Child Care Council of Westchester has some evidence to support it. The Scarsdale-based nonprofit recently concluded a two-pronged study — one surveying 516 local parents, the other with more than 40 employers from disparate sectors — to assess the state of childcare for working families in Westchester. What follows are some highlights of their findings:
75% of employers feel that childcare issues result in absenteeism and loss of productivity, yet 98% also report that these issues are still handled on an ad-hoc or case-by-case way, rather than a formal or institutional way.
50% of working parents reported that childcare issues have impacted their jobs in the past year, resulting in call-outs (55%), early departures (50%), late arrivals (41%), feelings of distraction at work (35%), and cutbacks on work hours (20%).
46% of parents responded that they’ve had trouble paying for childcare in the past six months, with 27% of those claiming to have cut back work hours as a result.
93% of employers agree that providing resources and/or benefits related to childcare generates a positive public image for the corporation, with 83% seeing a link between such resources/benefits and the quality of recruitment and retention. Yet, 80% of those same employers responded that payment or financial-assistance subsidies or vouchers for childcare has no impact on recruitment and retention.
Only 17% of employers currently offer on-site or near-site childcare facilities even though 73% of parents named proximity of childcare resources/facilities as a critical selection criterion.
