Child Care/Daycare: What you need to know

Reliable, quality child care is a major concern to many employees. Recent studies show that in 2009 there were 34.8 million families with children in the United States, and 44 percent of those families had children under the age of 18 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). In families maintained by women, nearly 68 percent of all mothers were employed. In families maintained by men, over 77 percent of all fathers were in the labor force. In 59 percent of married-couple families with children, both parents were employed.

In light of these numbers, it is not surprising that national studies have shown that employers that provide some form of childcare assistance experience increased worker productivity, improved job satisfaction and employee morale, heightened success in recruitment efforts, and reductions in absenteeism and turnover.

Employers covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) must provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave to employees for the birth of a child, the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or for foster care, or for the care of a child with a serious health condition. Some state laws provide greater leave rights for employees. Employers covered by both FMLA and state law must ensure that employees receive the full benefit of both.

Employers that are interested in providing child care directly can consider a variety of options.

Full service on-site care. In a recent BLR^® Survey, 4 percent of employers answered that they provided on-site childcare facilities. For hospitals and other round-the-clock employers, on-site care may solve staffing problems because ...