating using helpful resources for engaging with parents. They also have a great guide in setting up parent teacher conferences which has been my biggest struggle with getting parents involved in their child’s education. There are many helpful tools that give me the resources to show parents their child’s progress and show why my program is not just babysitting, but beneficial to their child’s development.
MEET ANDREA BIMONTE YOUR HELPING HAND
Andrea is only a phone call away for child care programs needing help on almost any topic. Her specialty is helping programs stretch their limited budgets by using pre-negotiated vendor programs. Ask her anything and she’ll do her best to see what she can do to help.
When asked what she loves most about supporting providers, Andrea replied:
“Providers are such caring and inspiring people and so dedicated to what they do. The greatest pleasure I get is talking to a provider when they need assistance. They motivate me to be the best I can be every day.”
Maci Locke Family Child Care Business Owner
Andrea Bimonte Strategic Account Specialist
BUILDING BRIDGES
Bridges are the connector to many new places, opportunities, and experiences. Providers benefit when many “bridges” are built to bring essential supports together for success. Trainers, coaches, and TA staff are the essential support that empowers providers to implement strong practices ensuring they achieve results that benefit business sustainability.
Resources voted on by providers:
Financial Management Toolkit
Orientation and Onboarding Toolkit
Retention and Recruitment Best Practices
new resources and tools
4.7 OUT OF 5 STARS
Email topics with highest user engagement:
Steps for New Staff Success
Softer Side of Management
Becoming an Employer of Choice
4.7 OUT OF 5
platform sessions connecting providers to resources
agree the platform is integral in strengthening the business practices of child care in their state
My positive experience with its inclusivity, clarity, and coverage of different business aspects makes it a strong recommendation for me to give to others in the child care and business sectors. I have discovered useful tools and resources to maximize and scale my business.
Rickya Tillery, NY on the benefits of New York Early Learning Resources
CLIENT SUCCESS STORY
PREPARED AND EQUIPPED TO BRIDGE THE GAPS
MIKELLA RODRIGUEZ
Throughout my time as a coach, I have been able to provide assistance to my providers who need to update their methods/recordkeeping. Handbooks, enrollment forms, job listings, etc. Having the Provider Resource Hub to help me find tools for my providers has been great and made me feel more prepared and equipped.
My hands on business coaching and the platform resources are changing so much for our providers. It's great to see the growth in confidence over time. Providers who were not enforcing their own policies and losing money, have grown to where they now are fully prepared to protect themselves and their time. Policy forms are now up to date and parents are well aware of the fees. The platform and coaching has given them the shield to protect themselves from anything that comes their way. Sometimes, as a small business, it can become easy to be too lenient and comfortable. Providers sometimes see themselves only as "helping hands" and not a business. Late pick-ups, parents not paying on time, short comings on payments. These things can easily slip through and be forgotten. Next thing you know, $500 in late fees are racked up or a parent's weekly tuition isn't collected and then too much time goes by to be collected. Coaching helps them become organized and prepared ahead of time and the Provider Resource Hub helps create professional forms to protect them (and much more).
JAMIE SIMPSON
Elise Epane was a newly licensed family child care business owner that moved from another country and needed assistance with boosting her enrollment and guidance on what to do after interviewing new families. After attending trainings and learning about the many resources on the Provider Resource Hub, she created a logo, using the free logo maker, customized her handbook using the Family Child Care Handbook Template and began marketing using social media. Since that time, she consistently enforces her policies in her handbook, uses social media and maintains full enrollment.
ECE Business Support ServicesFamily Child Care Network
ECE Business Support & Sustainability
Mikella Rodriguez ECE Business Bilingual Coach
Jamie Simpson Assistant Director
Ellyn Cochran President & CEO
Monique Reynolds Vice President
COMMUNITY STRIDES
Strong ECE communities have two things in common – they believe investment in child care is essential to community success and actively build collaboration among diverse agencies to support the work of child care providers.
PLATFORM REACHES 2/3 OF THE US TYPES
Administrators, Directors or Owners
Consultants, Coaches, TA Staff
Teachers, Asst. Teachers, Caregivers
I am just starting out on my child care journey, and I was feeling a tad overwhelmed. After checking out all the resources that are available, I feel like I can do this! I feel like I have a support system like no other.
Laura Day, TN on the benefits of ChildcareTennessee
The saying is it takes a village. This is true. In early childhood, it’s not just the providers and the families, it’s the community and programs within the community that are a part of the village.
Amanda Wemhoff, NE on the benefits of Nebraska Early Childhood Exchange
CLIENT SUCCESS STORY
STRENGTHENING THE SUPPORT FOR CHILD CARE
SHELLEY SUMMER & LESLIE LATIMER
In response to a recent survey question asking, “What has Palmetto Shared Services Alliance (PSSA) done well this year,” a provider answered, “Just being there for us and offering support and resources is phenomenal! We know we have someone reputable to contact if we need something.” We think this sums up what PSSA has become to providers in South Carolina, a trusted partner in a difficult space.
