Childcare Support for Working Families

The early childhood education and care system isn't working how it should - and too many parents are stuck. Fees are up 11% in a single year. A quarter of families are paying more out of pocket even after their subsidy. A quarter of Australians can't even find a place. And too many services are going years without a safety check. Children deserve better than this. One answer being floated - direct subsidies to parents for grandparents or nannies - won't bring costs down and it won't improve safety. And we know that because we tried it. Scott Morrison's Nanny Pilot Program launched in 2016 and quietly died because it was too expensive for families and didn't attract caregivers. Fragmented subsidies don't fix a broken system. They just create new blind spots. That's why The Parenthood campaigns for wholesale reform. For early education and care where quality is paramount, national standards are enforced, funding reflects real costs, places exist in the communities that need them and transparency so parents know what they're paying for and why. Real choice only exists when there's a foundation underneath it. Right now, too many families don't have that foundation. That's what I've written about in today's The Australian Financial Review and it's what we need to be demanding from our policymakers. https://lnkd.in/gr5mFwTy

Unemployment continues to climb, but so do our skill shortages. There are few credible arguments to be made that current immigration policies are addressing our skills gaps, but maybe we’re overlooking one of the most underutilized talent pools: moms. The data is clear. Women spend nearly twice as much time on childcare and housework compared to men, and that imbalance has real consequences in the workplace. Forty-four percent of working mothers say they’ll likely need to change jobs to balance childcare demands, compared to just 37% of fathers. After childbirth, 24% of women exit the labor market in the first year, and 15% remain out even a decade later. During the pandemic, the lost economic value of working mothers in the US and Canada was estimated at $420 billion. So here’s the question: could solving the skills shortage be as simple as changing workplace policies so more moms can stay in, and thrive in, the workforce? If we know moms are doing more at home, then employers need to do more for moms at work. That means flexible work arrangements that reflect caregiving realities, childcare support like subsidies or emergency care days, career progression models that account for nonlinear paths, leadership development that doesn’t penalize motherhood, and inclusive cultures that value care as a leadership trait. To all the moms who are doing double duty, we see you. To all the employers who are listening, keep going. To all of us dads, be better

The National Vital Statics Report on U.S. birth trends has been released. This year has shown a decrease in overall birth rates, with significant patterns in age-specific fertility and prenatal care dynamics. Such insights not only shed light on public health strategies but also provide a crucial lens through which employers can enhance workplace policies. Key findings: -A decline in the general fertility rate and specific decreases across different age groups. -A notable reduction in early prenatal care and smoking during pregnancy. -Changes in delivery methods, including a slight increase in cesarean rates. -Stability in Medicaid as a primary source for delivery payments, indicating the ongoing importance of supportive healthcare policies. Employers play a pivotal role in supporting the workforce, especially expectant and new parents. Here are 10 strategic solutions that can be implemented to foster a supportive work environment: 1- Flexible Working Hours: Adapt work schedules to accommodate prenatal appointments and postpartum needs. 2- Remote Work Options: Provide options for telecommuting to help manage pregnancy-related fatigue and doctor's visits. 3- Extended Parental Leave: Offer more generous leave policies to support parental bonding and childcare. 4- Fertility Benefits: Enhance healthcare coverage to fertility care. 5- Onsite Childcare: Establish or subsidize childcare facilities at or near the workplace to ease the burden on working parents or increased daycare funds. 6- Employee Assistance Programs: Offer programs that provide counseling and support for prenatal and postnatal care. 7- Education and Training: Conduct workshops on family planning, prenatal health, and parenting to educate employees. 8- Support for Breastfeeding Mothers: Provide private, comfortable spaces for breastfeeding and allow breaks as needed. 9-Return-to-Work Programs: Create phased return-to-work options for new parents to ease the transition while maintaining career trajectories. 10- Wellness Programs: Implement programs focused on maternal health and stress management to support overall well-being. As we move forward, understanding and adapting to the evolving demographic trends will be key in crafting effective corporate policies that align with the needs of a diverse workforce. What is your organization doing to support families? List it in the comments ⬇️ #employeebenefits #parentalsupport

