It can feel overwhelming to dive into the world of child care benefits for the first time — especially since there isn’t a consensus on what qualifies as a “standard” child care benefits offering. To be as inclusive and effective as possible, the types of child care benefits you offer should align with what your employees need. We used the findings from our Parents at the Best Workplaces report to identify some of the most popular categories of child care offerings that working parents request.
While these aren’t the only categories of child care benefits that exist, they’re the ones that we believe will have the most significant impact on your working parents. Take a look to see which one might make the most sense for your workforce.
1. Facilities
Reimbursing employees for child care facilities or providing an on-site child care center has historically been one of the most common types of benefits. But with 58% of employees always or sometimes working remotely during the pandemic, this category is rapidly evolving to include the use of in-home babysitters or nannies, in addition to daycare centers.
Companies that are interested in this category of child care benefits may also want to consider a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA). This is a pre-tax benefit account that can relieve some of the financial burden on working parents when they pay for eligible dependent care services, such as preschool, summer day camp, and babysitters.
Offerings in this category are especially prevalent now, as 60% of U.S. parents say they’ve had no outside child care during the coronavirus pandemic. That’s likely why 78% of the Best Workplaces are supporting their parents with finding childcare, while 56% are providing back-up child care options. At Maven, we’re also providing additional child care support through our Parenting & Pediatrics program, which has established partnerships with leading sitter and daycare providers (both virtual and in-person) to give working parents more options.
2. Education
Education costs account for 16% of the cost of raising a child — making it one of the biggest expenses involved in having kids. But education has become even more of a burden during the pandemic, as many parents have had to take on schooling their children themselves. Companies can support parents by relieving some of the stress of locating and paying for remote learning opportunities. In turn, their employees can focus on work without the added distractions of managing remote learning for their children.
This can include services like in-home tutoring, access to virtual learning centers, and tools to facilitate remote learning — such as textbooks and laptops. For people who have access to our Parenting & Pediatrics program, we also provide vetted education services like homeschooling support and virtual tutors, with discounts for Maven members.
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