The cost of child care in the United States is high. This is not news. The 2016 Care Index released by the New America Foundation and Care.com shared an increasingly troubling cost profile of child care right now. The national average for at-home care is $28,354 per year, while in-center care is $8,589 per year. Some of the most expensive metro regions included private-sector-rich NYC, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These are the very same cities where employers struggle to recruit and maintain skilled talent.
How Some Companies Are Making Child Care Less Stressful for Their Employees
The cost of childcare in the United States is high. The national average for at-home care is $28,354 per year while in-center care was $8,589 per year. Some of the most expensive metro regions included private-sector rich NYC, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco. These are the very same cities where employers struggle to recruit and maintain skilled talent. Support from employers can make or break new parents. At the very least, executives can implement no- or low-cost policies such as predictable schedules, flexible hours, and meetings that don’t start before 9:30 am or end after 4:30 pm. Leaders might also choose to go further, and make an investment in childcare — offering on-site care, help with back-up care, or access to flexible spending accounts (and counseling on how to use them). Childcare can be expensive and hard for working parents to navigate even in the best of circumstances. Smart, compassionate companies help their employees through this minefield, recognizing that it could be the benefit that matters most for employee retention.