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How digital innovation can improve access to affordable childcare
In this episode of the Leading into Tomorrow podcast, Kait Borsay discusses “people plus digital” solutions to the childcare crisis with an EY professional and a human services leader.
Access to affordable childcare is fundamental to a healthy economy and society. But with Americans spending 8% to 19% of their income on childcare, and employees leaving the industry in droves, governments need to be more innovative in connecting families with these services.
In this episode, presenter and reporter Kait Borsay explores how digital innovation can help. Her guests are Danielle Barnes, EY Americas Government and Public Sector Leader, and Justin Brown, Oklahoma Secretary of Human Services.
The conversation ranges from the “people plus digital” solutions states are deploying to transform childcare, to the priorities and philosophies that will allow them to deliver the best outcomes with limited resources. It shows that human services leaders are listening to families, empowering them to make their own decisions and helping to break the cycle of multigenerational poverty.
Key takeaways:
By deploying digital systems, human services teams can scale the one-to-one service they offer and meet the individual needs of many more families.
Governments will still need to provide human support for families with low levels of digital inclusion or literacy. They will also need to work with local third-party organizations offering help on the ground.
Involving parents in human-centered design, implementing high levels of data security and being transparent about how data is stored, shared and used will engage and empower families.
If you’d like to read more, a full text transcript of this podcast is available.
Kait Borsay
Hello and welcome to Leading into Tomorrow, a podcast series from EY looking at how governments are using technology-driven strategies to help deliver their visions of a better future.
I'm your host, Kait Borsay, and each episode we're joined by expert guests from around the world sharing their specialist insight.
Our focus this time is on the transformation and delivery of digitally inclusive childcare services. Joining me are Danielle Barnes, EY Americas Government and Public Sector Leader. Hello Danielle.
Danielle Barnes
Hello Kait
Borsay
And Justin Brown, Secretary of Human Services in Oklahoma. Hi Justin.
Justin Brown
Hello Kait, great to be here. Thanks for having me.
Borsay
Danielle, let's start with you. You focus on health and human services, and transforming services to vulnerable families. Give us the big picture right now in terms of the challenges and scale of the problem that families with children under five have accessing childcare services.
Barnes
I think it's important that we start by saying it's no secret that American families are facing a childcare crisis. I'm a parent. I have personally faced this crisis, having two children in childcare. Definitely took a toll on our own personal economy. When we talk about the crisis, we tend to talk about it in three buckets: access, affordability and quality. We know that the price of childcare continues to rise. We know that the American family is spending anywhere between 8% and 19% of their income on childcare cost. Childcare employees are leaving the workforce in droves. This is an industry that is labor intensive and requires a high level of staffing. There's no simple solution to the childcare crisis. But one way that we know we can make change is by being more innovative in connecting services for families, to help tackle the affordability issue.
In the US, I think it's important to note that millions of families are in a situation that may require them to utilize government benefits or services. There are sadly a substantial number of families that are not receiving these services for which they may be eligible. It can be challenging for families to figure out how to access these services, understanding the different requirements for each and how to apply for them. If government could use digital innovation, we could connect these families to services and help alleviate some of those financial pressures.
Borsay
That's really interesting. We'll dig into more of those points as we go through the podcast. Justin, you've created a culture of customer-focused service delivery in Oklahoma. How are you harnessing digital technology to provide affordable services for infants, and assistance for vulnerable families with young children?
Brown
Well, that's a great question. So, the work that we're doing in Oklahoma really was driven by a process that we built in 2019 called Finding our True North, and for each of our program divisions, of course, childcare is an incredibly important division. We created three to five guiding principles. The work that we're doing today in the human services system in Oklahoma, and I would also share nationally across the US, is rebuilding the distribution model for human services. The idea is to meet families where they are, with a much more proximate delivery mechanism. Our systems have been built over the generations to be transactional in their effect, when in reality, we need to be relationship based. We need to know who you are and know your needs and help to serve for your whole families' needs as you navigate out of multigenerational poverty. So, the big question is yes, how do you do that?
So our efforts in rebuilding a distribution model really involved two areas. One is the physical distribution model. It's how we know you in person, and it's all about people and places in the human services system, but the other, which is really important, is the digital distribution model. And that's how we built a companion that not only helps our teams deliver the proper services to you in a whole-person perspective but also empowers you to understand what is available for you and what the pathways are that help you exit the issues that you're in, and so the digital distribution model in the childcare system is really one of the quickest transforming areas of work. So, for example, we in Oklahoma just launched a new childcare locator which really gives families a much better insight as to the availability and the quality of childcare resources in their communities. So honestly, just the ability for families to engage and to feel empowered on making their own decisions is critically important.
Borsay
Okay, so a question for both of you then. How do governments make sure that childcare services are inclusive and equitable when there are deprived families without access to the internet or a mobile phone, for example, how do you make that work? Danielle, you first.
