Shortlist lists every licensed childcare provider across the cities it covers, built from state licensing records. That means most listings exist without their program ever having been asked — the state publishes a name, an address and a compliance history, and very little of what a family actually decides on. The dashboard is where a program fills the rest in, and sees what parents see.
Everything is free — the full dashboard, for every provider.
Claim your dashboard
What only you can answer
Public records carry a licence, an address and an inspection history. They do not carry tuition, your hours, how many children are with each adult, who teaches and how long they have stayed, or whether you have a place right now. Those come from the program or they do not exist — and for most listings, they do not exist yet.
What you can fill in
Tuition, including part-time and what a family pays before the first month — registration fee, deposit, sibling discount. Hours, ages served, the shape of your year. Your policies on illness, biting, naps, screens, outdoor play and how you keep families informed. What a typical day looks like. How many children are with each adult, by age. Who teaches with you and the year each of them started. A completeness meter shows what is still blank.
How it works
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1
Enter your email
On the dashboard page. If Shortlist has that address on file for your program, a login link arrives — no password, no account to create. Many listings have no email on file at all, because state licensing records do not publish one; if nothing arrives, write to Diana and she will link your address.
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2
See what parents see
Your listing exactly as a family reads it, including your state inspection record, and a field-by-field view of what is still blank.
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Take control
Fill in what is missing, correct what is wrong, tell parents whether you have a place right now. Diana reviews each submission before it publishes.
Questions
- Does this cost anything?
- The provider dashboard is free for every provider — the full feature set, at no cost.
- What if my email isn’t associated with a listing?
- Email [email protected] with the center name and city, and Diana will link the email to the listing.
- Can I improve my profile?
- Yes. Submit through the dashboard and it is reviewed before it publishes. Every value shown to a parent records where it came from — yours will say it came from you. The full methodology is published at shortlist.guide/methodology.
- What data do parents see?
- Everything in the public profile: your licence and state inspection record, pricing, hours and ages, ratios, meals and policies, your teaching approach, and who teaches with you. To see the listing exactly as parents see it, click “View your public listing” in the dashboard.
- Who is behind Shortlist?
- Diana Clemons — a senior product leader with 15 years in data and analytics. Diana built the original spreadsheet that became Shortlist after moving to Seattle and finding no transparent way to compare local providers. Every profile uses a published methodology, applied the same way to every provider.