Little kids playing with colorful wooden building blocks on the table

How digital innovation can improve access to affordable childcare

In this episode of the Leading into Tomorrow podcast, Kait Borsay discusses “people plus digital” solutions to the childcare crisis with an EY professional and a human services leader.

Access to affordable childcare is fundamental to a healthy economy and society. But with Americans spending 8% to 19% of their income on childcare, and employees leaving the industry in droves, governments need to be more innovative in connecting families with these services.

In this episode, presenter and reporter Kait Borsay explores how digital innovation can help. Her guests are Danielle Barnes, EY Americas Government and Public Sector Leader, and Justin Brown, Oklahoma Secretary of Human Services.

The conversation ranges from the “people plus digital” solutions states are deploying to transform childcare, to the priorities and philosophies that will allow them to deliver the best outcomes with limited resources. It shows that human services leaders are listening to families, empowering them to make their own decisions and helping to break the cycle of multigenerational poverty.

Key takeaways:

  • By deploying digital systems, human services teams can scale the one-to-one service they offer and meet the individual needs of many more families.
  • Governments will still need to provide human support for families with low levels of digital inclusion or literacy. They will also need to work with local third-party organizations offering help on the ground.
  • Involving parents in human-centered design, implementing high levels of data security and being transparent about how data is stored, shared and used will engage and empower families.

The series is also available to listen to on SpotifyiTunes, and Amazon Music and Podbean.

If you’d like to read more, a full text transcript of this podcast is available. Read the transcript.

Presenters

Photographic portrait of Danielle Barnes
Danielle Barnes
EY Americas Government and Public Sector Human Services Leader
Photographic portrait of Justin Brown
Justin Brown
Oklahoma Secretary of Human Services
Photographic portrait of Kait Borsay
Kait Borsay
Host, presenter and reporter, Times Radio

Podcast

Episode 09

Duration 19m 18s

In this series

Series overview
(Event List - Manual)

How digital innovation can improve access to affordable childcare

In this episode of the Leading into Tomorrow podcast, Kait Borsay discusses “people plus digital” solutions to the childcare crisis with an EY professional and a human services leader.
Podcast

Episode 09

Duration
19m 18s

Presenters

Danielle Barnes

EY Americas Government and Public Sector Human Services Leader

Justin Brown

Oklahoma Secretary of Human Services

How to enhance your workforce by tapping into neurodivergent talent

In the eighth episode of Leading into Tomorrow, Kait Borsay talks to professionals from EY and beyond about why employers can’t afford to leave neurodivergent talent on the table.
Podcast

Episode 08

Duration
29m 52s

Presenters

Hiren Shukla

EY Global and Americas Neuro-Diverse Center of Excellence Leader

Rob Austin

Professor of Information Systems, Ivey Business School

How technology can improve equitable access to education

In the seventh episode of Leading into Tomorrow, Kait Borsay explores how digital innovation has helped India reduce learning poverty with leaders from the Indian government and World Bank.
Podcast

Episode 07

Duration
15m 40s

Presenters

Catherine Friday

EY Global and EY Asia-Pacific Government & Infrastructure Industry Leader

Kait Borsay

Host, presenter and reporter, Times Radio

Why growing talent from within is key to closing the digital skills gap

In the sixth episode of Leading into Tomorrow, experts from EY and the UK government discuss the digital skills shortage in the public sector and suggest ways to tackle it.
Podcast

Episode 06

Duration
15m 29s

Presenters

Arnauld A. Bertrand

EY Global Government & Public Sector Consulting Leader

Josie Cluer

Partner, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP

The transformative power of cloud to improve government

In the fifth episode of Leading into Tomorrow, two EY leaders discuss the opportunities and challenges cloud technologies present for governments.
Podcast

Episode 05

Duration
17m 15s

Presenters

Arnauld A. Bertrand

EY Global Government & Public Sector Consulting Leader

How public transit can be a vehicle for improving citizens’ lives

In the fourth episode of Leading into Tomorrow, Angela Gibson, Head of Strategy and Foresight for the Toronto Transit Commission, discusses rebuilding a transit system that better serves its customers
Podcast

Episode 04

Duration
19m 14s

Presenters

Oliver Jones

EY Global SaT Markets, Sustainability and Geostrategy Leader

How trust and a collaborative leadership culture can meet the most testing of challenges

In the third episode of Leading into Tomorrow, Ian Thomas CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, shares tried-and-tested transformation approaches for public sector leaders.
Podcast

Episode 03

Duration
26m 03s

Presenters

Oliver Jones

EY Global SaT Markets, Sustainability and Geostrategy Leader

How to put students at the center of a digital strategy for higher education

In the second episode of our series, Tim Hume, Chief Information Officer at Macquarie University, reveals how being “frank and fearless” can help the sector overcome challenges and realize opportunities.
Podcast

Episode 02

Duration
13m 32s

Presenters

Oliver Jones

EY Global SaT Markets, Sustainability and Geostrategy Leader

Catherine Friday

EY Global and EY Asia-Pacific Government & Infrastructure Industry Leader