Our Vision:
Operating a child care program is not easy!
Our goal is provide free supports and services* to help you:
- Increase your revenue
- Streamline your operations
- Grow your business
Our Mission:
To establish a Shared Services Alliance for community-based child care providers so that their businesses can become more sustainable, become more profitable, and retain staff through stronger compensation and support packages, with the goal of increasing the supply of high-quality, affordable child care within our community.
The Greater Austin Shared Services Alliance for Early Learning is powered by United Way and the Austin/Travis County Success By 6 Coalition.
The Austin/Travis County Success By 6 Coalition is committed to ensuring all children enter Kindergarten happy, healthy, and prepared to succeed in school and beyond.
About an Alliance/Shared Services
What is a Shared Services Alliance?
This Shared Services Alliance is a network of early care and education providers who work together to share information and costs.
The goal of the Greater Austin Shared Services Alliance is to improve operational stability and service quality in all participating centers by centralizing business and pedagogical leadership.
Who is a part of this alliance?
Membership is open to licensed child care centers in the City of Austin and/or Travis County that are contracted to accept child care subsidies through a local workforce development board. United Way for Greater Austin is the organizational hub for the Alliance, responsible for providing services to member centers.
The AVANCE shared services alliance, set to launch in early 2023, will include supports for family/home child care providers across the state.
For further information for family/home-based child care programs, contact Jocelynn Bryant-Rojas, Director of Provider Services with the AVANCE, Inc. – National Office at jbryant@avance.org.
Benefits of Joining the
Greater Austin Shared Services Alliance
Increase enrollment and revenues
We’ll help you develop a marketing plan to increase your online presence. Our goal is to help grow your waitlist to ensure all your spots remain full.
Automate back-office administrative work
We help you collect tuition on time and in full, reduce paperwork, and improve financial tracking and reporting through the use of a child care management system. And we provide coaching to implement this tool and others.
Increase the quality of your program
We save you time! You can focus on improving staff development and increasing relationships with families. You’ll also receive free business coaching to help you strengthen your program and set it up for long-term success.
Summary of Services Included in This Alliance
You likely became an early childhood educator to nurture the development of young children and serve families in your community.
Instead you feel like you are forced to focus on marketing, hiring, accounting, and more. You want to go back to providing quality care and education to children, investing time to continually develop your amazing staff, and improving your curriculum. The Greater Austin Shared Service Alliance will help you get there!
Here is a glimpse of the services you will receive:
- Access to Business Coaching & Support
- Free Brightwheel Child Care Management Software
- Accounting Financial Management Support
- Document & Paperwork Support
- Marketing & Enrollment Support
- Legal Support
- Regulatory Navigational Support & Communication
- Staffing Support
- Pooled Waitlists
- Bulk Pricing/Group Discounts
Still have questions?
Take a look at our frequently asked questions.
What is this program?
This Shared Services Alliance is a network of early care and education providers who work together to share information and costs. The goal of the Greater Austin Shared Services Alliance is to improve operational stability and service quality in all participating centers by centralizing business and pedagogical leadership.
Is it really free?
Yes, all services are free to you. You will also receive free access to Brightwheel until October 15, 2024. *United Way anticipates providing membership free to partner centers through 2024, contingent on funding. During this pilot period, United Way will work with partners to create a sustainability plan that MAY include membership fees based on enrolled capacity of the child care center and services used.
Who is eligible to join?
To become a member of the Alliance:
- Providers must be center owners/directors who operate in Austin or Travis County.
- Providers must be either already a part of the Texas Rising Stars program or be willing to work on achieving a 2-star rating within one year.
- Providers must be willing to accept and enroll children on child care subsidies.
- Priority will be given to providers who already serve and/or offer a portion of their slots to children on child care subsidy and/or are willing to receive support to reach this goal within one year.
- Providers must be willing to use a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
- Providers must have a reliable internet connection and/or reliable cell phone service with a data plan. Support will be provided, if necessary.
I don’t have a computer, can I still participate?
Yes! The technology we selected can be navigated through a tablet or smartphone. We also can suggest low-cost devices, if interested.
How many hours will I have to dedicate to this program?
We are not requiring members to dedicate a specific number of hours to this program. Each participating provider will work with a coach/United Way staff member to develop a plan that is custom to their needs. Depending on your specific goals, you may meet with staff as frequently as once a week or once a month. It is important to remember that adoption of our tools and services can take time up front; but, overall, our goal is to help you SAVE time and money in the long run!
*This project [is/was] supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number OMB 1505-0271 awarded to the City of Austin by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.