Louisiana Parish ECE Funding Dashboard
Purpose of the Louisiana Parish ECE Funding Dashboard
The Louisiana Parish ECE Funding Dashboard helps community leaders, advocates, and decision-makers understand the difference between the current number of children served in our early childhood education (ECE) programs and the level of seats and funding needed to reach the desired percentage of children served.
By selecting a parish and adjusting the desired percentage of children served by age, users can estimate the number of additional publicly funded seats needed to meet demand and the total investment necessary to meet that goal. The dashboard calculates funding gaps based on existing federal, state, and local investments. It offers two cost model options for making calculations: the cost of care, based on the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (LPIC) cost model, or the current Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) reimbursement rates used by the Louisiana Department of Education.
This dashboard equips users with data to inform strategic planning, advocacy, and resource allocation decisions — supporting efforts to expand access to high-quality early childhood education.
How to Use the Dashboard
*All places the user can edit are in orange, all results from user-inputs are in blue*
- Select Your Parish
- Use the dropdown menu at the top of the dashboard to select the Louisiana parish you want to explore. Your selection will update all other information.
- Use the dropdown menu at the top of the dashboard to select the Louisiana parish you want to explore. Your selection will update all other information.
- Adjust Desired Service Levels by Age
- Use the sliders to increase the percentage of children served under 200% FPL in each age group (infants through age 4). You can increase the percentage of children served in each age group in 5 percentage point increments.
- For example, if 3% of infants are currently served and you move the slider to 10%, the new percentage of children served becomes 13%. The dashboard will then calculate how many total seats are needed to serve 13% of all infants below 200% FPL in the selected parish.
- Review Current and Desired Seats by Age
- After setting your desired percentage of children served for each age:
- The first row in the table “Current and Desired Seats by Age” will display the desired number of seats needed to meet your desired percentages of children served for two age groups, children birth to age 2 and children ages 3 and 4.
- The second row in the table will display the current number of publicly funded seats in the parish.
- The final row in the table calculates the seat gap — the number of additional seats needed to meet your desired percentages of children served.
- After setting your desired percentage of children served for each age:
- Select a Cost Model Option
- Choose how you want the dashboard to estimate the cost of funding the additional seats needed to meet your desired percentages of children served:
- Cost of Care – Based on the 2020 cost model developed by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (LPIC)
- Current Reimbursement Rates – Based on 2024 reimbursement rates for the Louisiana Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
- Choose how you want the dashboard to estimate the cost of funding the additional seats needed to meet your desired percentages of children served:
- Review Current and Desired Funding by Age
- Once a cost model is selected, the table “Current and Desired Funding Gap by Age” will display:
- The first row in the table displays the desired total funding needed to meet your desired percentage of children served.
- The second row of the table shows the current total funding from federal, state, and local sources that fund the current number of children served.
- The third and fourth rows of the table show the current total funding broken out between current federal & state funding sources and current local funding sources.
- The last row of the table calculates the funding gap — the difference between what current funding is and the additional investment needed to meet your desired percentage of children served.
- Once a cost model is selected, the table “Current and Desired Funding Gap by Age” will display:
- Use Visual Charts to Compare Seat & Funding Gap
- Bar charts at the bottom of the dashboard allow you to visually compare:
- Current vs. desired seats by age group
- Current vs. desired funding, along with the calculated funding gap
- Bar charts at the bottom of the dashboard allow you to visually compare:
Parish Funding Gap Dashboard – Data Dictionary
This data dictionary explains the key terms, labels, and concepts used in the Parish Funding Gap Dashboard. It provides technical documentation about sources and methods used to develop the dashboard.
Parish Selection
Parish Dropdown Menu: A dropdown list at the top of the dashboard where users select the Louisiana parish they want to analyze. All other data shown will be updated based on the selected parish.
Service Levels by Age
The number of desired children served can be adjusted for the following age groups: Infants, Age 1, Age 2, Age 3, and Age 4. Note that some 5 year olds may also need care before they start kindergarten, but are not reflected in this data set.
Total Seats and Funding amounts are grouped by Infants through Age 2, and Age 3 through Age 4.
Current Percent Children Served under 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL): Estimates calculated by dividing the number of children served through publicly funded early childhood education programs in the selected parish by the total number of children in that selected parish that are under 200% FPL. Data on children served through public funding is based on October 2024 enrollment counts from Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE). Data on the total number of children under 200% FPL is from using Census Data from the 2024 American Community Survey.
