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No Kidding Around
More area companies get serious about offering
child-care options to employees
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Business New Haven
2/8/1999
By: Fiona Phelan
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Family and the workplace. It used to be that the two were an oxymoron. Not any more.
Increasingly, corporations are offering work-life benefits that help employees reduce the amount of non-work related stress that they bring to work. One of those benefits is a greater understanding and empathy for working parents.
“We've tried to create an environment that's respectful and sensitive to the needs of our employees,” says Philip Margolis, director of corporate relations for BankBoston. “BankBoston has a number of programs that create an environment where employees can focus on their work and minimize non-work related issues.”
One of those programs is the bank's “Snowy Days” program. In the past, when schools closed due to snow days, that meant “no-show” days for many BankBoston employees. Recognizing that this resulted in a loss of productivity for the company, BankBoston decided to remedy the situation, explains Margolis.
Now, bank employees can bring their children - kindergarten through grade six - to the bank's operations center in Windsor. The on-site care provided in Windsor by Bright Horizons Family Solutions - a nationally-known child care provider - is just one of seven facilities organized by the bank for its employees.
“We're a believer that employee satisfaction leads to greater customer satisfaction,” says Margolis. “A program like 'Snowy Days' helps us retain and attract good employees. We try to maintain a very flexible environment in the workplace. If an employee cannot use the Snowy Days program then they can take either a personal day or vacation day, depending on what is appropriate.”
In Windsor, Snowy Days is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. when schools close in either Hartford or Windsor. However, children do not need to live or go to school in those districts to attend. The program is entirely funded by BankBoston and in Windsor accommodates 20 children. The program is first-come, first-served for those parents who have pre-registered. No one was turned away during January's snow and ice storms, Margolis says.
“Without a doubt this is a benefit for our employees,” says Margolis. “For some people without this program it means making a choice - and it's a hard choice to make.”
For parents, making that choice is something their school systems force them to think about. At the beginning of each school year, parents and guardians are required to complete an emergency form. This form includes a place to list where children will go in the event that school must close early.
An on-line poll conducted by the Family Education Network (www.familyeducation.com) indicates that 33 percent of parents leave their children home alone on school holidays or other days that schools are closed. However, 29 percent of working parents said they take a vacation day; 19 percent said they hire a sitter for the day; nine percent reported working from home; and six percent said they take a sick day.
The Hartford Area Child Care Collaborative has worked closely with state employers to help them plan ahead for school closings. Some of the organizations suggestions include: providing on- or off-site snow-day programs; providing employee seminars on tips for making arrangements; clarifying company policies on who can work from home, who has to take a vacation day, and who can bring children to work.
The collaborative, according to Executive Director Judy Goldfarb, also suggests that businesses work closely with schools to create a way to open schools for child care when school is not in session; and create a list of employees interested in alternating snow day care.
“Parents really have to plan ahead so that there is no loss of productivity,” says Goldfarb. “They should think about using babysitters in their neighborhood, enlisting the help of a teacher who is also home for the day, investigating using family day-care facilities that accept school-age children for the day, and working with friends, neighbors and relatives who do not work.
“We try to get people to think about alternatives,” says Goldfarb, “employees' companies can't always offer alternatives, and parents need to plan ahead.”
Planning ahead is something Debbie Ferrigno of Killingworth and her husband Bill take seriously when it comes to the care of their seven-year-old daughter.
On days when school is not in session, the couple alternate child care. If either one of them cannot be home they arrange with friends and neighbors to take care of their daughter for the day.
“We're very fortunate because either one of us can work out of the house,” says Ferrigno who is an equal employment opportunity manager for the United Illuminating Co. “I really think UI is getting more accommodating to working parents because it's a reality that both parents are working.”
In fact, according to a 1996 study, 62 percent of American women with children under the age of six work outside the home. In Connecticut, Gov. John G. Rowland may be adding even more women to that number as the state pushes a program to help more than 2,000 families per year stay off welfare. At the same time, the state is continuing efforts to improve the quantity and quality of child care across the state. The two go hand-in-hand.
Last year Rowland approved $9.8 million in loans to six non-profit day-care providers to expand facilities to increase enrollment from 165 children to 685 children. Another $15 million in loans was expected to be approved this month by the Connecticut Health & Educational Facilities Authority.
One of those facilities to receive a loan in the first wave was Hill Parent Child Center on James Street in New Haven. The assistance will enable the center to increase its capacity from 174 children to 278 children.
In the past year, according to the state's Department of Public Health, which licenses day-care facilities, the number of child-care facilities has grown. To date, there are 4,513 licensed family care centers that can accommodate up to six children; 83 group day-care homes that can accommodate between seven and 12 children; and 1,641 centers that can care for more than 13 children. In 1997, there were 1,557 large day-care centers in the state.
Child care facilities like the Pumpkin Patch Child Care and Learning Center in Wallingford that have before- and after-school programs for school-age children also fill the need on days that schools are closed.
“We do offer to have children come here on school holidays and when school is closed for other reasons,” says Director Jill Papadopoulos. “Our first priority is to the children who are part of our before- and after-school program.
While Pumpkin Patch can accept up to 20 school-age children between ages six and 12, only 15 are registered at this time. In addition to attending before and after school, children can attend on holidays and during the summer. The daily rate for attending is approximately $36.
Children's Wonderland in West Haven offers a similar program. Registered parents may take advantage of the center's flex-care program. For school-age children who are pre-registered, the center operates on an “as-needed” basis and do not need to be regularly enrolled in the program. The center can accept up to 182 children from as young as six weeks to 12 years. The facility currently has 140 children enrolled.
“We're here for parents,” says Director Lorraine Raccuia. “It can be a big relief for parents who don't regularly use the program to know that their children have a safe place to go when their regular child-care arrangements break down.” The cost for the program is between $30 and $45 daily, she adds.
Bayer Corp. in West Haven is one of 8,000 employers nationwide to provide child-care facilities to employees. That figure has increased from just 204 employers in 1982.
According to Bayer EEO-Work-Life consultant Marlene Shannon, the company opened its child-care facility last year and can accommodate 124 children ranging from six weeks to 12 years old. The before- and after-school program is open for children in kindergarten through sixth grade and can accommodate up to 20 children (18 are currently enrolled).
“We know that other companies are offering these kinds of benefits to their employees,” says Shannon. “This is one more benefit that Bayer offers and makes it an attractive place to work.”
But sometimes even programs like Bayer's on-site child care and Children's Wonderland flex-care program can't accommodate everyone. What happens when a child is too sick to go to school or day care - and the parent can't stay home? Well, then there's the Shoreline Visiting Nurse Association's Sniffle Care program.
According to VNA CEO Pat Melady, Sniffle Care will send a caregiver to your home to care for a mildly sick child. The cost is $14 per hour. Families must pre-register with the VNA and complete a brief questionnaire for each child registered, so that caregivers can have previous knowledge of a child's likes and dislikes. All caregivers have received special training in child care, Meladay says.
“We find the parents who utilize this program have already been home for a day with their sick child and need to get back to work,” says Melady. “The program really works well.”
In addition to being available privately, Melady says the VNA can sell the service to small and large businesses to offer employees as an added benefit. Companies may choose to fully fund the program for employees or offer it at a discount. Some area firms taking advantage of the program are Bristol-Meyer Squibb, Aetna and the Travelers, according to Melady. BNH
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