New study from National Bureau of Economic Research highlights a powerful policy insight: expanding access to full-day childcare can significantly boost employment and earnings for mothers. The study examines the 2016 federal initiative that expanded full-day programming in Head Start and links program data with employment and household data. The results are striking: • Full-day Head Start enrollment increased by 19% in targeted areas. • Single mothers’ employment rose by 1.9%. • Working hours increased by 2.5%. • Earnings grew by 6.5%. The takeaway is clear: childcare availability is a labor market and economic policy lever. Extending program hours meaningfully improves mothers’ ability to work, increasing both employment and income. This study, by professors Chloe Gibbs, Esra Kose, and Maria Fernanda Rosales Rueda, illustrates a simple but important point: childcare and opportunity go hand in hand. https://lnkd.in/gVg4mpxe

Big news for working parents in the UK, and a positive step towards gender equality. From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds became eligible for 15 hours of free childcare per week. By September 2025, this will extend to 30 hours per week for children as young as 9 months extending through until they start school. It’s not perfect, eligibility thresholds apply (under £100k income), and there are concerns about the availability of childcare places, but it’s a huge step forward. These changes matter. They don’t just support families, they unlock economic participation for women. The Office of Budget Responsibility estimates that by 2027/28 the expansion will result in around 60,000 people - mostly women - entering employment. Women who want to work but have been locked out of work by unaffordable childcare. As well as boosting workforce supply, these changes are expected to have a positive GDP impact: PWC estimate that equalising male and female employment rates could add an estimated £43 billion to UK GDP by 2030. This is a massive boost for employers too, helping to expand the labour pool and allowing for greater talent retention. I will be watching closely how this plays out. Are you positively impacted by these changes? Please share your story below to help inspire others. #GenderEquity #Childcare #WomenInLeadership #FlexibleWorking #WorkingParents #Inclusion Jess Lazarczyk Priscila Pereira Law PhD FCIPD Professor Rebecca Jones

A recent WSJ article featured the company Red Rooster Coffee, which successfully mitigated its high staff turnover by offering subsidized on-site child care. It’s an incredible benefit for employees, but I believe it likely bolstered their bottom line as well. Let’s break this down. In the case of Red Rooster Coffee, they could turn part of their building into a child care facility. While they certainly had costs to make their building pass muster as a child care facility, these are fixed and one-time expenses. Subsidizing 70% of the care costs for employees may too seem substantial. However, when considering the savings from reduced recruitment and training expenses due to reduced turnover, reduced salaries they can pay thanks to this benefit, coupled with the potential for increased profits from expanded or improved operating hours (like opening early in the morning for higher revenue), it might not be a net negative anymore. Finally, they also opened their child care center to the public at normal rates. This strategy is not just community-serving but financially astute; it generates additional revenue that can offset the costs of subsidies for employees. For many other businesses, the operational costs and differing regulatory hurdles per state make this equation much trickier. The thing is, it’s not all or nothing. This is where innovative (and lower cost) solutions like Winnie's offering come into play, providing businesses with a cost-effective way to support their employees' child care needs. It’s just good business! https://lnkd.in/gw5YwCKi

Exciting news for early childhood education in Australia! The Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025 is set to transform the sector and give every child a better start in life. Key highlights: ✅ Three-Day Guarantee: All children will have access to at least three days (or 30 hours) of government-supported early education each week, removing barriers like the activity test that limited access for disadvantaged families. ✅ Cost-of-Living Relief: Over 100,000 families will receive more subsidised hours, with 66,700 families saving an average of $1,370 a year. ✅ Supporting Educators: A 15% pay rise has already led to a 35% increase in job applications and a 28% drop in vacancy rates. Investing in educators means a stronger, more sustainable sector. ✅ Addressing Childcare Deserts: A $1 billion fund will build or expand 160 early education centres in areas that need them most, helping families in rural and underserved communities. ✅ Closing the Gap: Indigenous children will receive a base entitlement of 100 hours, a change communities have advocated for to help more kids be developmentally on track for school. This isn’t just policy — it’s about making sure every child, no matter their background, has the opportunity to thrive. As someone passionate about early education, I’m thrilled to see these changes unfold. A big shoutout to all the educators, advocates, and policymakers making this vision a reality! Read the full blog here: Second Reading Speech - Early Childhood Education And Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025 https://lnkd.in/gi-3BiBj #EarlyChildhoodEducationl #InspiredRecruitment

