Project Profile: Iowa Child Care Connect

AMES, Iowa – In August 2024, Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, unveiled a website called Iowa Child Care Connect. The system is the first of its kind in the nation and helps Iowans more easily find child care openings in locations that are convenient for them. Iowa State’s I2D2 team partnered with the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to pull data from existing systems to create this comprehensive and innovative tool.

Over a year since the launch, the project shows how integrated data can power smarter decisions and stronger services. Together, I2D2 and HHS are proving that states can build modern, flexible tools using system they already have.

Georgetown University’s Digital Gov Hub completed a project profile featuring the impact of Iowa Child Care Connect and providing lessons learned for other states who may want to follow Iowa’s lead.