50 Profitable Strategies for Employers

In Kansas, we have almost 250,000 children under the age of 6 in child care every week. Dependable, productive, committed employees are good for business. A commitment to supporting the child care needs of employees can improve their workplace effectiveness and serve as a recruitment tool to attract skilled workers.

Below is a list of 50 profitable strategies businesses can use to support employees with children.
(Click here to view a PDF.)

1. Provide printed information on parenting and choosing child care available from your local child care resource and referral agency (CCR&R).
2. Organize seminars on choosing child care and what makes a quality program.
3. Provide coupons for children’s products, such as diapers and formula.
4. Consider job sharing.
5. Allow telecommuting.
6. Compress work schedules.
7. Coordinate flexible work hours.
8. Allow employees to shift from full- to part-time and back, maintaining their position.
9. Allow employees to periodically work at home.
10. Set up a lactation room and/or lactation consultants for nursing mothers.
11. Organize seminars on effective parenting.
12. Provide regular paid time off to volunteer at child care program or school.
13. Allow extended, paid parental leave.
14. Adopt employees’ child care programs and donate repairs and consumable materials.
15. Coordinate slow phase-back into work after parental leave.
16. Schedule a resource fair of family support programs.
17. Organize child development consultant services, by phone or on-site.
18. Offer family-friendly gatherings/events.
19. Serve on local planning board to coordinate and improve early childhood services.
20. Ensure that health insurance covers immunizations.
21. Supply equipment for or renovations to child care programs seeking accreditation.
22. Offer and promote Dependent Care Assistance Plans (DCAP).
23. Provide employer match of employees’ DCAP deductions.
24. Offer vouchers for a portion of child care costs.
25. Contract services from CCR&R for an enhanced referral on locating child care.
26. Reimburse a portion of child care costs.
27. Offer paid, reserved spaces in child care facilities.
28. Offer discounted fees at child care facilities.
29. Pay accreditation fees for child care programs.
30. Subsidize care for mildly ill children.
31. Subsidize back-up care for employees’ child care emergencies.
32. Subsidize summer programs for school-age children.
33. Support networks of quality-enhanced family child care homes.
34. Offer scholarship funds for college coursework to child care professionals.
35. Seek capital investment for expansion of child care centers to serve more children.
36. Support contracted initiative to increase supply of child care by age or geographic target.
37. Offer on-site medical clinic services or health consultations.
38. Contribute to public-private partnership child care investment fund.
39. Form a consortium of small businesses to provide health insurance.
40. Subsidize youth recreation programs for middle school and high school children.
41. Contribute to low- or no-interest loans to child care programs.
42. Participate in a state or local child care business commission.
43. Work with local government to remove planning and zoning obstacles for child care.
44. Subsidize tutoring programs for school-age children.
45. Form a consortium of small businesses to subsidize near-site child care.
46. Subsidize substitute costs for employees’ child care programs.
47. Donate portion of paid lobbyist’s time to early childhood legislative issues.
48. Arrange on-site or near-site child care center.
49. Form a consortium with other businesses to provide child care benefits.
50. Arrange on-site public school or a charter school.