Wisconsin Early Education Shared Service Network

Description

In rural America, early childhood education and childcare services are identified as a social determinant of health, with more than 50% of rural American communities considered childcare deserts. Throughout the state of Wisconsin, childcare services are closing rapidly, with staffing and finance issues as the main causes. In Wisconsin's Monroe and Vernon Counties, a collaborative that focuses on addressing key childcare access issues has come up with a creative solution.

Wisconsin Partners is a state-wide initiative that uses a broad-based relational model to help communities identify key issues and work together to address those issues. One of their initiatives, Kickapoo Conversations – a forum made up of community members representing different sectors including healthcare, schools, youth, churches, businesses, and civic leaders – identified childcare as a key need. The lack of childcare services in the region has impacted the ability to recruit and retain healthcare workers and young families.

Kickapoo Conversations first explored building a childcare center at Vernon Memorial Hospital or Organic Valley Cooperative, two large employers in the area, but a different solution was presented that was more sustainable and financially feasible: The Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA), a member of Wisconsin Partners, offered to support the effort to start a Shared Services Network called the Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN). The program allows childcare providers to pool staff, resources, and services to better focus their time, finances, and energy on the children they serve.

Because of the multi-sector approach of this collaboration, WECA was awarded a 42-month grant to serve as the administrating organization for WEESSN. The grant funding (awarded January 1^st, 2018) came from the Medical College of Wisconsin's Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program, which receives funding from the Advancing A Healthier Wisconsin Endowment.

Organic Valley Family of Farms and its parent company, the Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools (CROPP) Cooperative, contributed funds to support the writing of the grant application, and Gundersen Health System provided funds to support WEESSN's work with childcare providers.

Services offered

Based on needs of current childcare programs gathered from focus groups and surveys, WECA developed a menu of activities that are customized for each childcare program and managed by WEESSN. WEESSN provides assistance for both the business and educational side of running a childcare business, freeing childcare providers to focus on the children.

Business Leadership Assistance

• Compliance with licensing and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)
• Streamlining tuition and payroll; budgeting, financial forecasting and reporting, as well as rate-setting assistance are also available.
• Bulk purchasing and pre-negotiated discount pricing on goods and services
• Substitute teacher pool
• Through a secure, cloud-based system, WEESSN provides automated recordkeeping for:
  • Immunization records
  • Payment records
  • Licensing details
  • Staff health records and criminal background checks

Educator Leadership Assistance

• Documentation and observation
• Meaningful curriculum planning
• Personalized professional development pathway
• Growing program leadership capacity
• Collective professional learning communities
• Access to the Wisconsin Shared Education Resources (WISER) on-line platform

WEESSN originally started its work with area medical providers and pediatricians to embed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) into the Shared Services Network to help childcare providers monitor children's development and ensure children are hitting important developmental milestones. WEESSN also collaborated with Kickapoo Area School District to provide an ASQ screening event at a school for parents and their young children. From that beginning, WEESSN has been able to expand into an expanding number of services.

With its new tiered model, WEESSN is available at no cost to all regulated childcare programs in Vernon and Monroe counties.

Results

As of September 2022, 25 child care programs (14 family child care and 11 group centers) in Monroe and Vernon Counties have joined WEESSN and more are considering.

Challenges

The Kickapoo region experienced flooding during the development and launch of WEESSN, so organizers had to be flexible and factor in the immediate needs of the community amidst the massive recovery and rebuilding of homes and businesses.

One of the challenges to taking on the childcare crisis is that stakeholders often want a quick remedy since the need is great. But the reality of starting, funding, and maintaining a childcare business can be a complicated process. Helping everyone involved understand this and manage the expectations for timelines and results is important.

Replication

• There are over two dozen Shared Services Networks (also known as Alliances) around the country. Opportunities Exchange is a clearinghouse of information that can be a valuable resource to any community looking into Shared Services as a solution to childcare dilemmas.
• Because Shared Services isn't a panacea or a one-stop solution, communities, regions, and states should consider innovative collaborations to help create the conditions for a thriving childcare sector. Shared Services Networks are most successful when there is significant cross-sector support and successful funding is typically a mix of grants alongside philanthropic, public, and private money.
• Adopting a Shared Services model means asking business owners (including childcare providers) and others (like officials, community stakeholders, and funders) to consider unconventional solutions.
• Each person embraces change differently, so being prepared to equip early adopters and being patient with those who need more time to consider, are equally important.
• WEESSN has expanded, providing the same level of intensive coaching offered in Vernon and Monroe counties to a total of six cohorts of counties, including Dane and Milwaukee counties. In addition, in October 2021, it launched two additional tiers of service statewide, providing access to more than 1,600 programs. Discussion of expansion into additional communities is ongoing.
• WEESSN is continually expanding the services available to participants. Recent additions include free access to LegUp, an enrollment management system, development of a suite of videos, webinars, and informational materials about key financial topics, in partnership with national leader Civitas, and, beginning in January 2023, an Employee Assistance Program providing confidential financial, legal, and wellness services to all employees in participant child care programs.
• WEESSN is grateful for the strong child care community champions who have supported its launch and continued work.

Contact Information

Kelly Matthews, MA, WEESSN Co-Director
Wisconsin Early Childhood Association
608-230-8046
KMatthews@wisconsinearlychildhood.org