Waiting list but no staff? No problem. Here are some clever solutions to help your center manage the staff shortage.

Apply for a partnership with an apprenticeship program.

Being a childcare apprentice means gaining real world skills and experience while still studying for a degree.
It helps child care centers and family daycares find willing childcare staff who are enthusiastic and driven to learn and apply what they’re currently learning in their early childhood education courses on children they care for.
Apprenticeship programs like ECEPTS in California and Early Childhood Education Apprenticeship from Manatee Technical College not only help childcare providers keep their staff to children ratios low, but also helps ECE students through stipends, and learning material provision such as books and computers.
These programs also help ECE professionals earn a degree or progress in their ECE careers while still earning money.
Meanwhile, universities and colleges offering apprenticeship programs get real world feedback and review on their current curriculum and how it aligns with what is needed in the field.

Consult a staffing agency.

If childcare providers need more experienced staff to open more classrooms, the next best resource is through staffing agencies.
These agencies have already screened and recruited these qualified staff, making it easier for childcare providers to know that they have a qualified hire right off the bat.
Staffing agencies also usually provide some form of benefits to their contracted teachers, lessening the financial burden on childcare providers.
These agencies would also have various hiring types such as contractual, temporary, temp-to-direct, or direct hire.
These options give childcare providers enough flexibility in seeing whether the hire is a good fit for their center before making them a permanent hire.

Use federal stimulus to raise wages.

As low hourly pay and little to no benefits continue to be the norm for the childcare industry, federal stimulus funds can help providers in providing a more competitive, if not living, wage that can finally attract and support qualified staff.
There have been numerous bills and funding that have opened up for childcare providers that will allow them to hire at a more attractive hourly rate and give out incentives, sign-on bonuses, or higher hourly rates.
From the American Rescue Plan to Build Back Better, childcare providers can access various grants like a stabilization grant to finance not only staff wages but also the growth and improvement of their childcare services.

Automate as many admin tasks as you can, e.g. waitlists.

While your staff may have been reduced, the demand has certainly increased while tasks may have piled up.
And with fewer staff to free up your time to manage administrative tasks, that’s where automation can come in and help you.
Forget about working overtime, or worse, working on weekends, just to finally finish your admin tasks.
Automation can help you send regular updates to your waitlisted parents, and find the best matching parent for a vacancy that has just popped up.

These are just a few staff shortage solutions childcare providers can roll out in order to serve more children, increase their capacity, and finally open up classrooms that have been closed for far too long.