Childcare

We imagine childcare support to look like assistance for parents or caregivers to provide or improve access to caring for the young people in their lives.

Having childcare provided or supported allows workers to show up without worry for their young people or needing to take time off to care for their children. Sometimes women, who shoulder caregiving responsibilities, make the decision to step away from the workforce entirely to care for their families due to the prohibitive cost of childcare across the nation and the commonwealth. Many caregivers cannot afford reliable, high-quality childcare. As the pandemic began, 45% of women who had children under five had to leave the workforce due to the lack of affordable childcare [1]. In order to improve the labor force participation of women, who often are the ones to step away from work, organizations need to improve access to childcare. Childcare assistance allows caregivers to work and earn an income which can enable them to offer their children resources, stability, and opportunities.

“Access to stable, high-quality early care and education is crucial to ensure chidlren develop on track and are prepared for school and life success. yet one in three working families is struggling to find childcare, and even when care is available, it’s often unaffordable [2].”

  • Free childcare can be provided via on-site providers located at the employers’ workplace. This could be full-time or back-up care for employees. This requires employers to identify a high-quality childcare vendor or connect with providers to explore costs and logistics. Fortunately, many of the costs can be taken as a tax credit or a deductible business expense.

  • Employers can pay the full cost or make arrangements with a local childcare provider to reserve slots for employees’ children. Subsidizing care can look any number of ways including but not limited to: giving vouchers to employees to use a preferred provider, contributing to employees’ dependent care reimbursement accounts, or establishing relationships with childcare providers and offering a discount to employees.

  • Employees who can choose when they work, as long as they put in their needed hours, allows people to balance family and work.

  1. Family Forward NC®. (2025, March). Guide to family forward workplaces.  https://familyforwardnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Guide-to-Family-Forward-Workplaces_2025.pdf 

  2. Ibid.