Required Resources Hearron, P. F., & Hildebrand, V. (2015). Management of child development centers (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Chapter 6, "Fiscal Management" (pp. 111-122 only)

In this part of Chapter 6, the authors outline the principles of budget planning as well as how to construct and analyze a budget. Focus on the factors that influence decision making regarding budgets and how these factors should be addressed in the construction of a budget for a child development center.

Discussion:

Analyzing a Budget As the authors explain in Chapter 6 of your course text, budget planning for a child development center is influenced by many different factors, including where the organization is in its life cycle and the priorities of the organization.

Because funds are rarely unlimited, center directors often must make difficult decisions regarding how to budget resources in the most strategically advantageous way.

In this vein, review the sample budget for Rainbow Place (Figure 6.5) in your course text, and consider the following:

What changes might you recommend be made in the budget for Rainbow Place, and why? How would these changes affect other parts of the budget?

As the authors also point out in Chapter 6, financial management and budget planning can be a challenge for all small business owners and especially for first-time childcare entrepreneurs, who often have experience in the fields of human relations and education but not necessarily in business.

Follow the instructions below to post your response to this Discussion topic.By Day 3 of Week 3:

Post an explanation of at least two changes you might make to the budget for Rainbow Place (Fig. 6.5 in Chapter 6) if you were the center director, and why. In addition, describe how these changes would affect other parts of the budget.

Then, identify at least one resource you might tap if you needed help with budget planning or other business aspects of your child development center.