Do Resource & Referral Agencies Actually Solve the Access Problem or Just Shift It?

Introduction: The Question Nobody Dares to Ask

For decades, Resource & Referral (R&R) agencies have been positioned as a vital bridge between families and childcare providers. Policymakers praise them, funding often flows toward them, and directors are encouraged to partner with them as the gateway to enrollment.

But here’s the uncomfortable question:

👉 Do R&R agencies really solve the access problem in childcare, or do they just shift it around?

It’s not a question most people want to raise in polite company. But suppose you’re an after-school director, center leader, or preschool operator. In that case, you’ve probably felt it: the uneasy sense that while R&R agencies bring visibility, they don’t necessarily bring the right families at the right time with the right fit.

This article isn’t about attacking R&R agencies. It’s about asking the question that matters to your program’s survival: Do they actually increase access to quality care, or do they simply redistribute demand across an already strained system?

What Experts Say: The Promise of R&R Agencies

According to the Child Care Aware of America network, R&R agencies are designed to:

• Help families find licensed childcare,
  
  
• Connect programs with funding and support,
  
  
• Improve data collection and oversight,
  
  
• Serve as a trusted intermediary between families, providers, and the state.
  
  

At least on paper, this looks like a win-win. Families get help navigating choices, while providers get exposure.

But here’s where the cracks start to show.

The Problem with “Shifting” Instead of Solving

Several experts in early childhood economics from the Center for American Progress, to scholars like W. Steven Barnett of NIEER argues that the childcare access problem is fundamentally about capacity and sustainability, not just visibility.

In other words:

• Families don’t struggle to find childcare because they don’t know it exists.
  
  
• They struggle because there aren’t enough affordable, high-quality, and available slots.
  
  

When R&R agencies direct parents toward providers, they may help redistribute demand, but they don’t increase supply. In fact, many directors quietly say that R&Rs often send them families they can’t serve due to mismatched schedules, program needs, or subsidy complexities.

So the tough question is this:
👉 Are R&Rs helping families access childcare or just moving them from one waitlist to another?

The Director’s Perspective: What You See Every Day

Let’s be honest. If you’re running an after-school program, a center, and preschool, or even offering drop-in care, your biggest bottlenecks usually aren’t solved by visibility alone.

Your daily reality looks more like this:

• Staffing shortages mean you can’t expand even when demand is high.
  
  
• Paperwork overload (subsidy compliance, enrollment tracking, billing) eats hours that should go to families.
  
  
• Parent communication gaps confuse schedules, tuition, or availability.
  
  

That’s why many directors feel R&Rs are helpful for awareness, but don’t touch the deeper operational bottlenecks that determine whether a child actually gets care.

A Contrarian Proposal: Maybe It’s Not About Agencies at All

Here’s where I’ll make a statement that may raise eyebrows:

👉 Perhaps the future of childcare access won’t be solved by more intermediaries like R&Rs. It will be solved by smarter, more transparent, program-driven systems.

In other words:

• Instead of depending on agencies to list your program,
  
  
• What if you had the tools to directly manage visibility, enrollment, parent communication, and subsidy reporting in real time?
  
  

This is where technology, specifically childcare management software, is quietly reshaping the access equation.

How Technology Changes the Equation

A modern child care app or daycare software doesn’t just help you run your program more efficiently. It fundamentally changes the way access is created:

• Real-time availability: Parents see open spots immediately through a parent app, rather than calling around or relying on third-party lists.
  
  
• Smarter scheduling: Directors can use a teacher app to balance staffing and classrooms, avoiding the trap of under- or over-enrollment.
  
  
• Simplified subsidy tracking: Programs that accept subsidies can manage them seamlessly through software, reducing the delays that often push families out of the system.
  
  
• Better family fit: By communicating your program’s strengths directly (through your own digital presence), you attract families who align with your mission, not just whoever shows up through an agency.
  
  

This doesn’t eliminate the role of R&Rs, but it puts directors back in the driver’s seat.

How to Test This Idea (Without Risking Your Program)

I know some directors may be thinking: That sounds good, but is it realistic?

Here’s a practical path to verify whether shifting your strategy works better:

1. Track enrollment sources. For one quarter, note how many families came from R&R agencies vs. direct digital inquiries.
   
   
2. Compare fit. Which families were easier to onboard, retain, and serve?
   
   
3. Calculate time cost. Measure how much staff time was required to manage each channel.
   
   
4. Pilot digital tools. Use childcare management software for one cycle and compare results.
   
   

If the families who came through your own tools were easier to serve, stayed longer, and required less staff labor, you’ll have your answer.

The Bigger Picture: Why This Debate Matters

Why stir this pot? Because directors like you can’t afford to keep playing the same game while access problems deepen.

• If R&R agencies help you, fantastic.
  
  
• But if they’re just shifting families around while you still face staff shortages, waitlists, and financial stress, then it’s time to rethink the model.
  
  

Bold statement:
👉 The future of childcare access won’t be built on agencies. It will be built on centers and preschools empowered with their own tools to connect directly with families.

That may not be a popular take, but it’s one worth debating.

Conclusion: Your Move

Resource & Referral agencies have done valuable work, but they may not be the long-term solution to childcare access. The real solution may be that you are empowered with the right tools to manage, scale, and communicate directly with families.

R&Rs aren’t villains. They were built with good intentions. But intentions don’t fix bottlenecks. Directors know that access requires more seats, smarter scheduling, flexible care models, and tools that remove barriers.

It’s time to stop outsourcing the access problem and start enabling those closest to children: you, the directors, the educators, the programs.

That’s the conversation iCare Software is proud to be part of.

If you’re curious about how childcare management software can change the access equation for your program, we’d love to show you.

👉 Book a Free Demo

Because at the end of the day, the real question isn’t whether R&R agencies help. It’s whether your program is positioned to thrive no matter where families first hear about you.