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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Barr, William: Files
Folder Title: [Women's Bureau: Department of
Labor] (2)
Box: 14
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Employers and Child Care:
Establishing Services
IF
Through the Workplace
U.S. Department of Labor
Office of the Secretary
Women's Bureau
Revised August 1982
Pamphlet 23
Employers and Child Care:
PARTMENT OF LABOR
Establishing Services
UNITED STATES OF
Through the Workplace
U.S. Department of Labor
Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary
Women's Bureau
Lenora Cole-Alexander, Director
Revised August 1982
Pamphlet 23
FOREWORD
The fastest growing segment of the labor force today is the category of
mothers of preschool children. Between 1970 and 1982, the labor force
participation of these women grew by 55 percent. By March of 1982, half (7.4
million) of all mothers of children under 6 years of age were in the labor
force and approximately 66 percent (11.4 million) of all mothers of school-age
children were working or looking for work.
As the number of working mothers increases, SO does the need for reliable,
quality child care during the workday, care not always available in the
child's home or with a member of the family. Stress and anxiety generated by
this need can distract the parent-employee on the job. The Federal Government
has launched various programs supporting and encouraging quality child care
services outside the home. The private sector, also, has recognized that
certain benefits accrue to finding or providing such care. Today, as Govern-
ment gradually changes the character of its involvement, business and industry
are increasingly active. At many companies, personnel policies are being
reshaped to permit a realistic blending of job and family duties, creating a
new harmony that keeps parent-employees on the job with reduced stress and
higher morale.
Heightening its traditional concern for working parents in need of quality
child care services, this year the Women's Bureau has chosen as a primary
initiative the establishment of employer-sponsored child care systems through-
out the country. One aspect of this thrust has been the updating and expan-
sion of the contents of a widely used 1981 Women's Bureau publication,
"Employers and Child Care: Establishing Services Through the Workplace," to
produce the present edition. Planners of child care programs--in business and
industry, unions, employee associations, and communities--will find this
pamphlet rich in data, guidance, and shared ideas. Creative use of this
material should prove rewarding to all those, including parents, interested in
improving child care, employee morale, and work productivity.
Leurra Call alexander
Lenora Cole-Alexander
Director, Women's Bureau
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The cooperation and assistance of those people across the United States
who are presently involved in employer-related child care have made this
publication possible. Center directors, members of management, and union
officials willingly gave their time to share program information which might
help child care planners.
Those child care officials who shared detailed information about program
development included the director of Arms Day Care; Robert Carey, Forney
Engineering; Marsha Cunningham, Baptist Medical Child Care Center; Alice
Duncan, A. P. Beutel, II, Day Care Center; Suzanne Halloran and Lauri
Langlois, Government Center Child Care Center; Barbara Karth, Goddard Child
Development Center; Bruce Knauff, Hyman Blumberg Child Care Development
Center; Joan Narron, PCA International Center; Diane Osmundsen, formerly with
the VA center in North Chicago; Mike Romaine, Zales Corporation; Sherrie
Rudick, National Institute of Health Centers; Muriel Tuteur, Amalgamated
Children Day Care--Health Center; Bonnie Negen, Steelcase, Inc.; Sonia
Sands-Karens, Honeywell Corporation; Clifford Baden, Wheelock College; Tom
Copeland, Parents in the Workplace; and Connie Bell, Greater Minneapolis Day
Care Association.
Assistance and editorial comments related to Federal taxes and employer-
sponsored programs were provided by Deene Goodlaw Solomon of the law firm of
Heller, Ehrmann, White & McAuliff, San Francisco, CA; Kathleen A. Murray of
the Bay Area Child Care Law Project, San Francisco, CA; and Charles Kirby,
Employee Plans and Exempt Organizations Branch, Internal Revenue Service.
Ruth Nadel, with the Women's Bureau, provided the initiative for the publica-
tion as well as invaluable information on employer-related child care.
