Early Learning Acceleration Institute

The Early Learning Acceleration Institute (ELAI) supports childcare providers by equipping owners and operators with the tools to improve business operations, program quality and child education outcomes.

By providing small business support, early education coaching and financial support for infrastructure improvements, this initiative is building a first-class childcare system across Central Alabama to ensure all children enter kindergarten ready to learn.

What We Offer

Small Business Training and Coaching

on topics including accounting, marketing and long-term planning

Technical Assistance

to ensure participation in state-funded grants and quality improvement programs

Funding

for facility improvements to expand classroom capacity and improve learning environments

Our Impact

16

early learning centers have been awarded funds

419

new childcare spots across the region

208

anticipated number of children who will gain access to high-quality early learning through future grant awards

12

new and aspiring early learning centers received small business coaching and training

66

more children currently enrolled in high-quality early learning centers due to grantee expansions

26

more children served on average per grantee


Our Partners

Why is early learning so important to Alabama’s economy?

• Childcare businesses account for $427 million of Alabama’s economic activity.
• 19% of employed Alabamians were absent from work due to childcare challenges in 2021 – the highest rate in the country.
• Parents in Alabama experience a loss of $75 million in earnings by reducing work hours or exiting the workforce due to childcare challenges.
• Addressing the supply gap in childcare could increase Alabama’s labor force participation rate by 3%, which would introduce an additional 66,000 people into the workforce.

Why is early learning so important for child development?

  • Ninety percent of brain development occurs during a child’s first five years of life, so early childhood experiences establish either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for everything that follows.
  • High-quality, accessible, and affordable early learning programs are essential for preparing children to succeed socially, emotionally and academically in kindergarten and beyond.

How does childcare access affect economic development?

  • In 2022, approximately 85,000 Alabama families needed access to childcare but had no quality options in the communities where they live.
  • This represents 40% of children under age 6 who may need childcare but whose families cannot reasonably access it.
  • Addressing the supply gap in childcare for those 85,000 families could increase Alabama’s labor force participation rate by 3%, which would introduce an additional 66,000 people into the workforce and boosting the economy.
  • Childcare businesses – the majority of which are women-owned – account for $427 million of the state’s economic activity.
  • The Century Foundation released a report which highlighted the possible earnings loss for parents due to the childcare supply shortage. The estimate suggests that parents in Alabama might experience a loss of $75 million in earnings by reducing work hours or exiting the workforce. Additionally, the report calculated a reduction of $86 million in employee productivity and a decrease of $2.7 million in state income tax due to the childcare cliff.
  • 19% of employed Alabamians were absent from work due to childcare challenges in 2021 — the highest rate in the country.

What is the current childcare landscape across Alabama and within our region?

  • While 293,000 children under age 5 live in Alabama, there are just 102,187 licensed childcare seats and 21,000 spaces in First Class Pre-K. That is only enough to serve 36% of Alabama’s young children.
  • A recent report by the U.S. Department of Education found that Alabama has the highest occurrence of “childcare deserts” of any state in the southeast. A childcare desert is a census tract where there are more than three young children for every available spot with a licensed childcare provider.
  • In more than half of Alabama’s counties, there are three times as many children as there are licensed childcare spaces.
  • An estimated shortage of 85,000 spots exists between the supply and demand for licensed early learning centers in Alabama.
  • The gap within Central Alabama is 22,690. 

How is the Early Learning Acceleration Institute expanding capacity and improving quality?

  • The Alabama Quality STARS program measures the quality of childcare providers by evaluating criteria, such as learning environment, curriculum, family involvement, staff qualifications, professional development and management and administrative practices.  Currently, 92% of centers statewide qualify as a 1 STAR center. 
  • All centers supported through ELAI receive technical assistance and coaching to support improvements in their STAR ratings, which not only improve the quality of care, but also provide higher financial reimbursements from the state.
  • 50% of early learning providers said infrastructure improvements were a barrier to program expansion.
  • No dedicated funding exists at the state level to support facility enhancements to help childcare centers expand their capacity. ELAI is designed to meet this need and provide critical funding to support the growth of existing centers and the launch of new centers.  

What are the results so far?

  • Two grant cycles so far (Fall ’23 and Spring ’24)
  • 16 early learning centers have been awarded funds to create an estimated 419 new childcare spots across the region.
  • 14 centers are receiving funding to grow their current operations.
  • Two centers are receiving funding to help open new locations
  • Two centers have completed facility enhancements and have opened four new classrooms that are serving 66 additional children.
  • Two centers are still working on their enhancements, and 12 recently received funding and will complete their projects within the next 12 months.
  • Average anticipated increase per grantee is 26 more children.
  • 12 centers participated in small-business coaching and technical assistance to support the long-term financial sustainability of new providers.