Do you have a childcare facility at your job?

[buttercup]

To clarify, does your employer provide a space to a childcare facility on the premises catering to its employees? Are there any benefits, aside from being near your children? Has anyone ever heard of this? If so, do you know what kind of info the the employees used to request the employer provide the facility or allow a childcare facility to be on the premises? (such as facts or figures that it increases productivity)

Thanks.

Jenni and Helon 6/29/02

[Liz]

My nephew used to go to a daycare in the same office complex as my SIL's work. It was great because she could just go down stairs and breastfeed whenever necessary. She could also be very involved with the daycare - get to know the workers and the other kids and parents. This daycare is one of the most highly regarded in the city, run by an organisation called Mothercraft that has other daycares around here. Anyway, I'm sure the developer of this office complex gives them a very reduced rent because I'm sure they couldn't afford market value (the building is in the heart of the financial district) BUT I'm sure the developers saw that the daycare would be really valuable to other tenants and increase the desirability of the building. So everybody wins!

When my former employer built a new office building they looked into including a daycare but opted for a gym instead. I don't know for sure but I'm guessing they couldn't get a private company interested in running it (might not have been enough kids to make it worth their while) and were not prepared to take on the responsibility/liabilty on their own.

I found this organisation after a brief google search. There isn't much on their site but they probably could steer you in the right direction if you called:

www.fcforum.org

[buttercup]

Thanks Liz,
I am grateful for whatever info you are able to provide. I had thought about this for a long time, but didn't really know how to approach my employer. I work for the State and one of the new senior managers who will be having children in a couple of years was also wondering why we didn't have a childcare facility in our building, especially since so many of the employees have young children. I sparked her interest and I want to provide her w/ a much facts and info as possible so I can make this dream a reality.

Jenni and Helon 6/29/02

[delighted.mama]

Hi. I work for the State too (Illinois) and we have a day care in our building. It is mostly for State employees, but the public can sign up as well. There is a really long wait list (about 1 yr) if you don't work for the STate. They only accept kids from 2yrs of age. My dd is 14 months old and I just put her on the wait list for next January. The facility is privately run but receives State funds as well since it caters to State employees. I'm not sure what type of funding it gets. Because it is funded by the State, it is required to be evaluated by the Department of Children and Services. In this respect it is good because everything is completely up to code. The facility also has its own playground on top of the building and its own indoor playground when it is cold outside. I talked to the owner/director personally and was very impressed with the way it was run. She said that parents often come and take their kids out to lunch and visit with them during the day. The only down side is that they don't take younger kids (like in my case). The Owner said, and I agree, that a lot more women would be more inclined to return from maternity leave if they could bring baby to work with them and bf on demand. I wish I could have done that. Anyway, I am looking forward to enrolling dd in the school and having her closer to me.....unless I quit my job before then (but that's another story). All in all, I think more companies should do this. It is a wise investment if you want your employees to be happy and to work better. Just my 2 cents! Good luck getting your center started. I really hope it works out for you!

Libby

[hulamama]

Our dd's daycare is not quite at dh's school--but it is run thru his school district and is run on the grounds of one of the school district's schools. Since it is only for staff and teachers, we get a lower rate than most outside daycare centers. We feel very lucky to have this center for dd. They have a wonderful ratio, wonderful ladies and a very sweet, caring atmosphere. I would love it even if I had to pay more.

[Chelly2003]

I brought this up once at the company I work for, there were a LOT of mommies with tiny babies, and I thought it IDEAL..... the company was concerned about the insurance coverage they would need, and then someone said we were too close to an airport (right next door actually) so that ended that!

I think it would be perfect for little kiddies, all the moms could put in some money to pay for a nanny or two, and the moms could stop in to breastfeed and play at lunch etc.......
I think it would save the company a lot in SICK time, not that I mean mommy must bring a sick baby, but if more mom's could breastfeed so easily, you'd have a lot less sick kids.....

Chelly

[carmen veranda]

The hospital I work at has a corporate daycare. It is not on site, but close by. It has been and continues to be a great place for my kids. We have had some issues, but I don't know how I could be raising them by myself without it. They do very complete back ground checks, all the care givers are strongly encouraged to have some formal child developement courses, and tuition assistance is provided. As it is for hospital employees, parents come and go at all times. It would be very hard for a sicko to have uninterrupted access to my children. It has been a life saver for us. I hope you can facilitate change at your place of employment.

[carmen veranda]

http://home.rcrh.org/ Here is the link, Deirdre