If you're serious about retaining and growing your working parent talent, childcare benefits aren't a nice-to-have; they're a strategic imperative. The reality for millions of employees right now is that the lack of affordable, reliable childcare is a massive barrier to productivity, career progression, and even simply showing up to work consistently. When parents, particularly mothers, struggle with childcare, it directly impacts their mental bandwidth, creates immense stress, and often forces them to step back from their careers or leave the workforce entirely. This means companies are losing experienced, valuable talent – and incurring significant replacement costs – not because of performance, but due to external life demands. By offering robust childcare support – whether it's on-site facilities, subsidies, stipends, or even robust dependent care FSAs – organizations are making a direct investment in their workforce. It signals an empathetic, human-centric culture that understands and supports the whole employee. This isn't just about retention; it's about enabling career growth, fostering greater diversity, and ultimately, ensuring your best talent can thrive without constantly battling an impossible work-life equation. Prioritize childcare, and watch your working parent talent flourish. #ChildcareBenefits #WorkingParents #EmployeeRetention #TalentStrategy #HRLeadership #FutureOfWork

The care of children, older adults, and people with disabilities has traditionally fallen on women within households. This creates three major problems: Inequality: Women devote many more hours to unpaid care work, limiting their time for work, study, or rest. Low quality of care: Many people who need care do not receive services adequate to their needs. Economic barriers: The lack of care options prevents women from entering the labor market, which in turn affects family income. SOLUTION Implement comprehensive care systems that include: Early childhood services: Care centers for children aged 0-3 years. Extended school day: To align with parents' work schedules. Long-term care: Services for older adults in a situation of care dependence and people with disabilities with high support needs. Support for caregivers: Training, labor recognition, and temporary replacement so that the primary caregiver can rest and recover. Labor policies: Parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and the valuation of domestic work. RESULTS Countries that have implemented elements of these systems have seen: Increased female labor participation: In Chile, after-school care for children aged 6-13 increased mothers' labor participation by 4.3%. Job creation: In the region, the long-term care sector can create more than 10 million new jobs by 2050. Healthcare savings: The provision of long-term care reduced hospitalizations among older people by 12% in Brazil and 7% in Mexico in settings where it was implemented resulting in net savings of US$174 million and US$45 million, respectively. Better educational outcomes: Extended school days improved academic performance, especially in schools with low-income students. In Pernambuco, Brazil, three years of exposure to a comprehensive school program increased student scores in Mathematics and Language.  Reduction in teenage pregnancy. In the Dominican Republic, the "Extended School Day" program, which doubled school hours from 4 to 8 daily, reduced teenage motherhood rates—a 10 percentage point increase in program coverage led to a 3% decrease in teenage pregnancy rates. Overall, teenage pregnancies decreased by 9.5% during 2023 through various educational initiatives. Greater well-being: Care services for older adults improve their quality of life and reduce the burden on family caregivers. CONCLUSION Investing in care systems is not an expense, but an investment that generates a triple benefit: It improves the lives of those receiving care. It enables women to participate in the labor market on equal terms. It creates quality jobs and boosts growth. It can create savings in healthcare expenditure. Latin American and Caribbean countries that develop these systems will be better prepared to face population aging and build more just and equal societies. Laísa Rachter Marco Stampini Romina Tome Suzanne Duryea Tamara Vinacur https://lnkd.in/e-8nwK5W

For nearly 4 million student parents in the U.S., the cost of childcare can mean the difference between staying enrolled or halting their pursuit of higher education. Despite the profound impact that education has on economic mobility, most states offer limited childcare support for student parents. But there is hope—and progress. According to New America, five states, including Minnesota, Oregon, North Carolina, Washington, and Maine, are leading the way with targeted postsecondary childcare grants. These investments recognize student parents’ dual roles and provide them with the resources necessary to persist and complete their degrees. We must empower more states to follow suit—and fast. By investing in our student parents, we support their families and strengthen our communities and economy. Higher degree completion rates drive increased tax revenue, reduce reliance on public benefit programs, and create greater economic mobility. Read more from New America about how targeted childcare support can make a difference to millions. https://lnkd.in/eTAsh7q2