Employer Supported Child Care: Good for Business, Good for Development

Recently, a Santa Rosa preschool shuttered operations, sending working parents scrambling for alternative child care options and highlighting the distressing lack of affordable, high quality child care in our community. Research has shown that high-quality, affordable, and accessible child care has a significant impact on economic growth and competitiveness. It’s an issue that threatens the productivity and strength of the workforce today, as well as the quality of the workforce of tomorrow.

To address this issue, First 5 Sonoma County has partnered with the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber and 4Cs Sonoma County to spark employer investment in child care benefits for their workforce. Across the country, companies large and small are investing in employee benefits ranging from providing on-site, near-site or consortium-based child care to assistance in finding and/or paying for child care. And as a result, these employers are seeing significant returns, for themselves and for their community.

Read more about Why Child Care Matters to Business.

The Metro Chamber is actively supporting employers in identifying feasible opportunities to increase child care options for their employees. To learn more about how Employer Supported Child Care can work for your organization, contact Ananda Sweet, VP of Public Policy & Workforce Development, at 707-636-3662.