Sliders to Adjust Percent Children Served: Sliders that allow users to increase the percentage of children they want to be served in each age group. These sliders begin at 0% (reflecting the current rate of children served in that parish) and increase in 5 percentage point increments.
Desired Percent Children Served under 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL): When all input sliders are set at 0%, this table shows the current percentage of children served through publicly funded early childhood education programs in the selected parish for each age group, based on October 2024 enrollment counts. This includes children enrolled in programs funded through the following public sources: CCAP, CCAP B-3, Early Head Start & Head Start, LA-4, NSECD, and Early Childhood Education (ECE) Fund.
Current and Desired Seats by Age
Desired Seats: The number of seats needed to serve the user-selected percent of children under 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). This is calculated by multiplying the desired percentage (chosen using the sliders) by the total number of children under 200% FPL, based on 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) Census data. Census Data is specifically pulled from the census table B17024, linked here.
Current Seats: The number of publicly funded early childhood education seats currently available in the parish, based on an October 2024 count from the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE).
Gap in Seats: The difference between the desired number of seats and the number of current seats. This shows how many more seats are needed to meet the desired percentage of children served.
Differences Between Children Served and Seats
The number of children served and the number of seats available are not directly equivalent, as one seat can serve multiple children through part-day care or extended programs. Seats represent full-day capacity, while children served reflects the number of children. As such, current seat and funding estimates are directional and should not be interpreted as exact counts.
Cost Model Options
Cost Model Dropdown: A dropdown menu lets users choose how the cost of providing child care is calculated. There are two options:
- Cost of Care: Based on the estimated cost of providing high-quality early childhood education using the 2020 cost model from the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (LPIC).
- Learn more about the LPIC Cost Model here.
- Current Reimbursement Rates (CCAP): Based on 2024 reimbursement rates (last rate increase made in 2022).
- Learn more about the CCAP Daily Rates here.
Current and Desired Funding by Age
These funding amounts are grouped separately for two age groups: Ages 0 to 2 and Ages 3 to 4.
Desired Total Funding: The total amount of money needed to provide early childhood education for the desired number of children, based on the desired percentage of children served and selected cost model option.
Current Total Funding: The total amount of funding currently available from federal, state, and local sources within the selected parish. These estimates are from 2024 and based on funding from the following programs: Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS), Louisiana Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), CCAPB-3, Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program (LA4), Non-Public School Early Childhood Development Program (NSECD) and the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Fund.
Current Federal & State Funding: The portion of current funding coming from federal and state sources within the selected parish. These include 2024 funding estimates from Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS), Louisiana Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), CCAP B-3, Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program (LA4), Non-Public School Early Childhood Development Program (NSECD), and the state match portion of the ECE Fund.
Current Local Funding: The portion of current funding coming from local sources in 2024 is specifically the local contribution for the state match from the ECE Fund.
Funding Gap: The difference between the desired total funding and the current total funding. This shows how much additional funding would be needed to meet the desired percentage of children served.
For more information on these data sources and corresponding limitations, refer to the Data Limitations & Caveats section.
Charts and Graphs
Current and Desired Seats by Age (Bar Chart): Based on user inputs, this chart compares the number of current publicly funded seats to the number of desired seats.
Current and Desired Funding by Age (Bar Chart): This chart compares the total current funding available to the amount of funding needed to meet the desired percentage of children served.
Parish Funding Gap Dashboard – Data Limitations & Caveats
The current funding data for early childhood programs reveal limitations and caveats that are important to consider when interpreting and using the estimates from the dashboard.
Funding data for programs such as CCAP, ECE Fund, CCAP B-3, LA-4, and NSECD is sourced from the Louisiana Department of Education and is based on FY24 figures. This information is relatively current and clearly sourced, making it one of the more reliable funding streams in the dataset.
Funding data for Head Start and Early Head Start are also from FY24 but were available at the state level, not at the parish level. To create an estimate of funding at the parish level, the data relies on the statewide average spending per child, which is then allocated across parishes based on their funded enrollment. This approach limits the ability to draw detailed conclusions about funding levels or program reach by parish.
Lastly, funding data for Title I Pre-K and special education preschool services (IDEA Part B) is not currently available and is an existing gap toward understanding overall early childhood education funding in Louisiana.