Assessing Your Program’s Financial Health

"One year after the passage of the American Rescue Plan, child care centers said the money has stabilized the industry after near collapse. But advocates worry about what will happen once the money runs out," proclaims an article on the website, The 19th.

Dealing with finances is especially on the minds of ECE administrators at this moment. Mary Brower and Theresa Sull, writing in Managing Money offer six warning signs of poor financial health. They urge paying attention to all symptoms and taking prompt action if any of these are true in your program:

• "Payments of families’ fees are past due.
• Enrollment is below capacity.
• Reporting deadlines are not met for requests for reimbursement.
• Fundraisers cost more than they earn.
• Bills are not paid on time.
• Bookkeeping uses too much of the director’s time."

The authors provide a number of strategies for addressing these issues, but urge, first and foremost, that leaders make a point to never ignore any of these symptoms if they are present.

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