Getting Started
Identify the needs of working parents
Your first step is to identify what your employees’ needs are, and what they are struggling with with respect to childcare needs. An excellent way to do that is to use or modify this employee survey to begin the process. You may also develop a company focus group to study the issue and to analyze the results of the survey.
Learn from what others are doing.
Companies across New York State are offering excellent and interesting child care solutions for their employees. These examples can give you some “out of the box” ideas. Your company’s leadership will appreciate your deep research and competitive analysis when you present your plan to them.
Contact the local Child Care Resource Center
You can find your local Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) online. These CCRCs are here to help you find child care resources in your geographic area. In addition to helping you answer questions, you can provide their contact details to your employees for them to reach out to directly. Parents can speak to a child care specialist directly and receive a list of child care providers meeting family priorities for care. Download the list of CCRCs.
Brainstorm solutions and outline strategies.
After you’ve determined what your employees’ needs are, you can develop a list of possible strategies you can implement. Some of these ideas may be costly and take time to develop, but you can also find some “Quick Wins” that are inexpensive and easy to develop. You may need to present an overview of your recommendations to your organization’s leadership.