Business on Board with Childcare!
In 2009, KIDS COUNT launched an annual, statewide award program called Business on Board with Childcare! to recognize businesses that support their employees' childcare needs. The Business on Board with Childcare! designation signifies a West Virginia employer's adherence to key national and local criteria for a childcare-friendly workplace.
Mark Your Calendar Now and Join Us March 24th for the Business on Board with Childcare! Awards....
On March 24, 2010 at noon at the Charleston Marriott, KIDS COUNT will officially celebrate our 20th anniversary and publicly honor the 71 West Virginia businesses that achieved the Business on Board with Childcare! designation in 2009.
We will also honor the 17 employers who went above and beyond the minimum award criteria to achieve the Business on Board with Childcare! Navigator Award. The keynote speaker for the event will be Richard Adams, Chariman and CEO of United Bank and an emeritus member of the West Virginia KIDS COUNT Fund Board of Directors and former Board Chairman.
Please hold this date and plan to join us for this first-ever event honoring West Virginia's most childcare-friendly employers.
Basic Award Criteria
The Business on Board with Childcare! award criteria were adapted from a list developed by the Families and Work Institute (www.familiesandwork.org) and KIDS COUNT's own statewide efforts to get parents, childcare providers and community leaders involved in advocating for better childcare policies. To be designated a Business on Board with Childcare! , West Virginia employers must comply with any combination of the following award criteria totaling at least 15 points:
- On-site childcare (25 points)
- Payment for childcare with vouchers or other subsidies that have directcosts to the company (20 points)
- Flexible spending accounts that help employees pay for childcare with pre-tax dollars (10 points)
- Reimbursement of childcare costs when employees work late (10 points)
- Reimbursement of child care costs when employees travel for business (10 points)
- Childcare for school-age children on vacation (10 points)
- Backup or emergency care for employees when their regular childcare arrangements fall apart (10 points)
- Sick care for the children of employees; or sick leave for employees with sick children; or employees allowed to bring sick children to work (10 points)
- Participation in their local KIDS COUNT Community or other similar efforts to advocate for better childcare. (5 points)
- Access to information to help locate childcare in the community (Child Care Resource and Referral information) (5 points)
- Financial support of the West Virginia KIDS COUNT Fund, including sponsorship of the Business on Board with Childcare! awards (5 points)
Resources
- To download the official Business on Board with Childcare! application form, click here.
- To learn more about the positive results for businesses that provide a childcare-friendly workplace and how to effectively implement childcare-friendly policies, go to http://betterkidcare.psu.edu/Employer_Options.pdf and download "Employer Options for Child Care: Effective Strategies for Recruitment and Retention" by Penn State University.
- For a quick list of key facts about childcare and business bottom line, click here.
- And for additional resources about supporting employees' childcare needs, check out our Links and Resources page.
- For a list of frequently asked questions about the Business on Board with Childcare! awards, click here.
Sponsors
The program is funded in part by grants from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the Early Care and Education Division of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. To learn how your organization can become a sponsor, download our sponsorship brochure , e-mail KIDS COUNT at margiehale@wvkidscountfund.org or call 1-888-KIDSCOUNT.
Business on Board with Childcare! Sponsors
These organizations, businesses and individuals have signed on to be major sponsors of the Business on Board with Childcare! project:
BLUE RIBBON SPONSORS ($20,000 or more)
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
WV Dept. of Health and Human Resources, Div. of Early Care and EducationRED RIBBON SPONSORS ($5,000 — $19,999)
Thomas Hospital and Saint Francis Hospital
Jeanne G. and Lawson W. Hamilton, Jr. Family Foundation
Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fund
United Methodist Women of the United Methodist ConferenceWHITE RIBBON SPONSORS ($2,500 — $4,999)
Charleston Area Medical Center
United BankYELLOW RIBBON SPONSORS ($1,000 — $2,499)
Richard and Elizabeth Adams
The Bernard McDonough Foundation, Inc.
Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love, LLP
Bruce Lawson, PLLC
Cabell Huntington Hospital
Jackson Gas Company
The Jacobson Foundation
Patricia Mick
Doug Reynolds
Kenna Seal
Southwestern District Labor Council
St. Mary's Medical Center
United Methodist Church
West Virginia University Hospitals