Barnes
When it comes to equity, we know that far too many people are facing exclusion due to poor digital infrastructure in many regions and low levels of digital literacy in other areas. There should be an empathetic human support available, if needed, and this support has to be there to help resolve complex issues or help provide help for those who are less digitally confident. For example, a dedicated case worker that is personally on site to help citizens navigate services and offer support that is tailored to that individual service need. We also know that people still need people and that there should be a physical point of presence in every area where we can go for assistance.
Borsay
Okay, so that face-to-face contact is still really important. Anything else to add to elaborate on that? I'm sure that there are a lot of similarities there in approach.
Brown
From a government perspective, our services are sort of disproportionately impacting the lower income in our communities, the programs that we operate — specifically, in this case, childcare development, “Block Grant” intended to target families who need to go to work, and so it's a support for low-income families. I would also share that we're really building appreciation for the in-home childcare settings. So that is a much more local proximate delivery mechanism for childcare. Although of course, we have incredible institutional or facility-based childcare, the in-home setting is really a beautiful model that human services systems across the country are embracing and supporting. I also did mention the idea in the last question about the physical distribution model that we're building, and that's a lot of what Danielle talked about, but the physical distribution model doesn't just mean people to people, it also means people to organizations, and organizations for us doesn't necessarily mean government organizations. So there are nonprofit organizations all across the US, and of course, in Oklahoma as well, who really engage on the ground, that have those deep relationships with the people that we serve. So, our support needs to transition to include a deeper appreciation for in-home childcare as well as a real authentic relationship, and dialogue and collaboration with organizations who are on the ground serving every day. It's all about local engagement, local empowerment and local support from state agencies.
Borsay
As e-government practices and systems evolve, things like identity management and data protection are going to be potential barriers to accessibility and the uptake of digital services.towat Danielle, what practical steps do you think need to be taken to overcome those concerns?
Barnes
Yeah Kait, people are extremely concerned about the security of their personal and financial data. While some believe that single digital IDs can lead to more streamlined efficient services, others believe that it will heighten the risk if their data is centralized in a government database. There are also fears about confidentiality of sensitive personal information and the lack of say on what information is shared. To address these concerns, one of the things that we think would be very helpful is that government should work with trusted third parties to implement digital solutions which incorporate the highest level of security. Another option would be to embed multifactor authentication to improve the security. People tend to be more skeptical when it comes to digital government in general, yet transparency seems to be the truly swaying factor when it comes to that use. An individual who knows what the data is used for, how it will be used, how it will be stored tends to be more willing to submit the information.
Borsay
And Justin, based on your practical experience, what else is there to add on that?
Brown
Well, there's so much to talk about in this space. So government is working toward creating things like data lakes and those sorts of tools that would allow for data to be used in a secure and appropriate way alongside partners, but also empowering citizens to use their data in the way they want is powerful as well. I mean, we all know this, that private sector organizations, large social media firms and others use our data to sell to us. Why shouldn't we use data to deliver very much-needed resources to help families lift themselves out of multigenerational poverty?
Borsay
Yeah, it's very interesting. Justin, how do we avoid a simplistic one-size-fits-all model for early childhood services, instead focusing on the specific needs of a child? I guess all of our little people are very special, aren't they, and every parent will want to know that their child is treated as an individual through these digital services? So how do we do that and make it a really user-centric service approach?
Brown
Almost every day, in a situation or instance where one person in a human services agency like ours in Oklahoma is delivering incredible service to one person on the ground in their community, they're not just providing the individual resource like “snap” and it fits, or childcare subsidy that they're intended, but they look at the entire array of what's available in the community, and that's beautiful. The problem with that is we serve, in just our agency alone, a third of the state's population, almost. So that one-on-one effort, as beautiful as it is, is not scalable to all the people that need the help that we need. So, we have to build systems that really allow for the flexibility to be built within them, so that we can serve a really broader array of people with individual needs. So those systems really embrace methodologys like human center design, which is really taking over in the human services space. Utilizing tools like personas in journey maps to understand the unique needs of people and building systems around them. Government is not the answer to every problem. As we all know, it requires all of us to serve together. So, through human center designs type efforts as well as embracing and empowering local organizations, I think we can build systems that scale that one-on-one whole person service.
Borsay
And do you involve parents in the design of your services?
Brown
Absolutely. So parents are critically important for us. They're the ones who should be empowered to understand the needs of their individual child, to also engage directly sort of on behalf of the minors in the conversation, and so personas we develop and journey we develop include both the child and the parents, and the workers, and then all the community resources around them.
Borsay
Danielle, in terms of potential learnings, what have you been hearing from other states in the US about the provision of accessible-for-all childcare initiatives?
