Is Your Workplace Family Friendly?

Balancing work and family responsibility is a challenge employees face each day. In fact, this balancing act can be difficult and potentially create productivity issues for a business such as turnover, absenteeism, and reduced levels of quality, alertness, and energy.

Providing a range of benefits to support a diverse workforce can reduce or prevent productivity loss. There are many no-cost and low-cost “family-friendly” benefits that can be incorporated into the overall employment benefits program.

Early Care = Economic Development

• Quality child care benefits all industries in the state by enabling parents to work productively outside of the home and attend higher education programs to upgrade their skills.
• Quality child care lays the groundwork for our economic future by preparing upcoming generations for school and workplace success and attracting business to our area’s skilled workforce.
• For every $1 invested in high-quality early care and education programs, communities can see an estimated $17 in cost savings later (High/Scope Perry Preschool 2005).

For many parents, quality child care is hard to find.  Only a small handful of child care programs in upstate SC meet the highest national quality standards established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Our quality crisis will continue unless business owners and other stakeholders get involved today and implement solutions to develop the workforce of tomorrow.

United Way Success By 6® Child Care Resource & Referral of Upstate SC (CCR&R) can assist employers sort through which child care option is feasible for their company. CCR&R can:

• Provide statistical data on the current supply and demand of child care in a given area.
• Provide information on average child care costs.
• Provide education on components of a quality child care program.
• Provide employer resource and referral for child care.
• Share information on specific state requirements for child care programs.
• Coordinate workplace seminars or child care fairs.