A large part of the respect and trust that the providers have placed in us is derived from the high-quality resources available on the Palmetto Shared Services Alliance resource platform. Over and over they tell us that they wish they had found us sooner. Now with our new full partnership contract with South Carolina Child Care, our state licensing agency, making access to the platform free for providers, everyone will know to contact us on day 1! The PSSA story is one defined by patience. We waited patiently, and never stopped letting our partners know about our successes and now the payoff is HUGE!
BRIANNA CAMBRA
In Nevada, early care and education professionals are supported through a collaborative project, the Strong Start Child Care Services Centers (CCSC). The goal of the service centers is to create a one-stop-shop of resources and community partners that can assist early care and education professionals in opening their business, increasing their quality, applying for grants, and accessing professional development resources.
Nevada is proud to offer the platform and its suite of resources to our early care and education professionals at no cost. Two strategies we focused on to create platform engagement were to embed access to essential supply grants within the platform (creating a way for providers to access PPE products using grant funds – no waiting for reimbursement) and second, connecting child care providers who are in the process of becoming licensed with access to the site. Through our community partners, we were able to reach providers who are beginning their businesses. The shared service site allowed us a quick and easy way to connect these individuals with HR tools, including interview questions, employee handbooks, and our very popular job board. These strategies proved to be very successful and the majority of users that signed up for the platform are still actively engaged!
Brianna Cambra Regional Quality Director The Children’s Cabinet
Shelley Summer Operations Director
Leslie Latimer Executive Director
POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS
Providers benefit when strong partnerships are forged to ensure ECE business success. This includes a wide variety of agencies that support programs with the resources that address provider challenges, achieve business sustainability, and strengthen efforts to meet compliance requirements.
PLATFORM SPONSORS
ACQUIRE4HIRE IMPACT
23 states using Acquire4Hire
6,378 jobs posted
147,768 job applications 3x more than 2022
3,490,226 job views 2x more than 2022
I have never had such luck finding staff as I have with this job board. We are fully staffed and even have extra staff available for call outs.
Gina Sferra, NV on the benefits of Nevada Child Care Services Center
74% of states leverage Docs by Phone for the workforce
85% of states provide the platform for free to their ECE communities
The team has been so responsive as we have been building the platform for our state. Anytime I need suggestions or help, they always have a helpful, positive, and quick response.
Caroline Ireland, KS on the benefits of ECE Resources Kansas
I really appreciate having access to Shared ECE Resources CO as it allows me to not feel alone. The resources offer just what I need and even things I didn’t know I needed.
Pauline Meert, CO on the benefits of Shared ECE Resources CO
The saying is it takes a village. This is true. In early childhood, it’s not just the providers and the families, it’s the community and programs within the community that are a part of the village.
Amanda Wemhoff, NE
CLIENT SUCCESS STORY
TOGETHER WE CAN
ROBIN JONES & DENIECE HONEYCUTT
From the beginning of Arkansas’s shared services platform, partnerships were an essential piece of the work. The license for the AR Resource Connections website was secured by Early Care and Education Projects (ECEP) in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas with funds from the Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood (OEC).
In collaboration with the Office of Early Childhood, ECEP created the Licensing Best Practices Toolkit to be housed on the shared services site. The toolkit walks providers through each section of Arkansas’s minimum licensing requirements for child care centers and family homes to support programs with best practices. To maintain quality care for children, early childhood professionals must have easy access to tools, resources, and supporting materials. The guiding principle of AR Resource Connections is to support providers in providing quality care to children. The Licensing Best Practices Toolkit is a robust tool that supports the Arkansas workforce to provide the best care.
Project
AR Resource Connection
Early Care & Education Projects College of Education & Health Professions, University of Arkansas
The toolkit is an excellent resource for licensing specialists and providers. There are six critical areas identified in Arkansas licensing compliance: ratios, behavior guidance, background checks, transportation, infants and toddlers, and supervision. These sections are all easily found in the toolkit with curated provider resources.
Dawn Jeffery, Assistant Director Licensing Unit Office of Early Childhood
Early Care & Education Projects College of Education & Health Professions, University of Arkansas
Robin Jones
Manager
Deniece Honeycutt, Ed. D. Director
CCA FOR SOCIAL GOOD HAS A SIMPLE MISSIONBUILD SMART SYSTEMS THAT UNLOCK RESOURCES FOR ECE SUSTAINABILITY RESULTING IN WIDESPREAD SOCIAL IMPACT AND STRENGTHENING OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
For more information, please contact:
Denise Sayer
Vice President, CCA For Social Good 603.626.2121 dsayer@ccaglobal.com
Cellissa Hoyt
Director, CCA For Social Good 603.626.2109 choyt@ccaglobal.com
ECE SHARED RESOURCES IS “THE SOLUTION”