Barnes
I think that states are looking at childcare transformation in a variety of different ways. I'd be remiss if I didn't highlight Oklahoma and their parental voice in seeking childcare. I think that's an important program to highlight. Another example is the state of Hawaii that recently underwent a full programmatic strategy to determine how best to utilize their dollars to ensure that they meet the unique needs of their population. The strategy re-design has proven to increase access to families who are in very spread-out communities, who traditionally did not access these types of childcare services before. Other states like North Dakota and New York are investing significant amounts of dollars in their childcare programs. For example, New York has just announced an investment of almost US$7.6 billion to streamline the application process and link families to services. North Dakota added an additional US$66 million to its budget to provide for additional incentives to childcare centers to increase the number of families who are eligible to receive subsidies, and for a pilot project that will incentivize private employers to contribute money to help cover the employees’ childcare expense.
Borsay
Justin, how easy, or not I suppose, is it for government to understand the scale of the problem that parents have accessing child services and then to be able to apply resources effectively? Do they get it, I suppose I'm asking here?
Brown
I think government gets the issue. How easy is it for us to access and really have a deep understanding of that is, I would say … the answer is, not very well at this point. We all understand the concept of resource deserts across our communities, and childcare is one of the most profound deserts in communities in need. But we're building those tools. So we're not there yet. We know it philosophically and intuitively, yet we still need that hard empirical data that can only be gathered through the proper technology. I would tell you again, those tools are coming where they're being built. It's an exciting time. Not just because that technology is coming but also because I have great insight in that there are a number of leaders across the country today in human services who recognize these needs, who are willing to go to bat for families who are really authentic in their desire to listen, and to engage with the community on the ground. You see them all the time, touring providers, listening to the people and understanding — trying to understand — how they could best utilize the limited resources of government to solve the biggest problems in our community, and access to high-quality childcare is one of those.
Borsay
Justin, I wonder if you could just give us a really simple example of digitizing childcare. If we look at Oklahoma, I don't know whether it's done through an app or a platform, but just give us a really simple example of how digital childcare works.
Brown
So a really simple example for us is, for decades we have required you, when you utilize subsidy, when you walk into your childcare provider, to swipe a card to prove that you are there and to check your child in, and then swipe your child out with a card. That sounds straightforward; however, with a large system, there's lots of room for error in that. You know, you forget to check your child in, forget to check them out, you've lost your card, you've left it at home, there's lots of shortfalls in that system and so, over the last year or so, Oklahoma Department of Human Services has created an app for that, and so it geofences your location to the childcare provider, you're able to check in. It's just much more streamlined and we've had really good results, and what that allows for us to do is some of the things we've talked about: Really empower parents, give them the tools and resource as necessary to utilize childcare in a way that really helps their family. So there are lots of examples like that, but to me, that's the one that came to mind when you asked the question.
Borsay
Brilliant, thank you. Alright, well to round off, let's look at the impact then of government's digital transformation of childcare services on the generations to come. How can these strategies be coordinated and the outcomes properly measured to provide inclusive early childhood programs? Danielle, you go first.
Barnes
Sure. I will say that transformation in this space takes a life of its own. It can become overwhelming and it feels like how do you start? How do you stay focused? And one of the things that we have been able to do is really boil it down to eight priorities for governments to help deliver that exceptional customer experience and outcomes for everyone. One is to enable integrated service delivery, eliminate silos, to drive interoperability, design services around the person, accelerate data sharing, optimize use of funding federal, state and local, promote workforce transformation, foster strong digital leadership and, of course, the big bucket of delivering equitable services for all. Now these still tend to be eight very large buckets, and we understand that this is not a simple approach. We know that information on each of these priorities can help you stay focused as you're going through that transformation effort.
Borsay
Alright, same question to you, Justin.
Brown
I think strategic transformation really starts with foundational philosophy, and across the country, and really I would guess across the globe, we have this general understanding that there are three components to this philosophy that we can all agree to. The first is childcare, and quality childcare should be a piece of the education continuum. The second is that it is a part of the family building system. This is where our kids and families engage. And the third is, of course, childcare is economic development. Having proper resources in the community for families to know their child is well cared for begins with quality local childcare and allows them to engage in the economy going forward. So I think if we start with those foundational philosophies, which I really believe, from a national perspective, they are sort of baked in the cake. Everybody believes that. Now we have to build common outcomes together. Transformation requires us to have a common target. So how do we know we're successful in those three spaces, and then allow states and countries across the globe to look to achieve outcomes in those spaces in their own way? In a short period of time, that transformation path will become clear, because we'll see, in the US, 50 different ways to try to reach the outcomes that we're trying to achieve, all based on those three fundamental philosophies. So thank you for the opportunity to be here today to share that.
Borsay
Well look, it's been such a fascinating and enlightening conversation. So thanks to both of you. Danielle, thank you.
Barnes
Thank you Kait — it's been my pleasure.
Borsay
And Justin, big thanks to you.
Brown
Kait, thanks again — I appreciate it.
Borsay
Well, do join us again for more insight into how governments are delivering technology-driven strategies. Also, subscribe to this series so you won't miss an episode. I'm Kait Borsay — thanks for listening and goodbye.
Presenters
Danielle Barnes
EY Americas Government and Public Sector Human Services Leader
