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Kentucky | Set up brightwheel for Child Care Search

For providers in the state of Kentucky

Audrey avatar
Written by Audrey
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Brightwheel users in Kentucky can easily display their availability on Kentucky’s Child Care Search so that parents and families can find open spots for their children.

The information listed in brightwheel automatically feeds to the Child Care Search, so it is important your brightwheel account is accurate and set up correctly to feed this information. This resources walks you through how to set up your brightwheel account to be used with the Child Care Search.

Step 1: Set up your brightwheel profile

Your brightwheel profile will be used to match your program’s information to the information shown in the Child Care Search.

  1. Log in to brightwheel on the web

  2. Click My School in the sidebar menu > Settings

  3. At the top of the page, click School Profile

  4. Enter the following information for your program:

  • School Name: Enter your program’s name - this is how it is displayed to families when they log in to brightwheel.

  • License Capacity: The number of students that you are permitted to enroll based on your DCC license.

  • Desired Capacity: This is the total number of students that you would like to have enrolled in your program. Note: This may differ from your licensed capacity based on your classroom and staffing models.

  • School address, City, State, and Zip Code: The location of your program will help match your program in county and zip code-based searches.

  • License Number: Enter the license number given to your program by DCC. This should begin with L for licensed, center-based programs and C for certified, in-home programs.

Step 2: Create and use Programs in brightwheel

Kentucky schools must organize their students into Programs and assign a capacity to each Program to display their availability and waitlists correctly. Programs allow providers to show if they have specific availability in one or more age grouping at their site.

Note: The steps to set up Programs differ depending on if you are a licensed center or certified in-home childcare. Please refer to the correct steps below depending on your program type.

Instructions for licensed centers

Before creating Programs, click here to review what information must be entered.

It's important to note that licensed centers will have their openings and waitlist displayed based by 4 age categories:

  • Infants

  • Toddlers

  • Preschool Age

  • School Age

Here's an example of how programs will be displayed when families search:

When creating programs in brightwheel, we recommend creating one program for each age range listed in the table below for Infant, Toddler, Preschool Age, and School Age:

Note: School Age Max Age can be any number above 5 years based on program preferences.

Lastly, be sure to also fill out the following fields when creating a program. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required for matching to the Child Care Search:

  • Program Name: The public-facing name of the program that would be shown in the profile to admins, and later, to parents in any forms

  • Description: A public-facing description of the program

  • *Max Capacity: The maximum number of students that can be enrolled in this program (full + part-time)

  • *Min / Max Age: The age range for this program

  • Start / End Date: The dates for which this program runs

Create a Program

  1. Log in on the web

  2. Click Admissions in the sidebar menu > Programs

  3. Select + New Program

  4. Fill in the fields specific to your program and click Save

  5. [Required] Repeat these steps to create one Program for each recommended age range (Infant, Toddler, Preschool Age, School Age)

Next, add students to your Programs

  1. Log in on the web

  2. Click My School > Students in the sidebar menu

  3. Select the desired student to open their profile

  4. Click Edit next to the Enrollment Details section

  5. Add the relevant programs > click Save

Instructions for certified in-home childcare

Certified in-home childcare providers should create one Program that reflects the overall capacity of their site.

Here's an example of how programs will be displayed when families search:

Create a Program

  1. Log in on the web

  2. Click Admissions in the sidebar menu > Programs

  3. Select + New Program

  4. Fill in the fields specific to this program and click Save. Required fields are:

    1. Capacity

    2. Min. Age

    3. Max. Age

Next, add students to your Programs

  1. Log in on the web

  2. Click My School > Students in the sidebar menu

  3. Select the desired student to open their profile

  4. Click Edit next to the Enrollment Details section

  5. Add the relevant programs > click Save

Step 3: Maintain & add students to Waitlists

In addition to the current students who are enrolled in your Programs, you'll want to ensure students are added to your Program waitlists and they are always up to date.

Add students to a Waitlist

  1. Log in to brightwheel on the web

  2. Click Admissions in the sidebar menu > Waitlists

  3. Hit +Add Student

  4. Choose Current or New

  5. Enter the name and select a program from the drop-down

  6. Click Add or Create Student

Remove students from a Waitlist

  1. Log in to brightwheel on the web

  2. Click Admissions in the sidebar menu > Waitlists

  3. Next to the desired student, click Options > Remove

  4. Confirm your choice by clicking Remove in the pop-up

ℹ️ For more information about waitlists, please visit our Waitlists & Priorities Management resource

Step 4: Review your Program assignments

It's important to ensure your list of students assigned to Programs are accurate. You can easily review the number of students that have been assigned to a Program by using the Admissions Dashboard.

Take the steps below confirm the total number of students assigned to each program is correct:

  1. Log in to brightwheel on the web

  2. Click Admissions in the sidebar menu

  3. In the filter labelled 'Program' select the age range that you would like to review

  4. In the filter labelled 'Student Status' select only Active, then click Apply

Note: The total number of students assigned to this Program will be listed as a total at the top of the list, as seen in purple circle below:

Additionally, you can review the list of students in this list. If a child needs to be moved to a different Program, click their name in the list and update from the Student Profile.

Edit/remove Program assignments

If you have a Program that you no longer want to display on the Child Care Search, you'll have two options to stop it from syncing your enrollment data.

Option 1: Add an end date to a Program in the past

  1. Log in to your Manager or Administrator account on the web

  2. Navigate to the Admissions section in brightwheel and click Programs

  3. Click the name of the Program that you’d like to edit

  4. On the End Date, add an End Date before today’s date (or on the date that you’d like the data to stop being sent to the Child Care Search).

Option 2: Delete a Program

  1. Log in to your Manager or Administrator account on the web

  2. Navigate to the Admissions section in brightwheel and click Programs

  3. Click the name of the Program that you’d like to delete

  4. Follow the instructions on the screen to delete the Program.

Note: A program cannot be added back to your brightwheel account if deleted.

Related Articles
Create Programs & assign students
Manage program waitlists
Overview of brightwheel Admissions features
Kentucky | Set up brightwheel to meet CCAP attendance requirements
Kentucky | Division of Child Care (DCC) FAQs
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