How Upwards Saves 80% of Legislative Research Time with PolicyNote

Upwards is the largest childcare network in the U.S., focusing on increasing access to quality, affordable care. Upwards partners with states to improve childcare infrastructure, expand provider networks, and update subsidy systems. 

The Challenge: Inefficient Manual Monitoring 

As a state account executive at Upwards, Katie Dunlap is responsible for identifying opportunities to support public policy initiatives and forging partnerships with state legislators and agencies. With a mandate to monitor childcare-related legislation in all 50 states, Dunlap faced a daunting challenge: how to track dozens of bills and stay ahead of policy changes without being buried in manual work.

Before PolicyNote, Dunlap relied on a patchwork of manual research methods — CRM notes, reminders, state legislative websites, and occasional updates from lobbyists. This proved difficult, since Dunlap monitors up to 100 bills every legislative session.

“It was incredibly time-consuming,” she recalls. “I could spend three hours researching just one bill — trying to find its status, sponsors, and contact information. Even public contact info can be surprisingly difficult to track down, especially for legislative assistants who are often the best point of entry.”

Lobbyists, while helpful, weren’t always equipped to surface niche childcare bills in time. Dunlap needed a better way to catch legislation early, track its progress in real-time, and quickly identify key players.

The Solution: Real-Time Insights in PolicyNote

Making the switch to PolicyNote helped make Dunlap’s workflow more proactive. “Now, I get an email every morning with childcare bills that match what I’m looking for,” she says. “I use the AI search and summaries to quickly understand the bill, track its movement through the process, and identify sponsors I might want to connect with.”

Dunlap uses PolicyNote daily for research, legislative tracking, and outreach. The AI summaries and search help her quickly understand new bills, the dashboard organizes her priorities, and the stakeholders tab quickly surfaces contact details for legislators and their staff. 

These tools have become essential for monitoring and taking action. “When I see a bill we could support, I reach out right away to legislative assistants, committee chairs, or the departments that would implement the law,” Dunlap says.

She also shares relevant bills with internal teams, tagging them in the CRM and flagging legislation that aligns with Upwards’ mission, especially bills she knows are likely to pass.

The Impact: 80% Time Saved & Stronger Relationships Built

Dunlap estimates PolicyNote saves her 80 percent of the time she used to spend researching and tracking legislation.

“Without PolicyNote, I’d still be doing hours of manual research a day,” she says. “Now I can focus on what actually moves the needle and on the work that I enjoy — building relationships, drafting proposals, and meeting with stakeholders.”

That proactive approach recently paid off in Ohio, where Dunlap followed a new tri-share childcare bill — a cost-sharing model among government, employers, and families. With PolicyNote, she monitored the bill closely and engaged legislators throughout the process. When the bill passed, the state department reached out to Upwards for implementation support, thanks to the relationship she had developed with them. Dunlap is now submitting a formal proposal to help launch the program.

“I don’t think I would have been able to be as proactive without PolicyNote,” she says. “It helped me stay with the bill in real-time, understand who the players were, and get ahead of implementation needs.”

For Upwards, PolicyNote is a strategic advantage that allows the team to act on legislative opportunities faster, collaborate more efficiently, and focus on the work that makes an impact.  

“If legislation is an important part of your business, PolicyNote is a wonderful tool and such a time saver,” Dunlap says.