New program provides convenient, affordable child care options to working families

Lake Oswego, Ore. (August 18, 2022) – As the nation’s unemployment rate reaches record lows and as parents acclimate to new ways of working, the need for flexible child care solutions has never been greater. To support working families and new ways of working, KinderCare Education™ at Work today announced the launch of Tuition Benefit+, a new program designed to help employers meet working families where they are, giving them more affordable and convenient child care options.

Tuition Benefit+ gives employers the ability to offer employees an employer-sponsored child care benefit, covering up to 100 percent of the cost of tuition. Through this program, employees have access to more than 2,000 KinderCare centers and Champions before- and after-school programs across the country, regardless of whether they do their work in person, from home or a hybrid of the two. 

According to a recent McKinsey report, 58 percent of American have the option to work from home at least one day a week. Eighty-seven percent of workers across industries and job types who have the chance to work flexibly say they take advantage of the new way of working. Additionally, nationwide, more than 80 percent of parents with children under the age of five reported challenges in finding affordable, quality care according to the Affordable Child Care Learning for All Families report published in 2018 by the Center for American Progress. 

“Families are reevaluating their priorities and looking for support from their employers, wherever they work,” said Dan Figurski, president, KinderCare Education at Work. “We’ve heard directly from families that convenience and proximity to home is a key factor when looking at child care options. As a national provider with programs in neighborhoods and elementary schools across the country, we’re well-positioned to support families and employers.” 

KinderCare’s 2022 Parent Confidence Report found that 68% of working parents believe employers should offset the cost of child care for their employees, while 55% of parents said they would take a pay cut to work for a company that provided quality child care. The report also revealed that 6 in 10 parents would stay at their job if it offered a child care benefit like emergency back up care, onsite care, or on demand care.

Adventist HealthCare, one of the longest serving healthcare systems in the Washington, D.C., region, is one company that recognized the changing needs of their employees and worked with KinderCare to create a personalized solution for their healthcare workers that includes a Tuition Benefit, Back-Up Care and Dedicated Space for families with immediate child care needs. By recognizing the importance of child care, Adventist HealthCare was able to create a program that supports their employees, and by extension, their community. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Adventist HealthCare began offering subsidized childcare. 

“When you talk to (the) parents who are utilizing KinderCare, it was like the cavalry had arrived,” said Nicole D’Uva, Associate Vice President of Employee Health & LifeWork Strategies. “People started to take a deep breath and become reinvigorated again, and pull themselves up and say, ‘We can do this. We can care for our community in the best way that we know how.’”

For more information about Tuition Benefit+ and other ways employers can support their employees with child care benefits, please visit KinderCare Education at Work. 

###

About KinderCare Learning Companies®
KinderCare Learning Companies is one of America’s largest providers of early childhood and school-age education and child care. KinderCare supports hardworking families with differentiated flexible child care solutions to meet today’s dynamic work environment in 40 states and the District of Columbia:
• In neighborhoods, with KinderCare® Learning Centers that offer early childhood education and child care for children six weeks to 12 years old;
• At work, through KinderCare Education at Work™, providing customized family benefits for employers across the country, including on-site and near-site early learning centers and back-up care for last-minute child care, and
• In local schools, with Champions® before and after-school programs.

Headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, KinderCare operates more than 2,000 early learning centers and sites. In 2022, KinderCare earned its sixth Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award – one of only four companies worldwide to win this award for six consecutive years. To learn more, visit KC-Learning.com.