Issue

• Agencies and non-profits in the early care and education (ECE) field are chronically short-staffed in the area of technology and could benefit greatly from the application of technology to their operations.
• Technology expertise is difficult and expensive to obtain on a consulting basis, since most technology experts have little or no experience or knowledge of the ECE field, jargon, laws, and processes.
• The lack of understanding of the ECE field by general technology consulting firms increases costs in both dollars and staff time.

Response

• The Children’s Forum has been a leader in the application of technological solutions to the operations of ECE- related agencies since the late 90’s. The Forum has invested in a strong information technology infrastructure and the staff to create and support that infrastructure, including enterprise-level:
  • Servers/Virtual Environment
  • Backup systems, including backup power systems
  • Webhosting infrastructure
  • Custom database creation and management
  • Custom programming and data reporting
  • Advanced networking, security, and firewall creation and management
  • Intra-system data transfers between partners and automated data import and export processes

Accomplishments

• Our IT team’s accomplishments include the development of:
  • The Registry and scholarship system for Miami-Dade County
  • Custom database-driven web applications for Early Learning Coalitions (ELCs) around the state, such as VPK-provider searches
  • Custom websites for ELCs around the state
  • An Online Event Registration and Management system for ECE agencies, which includes:
    • extensive reporting and event coordination tools, as well as a training verification process to integrate with a Registry
    • online conference registration and management system, including payment processes
  • Online form submission processes
  • Automated data transfer processes between partners in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida

Importance

• The proper use of technology can significantly reduce the cost of operations of many ECE agencies, as well as improve their productivity and reach.
• Many tasks currently done on paper or with one-to-one staff contact or phone calls with clients could be done more efficiently through web-based solutions.
• Given the limited funds available to many agencies, efficiencies in the use of technology allow more funds to be directed where they are needed most, to services for children.

For a quote or additional information, please contact:

Bill Kirchhoff, MBA
Vice President / Chief Information Officer
(850) 487-6300