3 Reasons Small/Medium-Sized Childcare Centers Need a Website and Online Enrollment

By Jim Shields @enrollsmart

During the 15 years that I was involved in the ownership and management of childcare centers, we processed thousands of applications for childcare and, hundreds of applications for employment.  The phone was constantly ringing because we used radio to promote our childcare centers and, people were always calling to inquire about childcare availability and jobs; that was a good thing.

We ended up with call logs and mountains of notes on our desks with call-back numbers and, names, ages of children, hours of care needed, potential staff, etc.  We even had a website with a downloadable enrollment form and, people could apply for jobs at our website.  

The bad thing was that, for all of the phone calls and "walk-in" notes we had accumulated, we didn't have enough usable electronic data to make it easier for us to make decisions or demonstrate to potential center buyers or lenders that our brand was really worth as much as we thought it was worth. We also had mountains of files that had been around for years (as required by regulation) taking up space, decaying into dust and making our daily lives more challenging. Though organized, there were, literally, thousands of paper child enrollment files and employment applications stored in our childcare centers.

This is understandable for small/medium-sized childcare centers because most cannot afford to keep physical records in storage and, given their business, most do not have time to truly keep files organized. However, when we look at some numbers and, relevant facts, there 

#1 Printing & Storage Costs, Negative Health Effects on Children/Staff, Potential for Harboring Rodents and Pests

Just this morning, I read that about 50% of parents consider (apply to) more than one provider during their childcare search and about 55% of parents switch their childcare provider within one year.  What this means is that a center licensed for 50 children, will usually have to do, at least, the following to get to and maintain 50 actively attending children:

Take 200 Phone Calls/Walk-Ins

 Do 50-75 Tours

Process 50-200 Applications

What these numbers mean is that there is a lot of paper stored in small/medium-sized childcare centers; especially those centers without a website and, an online enrollment application.  The significant amount of paper that can build up in a childcare facility can give way to dust, mold, and pest harboring.  In fact, many pests eat paper. A website and online child enrollment application can help a center dramatically reduce the amount of paper it has stored and, lying around; which, in turn, will help reduce costs, negative health effects and the potential for pests.

#2 Privacy, Compliance and Records Security

I recently spoke with a center owner in the Atlanta area who, initially, stated that she did not want online child enrollment because she did not "trust" it.  Curious to know why she didn't trust online enrollment, I listened to her and then offered her some powerful reasons why online enrollment can be more trustworthy than filling out paper enrollment forms and turning them in.  

Reason 1 - Privacy/Records Security: 

Most states require that staff have access to child files at all times.   From a practical standpoint, this means locating the children's files in a place where all the staff can get to them.  Even though this is a requirement, center owners/directors must consider the privacy of the records in their possession and, should only make accessible to all staff the minimal contact information and other notes required per their state. An online enrollment process gives the center owner/director the discretion to separate and print out only a contact and notes sheet. Center owners/directors should also consider adding security PINS (personal identification numbers) that only they have access to which will facilitate certain discussions between parents and authorized center personnel only. Having PINS in place can also help verify alternate pickups.

Reason 2 - Compliance: 

Having an electronic enrollment process in place can help with compliance, tremendously because records are backed up and dated.  Because enrollment records are backed up, they can be used for a variety of compliance activities.

#3 Convenience and Data Detail

The most significant age category of parents enrolling in small/medium-sized childcare centers is the 18-24-year-old age category.  This generation of parents expects the convenience of being able to do almost everything online; including childcare enrollment.  By having a website and online enrollment, centers offer parents the convenience they expect and, they also have data that they can use to make marketing decisions.  It has been our experience that most centers do not know which zip codes most of their families come from.  This information is very useful when it comes to marketing.

Jim Shields has 15 years of experience owning multiple small and medium-sized childcare centers simultaneously.  

Enrollsmart supplies mobile websites, online child enrollment, childcare search, attendance tracking and childcare staffing technology for small and medium-sized childcare centers.  To learn more about Enrollsmart, visit

https://www.enrollsmart.net/childcare_software/index.html