Our Mission
The mission of Stoney Associates is to address vexing human service challenges with curiosity, creativity and bold new ideas. Our primary focus is the Early Care and Education (ECE) sector, where we seek to strengthen the quality and financial sustainability of ECE programs in the United States through strategic consultation and leadership. We work with policy makers, foundations, intermediaries, direct service providers and industry entrepeneurs to address problems that have challenged the ECE sector for many years:
financial vulnerablity,
low wages
inadequate supply and demand data
overly complex reporting
siloed funding
Our approach is unique: we start with questions, challenge assumptions and seek alternative solutions. Our framework is multi-faceted, including work on policy, finance and system-building at all levels of government as well as program management and leadership with industry intermediaries and service providers. We believe that success requires change at all levels of intervention.
"The Significant Problems We Face Cannot Be Solved At The Same Level Of Thinking We Were At When We Created Them."
— Albert Einstein
Innovation is at the heart of our work.
A key example is the Louisiana School Readiness Tax Credits which Louise Stoney helped to craft in 2007. This groundbreaking approach to ECE finance tapped state general operating dollars (to augment traditional social service and education funding) via refundable tax credits for teachers, providers, families and investors. The credits have proved to be an extremely successful strategy, especially in strengthening teacher compensation and professional development. For more information on the credits, and their results, go HERE.
Stoney Associates places special emphasis on supporting ECE Business Leadership, which we feel is a long-neglected aspect of early care and education services in the United States. The Iron Triangle of Early Care and Education Finance, a Stoney trademark, has been an instrumental tool for ECE leaders seeking to balance program budgets and focus on what matters most.
Stoney Associates led the initial work to frame child care as economic development, as well as ECE cost modeling. This work underscored the challenges of scale and led to a deeper exploration of Shared Services as a potential strategy to strengthen the sector. In 2009, Stoney joined forces with John Weiser to co-found Opportunities Exchange, a non-profit organization that supports the formation of Shared Service Alliances in early care and education.