This publication was prepared for the Women's Bureau by Kathryn Senn
Perry. The section on child care facilities was prepared by Gary T. Moore.
iv
CONTENTS
Page
FOREWORD
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
iv
THE CHILD CARE NEED AND SERVICES AVAILABLE
1
Government Support for Child Care Services
1
Parental Satisfaction with Available Child Care Services
2
EMPLOYER/LABOR INVOLVEMENT IN PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT WORKING
PARENTS
4
Employer Involvement in Family Issues
4
Employer Benefits from Programs That Support Working Parents
5
Policies and Benefits That Support Working Parents
6
Child Care Services
6
Information About Child Care
7
Parent Seminars
7
Information and Referral Services
8
Child Care Room
9
Summer Program
9
Sick-Child Care Program
9
Flexible Benefits
9
Family Day Care Network
10
Subsidies for Child Care
10
Slots in Existing Centers
11
Consortium
11
Child Care Center
12
Family-Oriented Policies
12
Telephone Access
12
Family Time-Off
13
Sick Leave When Child Is Sick
13
Maternity and Paternity Leave
13
Flexible Scheduling
13
Part-Time Employment
13
Job Sharing
14
Flex-Place Work
14
Relocation Services
14
Removing Antinepotism Rules
14
Donations to Community Child Care Programs
14
Military Child Care
15
Recent Research on Employer-Supported Child Care Services
16
Resources on Employer-Supported Child Care Programs
17
V
CONTENTS (cont.)
Page
ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE AND ASSESSING NEEDS FOR EMPLOYER/LABOR
INVOLVEMENT IN CHILD CARE SERVICES
19
Setting Up a Task Force
19
Needs Assessment
20
Employee Survey
21
Advertisement
21
Communication of Child Care Alternatives
21
Questionnaire Items
22
Survey of Available Child Care Services
25
Survey of Child Care Need in the Community
25
PLANNING AND COST ANALYSIS
27
Benefits of Outside Consultation
27
Consideration of In-Kind Services Provided by the Company
28
Program Costs for a Child Care Center
29
Resources on Cost Analysis
32
FUNDING SOURCES FOR CHILD CARE SERVICES
33
Employer Funding
33
Union Funding
33
Outside Funding
33
Child Care Food Program
34
Title XX, AFDC, and WIN
34
Foundation Funding
35
Other Funding
35
Resources Related to Fund Raising
36
TAX ISSUES AND EMPLOYER-SPONSORED CHILD CARE SERVICES
37
Dependent Care Assistance Program
37
Eligible Participants
38
Eligible Child Care Services
38
Reporting Requirements
38
Salary Reduction Agreements
39
Employer's Yearly Expenses
39
Employer's Capital Expenses
39
Start-Up Expenses for New Businesses
40
Tax-Exempt Program
40
Charitable Donations to Community Programs
40
Establishing Tax-Exempt Programs
40
Services Provided Through Employer's Private Foundation
41
Forming a Separate "For-Profit" Corporation
42
Forming a Partnership
42
Targeted Jobs Credit
43
Resources on Tax Issues
43
vi
CONTENTS (cont.)
Page
PROGRAM COMPONENTS OF A CHILD CARE CENTER
45
Administration
45
Center as Part of Sponsoring Employer/Union
45
Center as a Separate Corporation
46
Resources on Administration
47
Philosophy
48
Licensing
49
Curriculum
49
Staff
53
Facilities and Equipment
54
The Process of Establishing a Child Care Facility
55
Project Planning Issues
57
Facility Options
57
Facility Size
58
Site Selection
59
Architectural Design Issues
59
General Design Concepts
59
Design of Individual Spaces for Children, Staff,
and Services
61
Flexible Furnishings and Equipment
62
References for Further Information
63
IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM PLAN
65
Ongoing Public Relations
66
Program Evaluation
66
Resources on Evaluation
67
SUMMARY
68
REFERENCES
69
APPENDIX
74
vii
THE CHILD CARE NEED AND SERVICES AVAILABLE
The need for child care for the children of working parents has been
increasing dramatically since World War II and the increase is expected to
continue into the 1990's. The increase is due to a greater percentage of
mothers of minor children entering the labor force each year.
In 1940, only 8.6 percent of mothers with children under 18 years of age
were working (1). By 1982, 59 percent of mothers with minor children (2) and
50 percent of all mothers with preschool children were in the labor force, and
these working mothers had 8.5 million children under 6 years of age (3).
Also, increases in the divorce rate have resulted in more one-parent
families than ever before. Divorces resulted in a 45 percent increase in the
number of children in one-parent families during the 1970's. The percentage
of children living in one-parent families increased from 12 percent in 1970 to
20 percent, or 1 out of 5, in 1981 (4). In one-parent families with small
children, child care services are a necessity for the parent to work.
During the 1980's, the percentage of mothers entering the labor force is
expected to continue increasing. In the same period, the number of births is
expected to rise to a level almost as high as that of the baby boom in the
late 1950's (5). In 1980, there were approximately 19 million children under
6 years of age, and by 1990 there are expected to be 23 million under 6 (6).
