Working parents with young children need accurate information on how to find affordable, high-quality child care and how to pay for it. This section of the ECE Toolkit offers answers, guidance, and links to resources that can provide additional assistance.
As an employer, there are many steps you can take to be more responsive to the challenges faced by employees with young children. This section of the ECE Toolkit brings together information, resources, and best practices that can help you create an ECE-friendly workplace – including many no-cost and low-cost ideas.
Being an employer who cares about ECE can help you attract and retain employees, as well as reduce the day-to-day costs associated with child care challenges. Making ECE a priority – in your workplace and your community – is also a powerful way to invest in the workforce of tomorrow.
Here are 5 fast ways to share ECE information with employees and colleagues, expand your own knowledge, and lay the groundwork for future learning and conversations.
Post this flyer in high-traffic areas where employees will be sure to see it – by the copy machine, in the break room or lunchroom, and in your HR resource area if you have one.
In the future, also include this information in new-hire packets and your employee handbook.
Simply share this link: ecetoolkit.org/resources/parents
The link will take employees to a landing page where they can explore the three pages in this Toolkit that provide resources specifically for parents.
Adding leading voices on ECE issues to your social-media mix will help keep you informed about trends in early care and education, child care policy, and childhood development.
Here are some good groups to follow, along with links to sign up for e-newsletters, which is another easy way to stay informed.
Here’s the link: ecetoolkit.org/business-case
If you find the information valuable, share the link to the ECE Business Case page with one or more colleagues in your workplace, and one or more colleagues in the larger community.
Want to take a deeper dive into the business case for ECE and some compelling research on why ECE is an economic imperative? Check out these reports:
Make a commitment today to have a in-depth discussion in the next three months about your organization’s current and future ECE efforts.
Encourage your team to think about how ECE fits into your strategic plan and goals. Ask them to prepare for the meeting by gathering data and examples on how child care needs and challenges may be impacting employee recruitment, retention, and productivity.
Invite some employees who have young children to be part of the discussion, either by attending the meeting, or by sharing their experiences with a manager.
Text Design, Inc., located in Frederick, Maryland, is a small business with a ECE-friendly culture built around flexibility and communication. This small graphic design studio offers its employees flexible hours and anytime work-from-home access.
The ECE Toolkit was made possible with the generous support of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, the Maryland State Department of Education, and private support.
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