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Employer-Sponsored Child Care

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Among the membership the Association for Health Professionals, the majority of us must juggle the complicated balance between work and our families. If you are not included, then you are probably in the planning stages of starting a family or have a close friend or family member with the same struggles. In fact, there are currently 30 million working families in the United States (Stoltzfus, 2015). While significant strides have been made in fostering a more diverse family friendly environment, many employers of those we represent are still lagging strongly behind. Only 39 percent of workers have access to employer-sponsored dependent care reimbursement accounts, and only 11 percent have access to workplace-funded childcare (Stoltzfus, 2015). …show more content…

While one could argue that offering child care is a socially responsible policy (Watterson, 2017), companies only worried about the bottom-line have plenty rationale to implement child care benefits. First, employer-sponsored child care reduces employee absences by 20-30 percent and reduce turnover by nearly two-thirds. These absences are as high as 13 days a year for a parent of an elementary aged child. Consequently, a business with 250 employees can save roughly $75,000 a year by providing child care benefits. Overall, U.S. companies lose $3 billion annually due to child care related absences (Why Should Employers Care, n.d.). The benefits of child care do not just stop at decreasing absences. Child care issues are a major stressor on employees and decreases productivity. In fact, 49 percent of employers that offered child care benefits reported boosted employee productivity (Why Should Employers Care, …show more content…

So, what is holding companies back from providing this seemingly no-brainer service? Unfortunately, companies that attempt to provide in-house child care services run into obstacles including local regulations, hiring child care providers, and increased liability with subsequent higher insurance premiums (Moran, 2016). Fortunately, there are several solutions employers can utilize to mitigate these issues. There are several tax credits that include up to 25 percent of the child care facility’s expenditures and 10 percent off resources up to $150,000. Companies also do not have to enter in-house child care on their own. Companies can contract with child care service providers that handle all operation and compliance issues (Moran, 2016). In-house child care is not the only solution. Employers also have the option of negotiating special rates with independent child care centers. Additionally, employers can contribute pre-tax child care subsidies per child up to $5000 for their employees. Providing in-house child care has the further benefit of causing very little change in an organization’s business and internal structure. However, organizations that are in a position to do so can alter their organizational structure to better accommodate a family friendly work place. Companies can allow flexible

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