Forecasting Software and Child Care Financial forecasting is particularly critical in a field such as child care, which intersects with so many other social services and is impacted by economic factors outside the control of the agency. Child care agencies that are able to model these sorts of variables and develop contingency plans are in a better position to provide stability and continuity in their subsidies. They are also better able to plan long-term goals and maintain control in fiscal processes. Using forecasting software, child care administrators can develop a stronger sense of how changing demand for services and caseload variation could affect expenditures. Having this information gives administrators the chance to work toward moderating swings between budget surplus and deficit that could otherwise mar the agency's credibility with the legislature's budget committee.
Forecasting is only effective, however, when sufficient and reliable data are available.
Child care agencies with incomplete or inadequately organized data can begin working towards forecasting by first committing to the underlying process of data collection. The modest effort of investing in simple forecasting tools can be the impetus behind a new effort to collect key information and prepare it for analysis. As more knowledge is gained about the data through forecasting, forecasting will in turn reward the data collection effort by providing a basis for program improvements.