KIDS COUNT News
KIDS COUNT Launches Year Two of the Business on Board with Childcare! Awards
June 28, 2010
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The West Virginia KIDS COUNT Fund today launched year two of its successful Business on Board with Childcare! award program. 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. For 2010, KIDS COUNT has added a new criterion; increased the points required to achieve the designation; created three, separate award levels; and extended the deadline for applications.
"In March of this year, we honored the 71 West Virginia businesses that earned the Business on Board with Childcare! designation in the program's first year," said Clark Hansbarger, president of the KIDS COUNT Board and dean of the Charleston Campus of the West Virginia University School of Medicine. "But we know there are many more West Virginia businesses that deserve recognition for providing a childcare-friendly workplace. In 2010, we want all of those employers to apply for this important business award and be recognized as a 2010 Business on Board with Childcare!."
The 2010 Business on Board with Childcare! award criteria have been 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 eligible for the 2010 Business on Board with Childcare! designation, an employer must comply with any combination of the award criteria that totals at least 20 points. This minimum threshold represents a five-point increase from the 15-point minimum that was required for the 2009 designation. The minimum point change reflects the addition of one new award criterion: participation in KIDS COUNT's 2010 Take a Flower to Childcare Day celebration, which will be held on Tuesday, October 19, 2010. (Visit http://www.wvkidscountfund.org/take-flower.php for more information.)
 To be designated a 2010 Business on Board with Childcare!, West Virginia employers must comply with any combination of the following award criteria totaling at least 20 points:
A score of 25 to 50 points will earn an employer the newly-created "2010 Achiever Award. " A minimum score of 55 points will earn an employer the program's highest honor, a "2010 Navigator Award."
Every West Virginia business that achieves KIDS COUNT's 2010 Business on Board with Childcare! designation will receive a special insignia and a distinctive plaque for public display; recognition on KIDS COUNT's website and in KIDS COUNT publications, e-mail alerts and press releases; and public recognition at the statewide awards event next spring.
According to KIDS COUNT Executive Director, Margie Hale, "When we launched the program in 2009, our goal was to create a recognition program that was accessible and achievable for all West Virginia businesses, large or small. Our diverse list of 2009 award winners is proof that we are well on our way to achieving that goal. In 2010 and beyond, we want every childcare-friendly employer in West Virginia to be recognized as a Business on Board with Childcare!."
For more information about how your organization can apply for the 2010 award, go to www.wvkidscountfund.org/BOB, call 1-888-KIDS COUNT or e-mail margiehale@wvkidscountfund.org. KIDS COUNT will accept applications for the 2010 Business on Board with Childcare! award until December 31, 2010, giving employers an extra two months to apply for this year's award and time to include their participation in Take a Flower to Childcare Day as part of their award application.
The program is being funded in part by the Early Care and Education Division of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fund. To ensure the long-term viability of Business on Board with Childcare!, KIDS COUNT is seeking additional business sponsors for the program. To learn more about the benefits of becoming a sponsor, e-mail KIDS COUNT at margiehale@wvkidscountfund.org or call 1-888-KIDSCOUNT.
**END** For more than 20 years, the West Virginia KIDS COUNT Fund has been the state's most trusted source of information about the well-being of children and a leader in the effort to educate parents, policymakers and the public about what young children need to thrive and achieve. KIDS COUNT's signature project is the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, which tracks key indicators of the health, education, safety and security, and economic conditions of children both on a statewide and county-by-county basis. The Data Book is often the basis of public policy decisions and an important resource for those who seek and award funding from foundations and the private sector.
KIDS COUNT's recent advocacy work has been focused exclusively on advocating for better early child development programs. In March of 2009, KIDS COUNT launched the Kids First Communities Campaign, a groundbreaking, statewide effort to build grassroots support for new state investments that will improve childcare. This campaign led directly to the successful passage of legislation launching West Virginia's first childcare quality rating and improvement system. KIDS COUNT and its five, regional "KIDS COUNT Communities" are now leading the effort to recruit West Virginia businesses for the Business on Board with Childcare! program.
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