By Allison Binning
A New World
The corporate world is changing faster than ever, and our kids are jumping into this new world with us. In 1978, only 51% of all married couples with kids were dual income. In 2022, this number jumped to 65%; today, more children have both parents working full time jobs. And the pandemic added new challenges with child care. Child Care Programs took a hit during COVID and still haven’t gone back to their pre-pandemic robustness. “Nearly 16,000 child care programs across 37 U.S. states permanently closed since the pandemic began, representing a 9% decline in the total number of licensed child care providers,” states Child Care Aware America. When child care is the second largest cost to parents, only after mortgage or rent, it’s not surprising that many parents are choosing employers that provide better child care benefits.
Difficulties in child care especially affect women in the workplace. In fact, since the pandemic, women's involvement in the workplace has decreased. In 2021, 71% of women (86% in leadership roles) intended to stay with their employer; in 2022, Only 63% (68% in leadership roles) intended to stay with their employer. During the pandemic, a survey from McKinsey & Company showed that “45% of mothers with children aged five and under who left the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic cited child care as a major reason for their departure, compared with just 14% of fathers who said the same.” Lack of child care services are causing companies to lose talent. How can they get it back?
Growing With the Changes
One child care organization able to weather the pandemic was Learning Care Group (LCG). LCG is the second largest child care provider in the country. Because of their size and financial strength, they not only stayed open, but were able to add over 175 schools since the start of Covid. They remain strong with over 1,070 schools and capacity to serve more than 150,000 children across the country.
LCG provides customized child care benefit solutions for any sized employer so they can provide affordable, accessible child care to their working families.
LCG’s Funded Child Care solution helps organizations with the cost of care for their employees. It is designed to scale to an organization’s needs with customization levels to work within their budget. The baseline offering provides employees 10% off tuition at any of LCG’s schools. LCG is finding that most employers are seeking to offer a larger subsidy to further differentiate their employee value proposition.
Then to ensure employees have access to high quality care, LCG offers additional solutions to employers:
- Priority Access – Because LCG owns and operates all of their community schools, employees will enjoy priority enrollment at any of their 1,070+ schools across the country.
- Guaranteed Spaces – Employers who want to make sure their workforce has reserved enrollment spaces can prepay tuition to hold a specific number of spaces in one or more of LCG’s schools.
- Open Access – If there’s no LCG school nearby or if there are team members who work nights and weekends, LCG offers an Open Access program that enables employees to use child care services outside their network of schools or even privately-secured care.
LCG also offers a Back-Up/Emergency Care solution when employees’ regular care falls through. Or if an employer has a substantial workforce in one primary location, LCG is an expert in assisting companies through the entire process of exploring a dedicated onsite child care center. They can facilitate demand forecasting, planning, construction, licensing, and center operations. They have over 55 years of experience building and transitioning child care centers.
Partnering with LCG also helps employers “retain a competitive edge when it comes to hiring and keeping top talent,” says Sean Sondreal, Chief Business Development Officer at LCG.
The competitive edge applies to all types of companies and organizations too. “We approach corporate partnerships the way we approach early education—with an intense focus on individuality (or customization),” says Sondreal. He gives the example of a large entertainment company that offers a Funded Child Care benefit through LCG. The company was seeking to attract and retain a diverse workforce. LCG aided this client in setting up a scholarship with a child care subsidy tier determined by family household income. These individualized solutions can target the specific needs of a variety of companies and organizations, from Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, universities, or government agencies to small businesses.
Launching a New Future
All companies and organizations, large and small, should consider their employees’ child care needs when putting together annual benefit plans. More and more parents want a strong support system for their children. 81% of working parents said a company’s child care benefits were a key criterion in the consideration of a job. Recognizing this is key, Sondreal says, to attracting and keeping great employees. “Now, more than ever, employers recognize that a child care benefit can be a powerful way to help attract and retain talent, reduce absenteeism, and increase productivity. In any industry, companies that include child care in their benefit offerings are better positioned to become an employer of choice.” Employers and brokers alike have the opportunity to ease the strain on working families by providing a customized support system through child care. Why not take the chance to benefit both the employee and company through child care?
We are proud to feature Learning Care Group on The Granite List.
Want to learn more about Learning Care Group’s highly customizable child care solutions? Call (866) 829-0027 or email partnerships@learningcaregroup.com to get more information.