The number of children under 6 will increase by 23 percent during the 1980's.
Child care services for working parents do not seem to be keeping up with
the increasing number of children in need of services. The Children's Defense
Fund estimated the need for child care and the services available in a useful
collection of statistics on working parents, Employed Parents and Their
Children: A Data Book. Approximately 13 million children 13 years of age and
under are in households where all parents work full time. There are less than
1 million slots in child care centers; family day care (at another person's
home) and care at the child's own home by relatives and nonrelatives serve
another 6.8 million children. These services provide for only 54 percent of
these 13 million children in need of care (7); therefore, approximately 7
million children 13 years of age and under probably care for themselves when
they are not in school.
Government Support for Child Care Services
In the face of an increasing need, government agencies directly and
indirectly have provided support in the area of child care services. The
major funding sources for full-day care of preschool children include Federal
programs for child care for low income families, food subsidies for child
care, and income tax deductions allowed to full time students and working
parents for child care expenses. Since 1980, funding for child care for low
1
income families and food subsidies for child care centers have decreased, but
allowable tax credits for child care expenses have increased.
Subsidies for full-day care for children from low income families is
provided through Title XX of the Social Security Act, which was implemented in
1975. Partial and full subsidies were provided for 799,000 children under 13
years of age in 1977 with subsidies totaling $800 million (8). The total
spent for child care in 1980 was $650 million, and budget cuts since then have
eliminated child care services for approximately 150,000 children (9).
Some additional monies for child care costs related to work are available
through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program and to
women participating in the Work Incentive (WIN) program. Approximately
230,000 children received some child care services through AFDC and WIN in
1977 (10). Federal money also is appropriated through Head Start and Title I
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for part-day, compensatory pre-
school programs that serve low income and disadvantaged children.
The Child Care Food Program, directed by the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture (USDA), provides food commodities or money to tax-exempt child care
centers or family day care organizations and centers receiving Title XX
funding. The program provides for a small subsidy for all chiloren and
reduced-price or free meals for low income families. During 1982, 613 million
meals will be subsidized through this program (11).
The greatest amount of Federal support for child care is through the
child care tax credit. Any tax-paying parents who use child care services
because they are working or attending school can receive some support this
way (12). In 1981, the Federal Government allowed child care tax credits
totaling approximately $1 billion (13). Beginning in 1982, the allowable tax
credit for child care expenses has been expanded.
The amount of the tax credit is determined by the expenditures for child
care and the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer. The maximum amount of
child care expenses for which a credit can be taken is $2,400 for one child
and $4,800 for two or more children. The credit is 30 percent of the child
care expenses for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $10,000 and below.
The credit is reduced by 1 percent for each additional $2,000 of income or
58action thereof, but does not drop below 20 percent. The maximum child care
tax credit for a taxpayer with an adjusted gross income of up to $10,000 is
$720 for one child and $1,440 for two or more children. The maximum credit
for a taxpayer with an income above $28,000 is $480 for one child and $960 for
two or more children.
Parental Satisfaction with Available Child Care Services
More and more mothers are working and to do SO find some form of child
care or leave children to care for themselves. Are parents finding child care
services that support parental needs and provide educational environments for
their children? Two recent surveys reported working women's dissatisfaction
with the child care services available.
2
Family Circle magazine conducted a survey in 1978 of mothers who were
working full time and had children under 13 years of age; 4 out of 5 were
married, husband present, with family incomes in the middle-class range (14).
Of these mothers, 30 percent had had to change child care arrangements in the
past 2 years because the care was undependable or of poor quality. In addi-
tion, 30 percent of the mothers of school-age children under 13 years of age
reported that they allowed their children to stay home alone after school,
although only 1 percent reported that they would leave their children alone if
they had a choice.
In the National Survey of Working Women, which gathered responses from
over 80,000 employed women, one-third of those with dependent children
reported that child care continued to be a problem (15). The need for child
care was reported as a problem by 36 percent of the professional, managerial,
and technical workers with dependent children and by 29 percent of the
clerical, sales, service, and blue-collar workers with dependent children.
3
EMPLOYER/LABOR INVOLVEMENT IN PROGRAMS
THAT SUPPORT WORKING PARENTS
Workstyles and lifestyles of families have been changing. In most
families, no longer is the husband devoting his time solely to work while the
wife devotes all her time to the children and the household. The roles are
merging, with the result that both working parents have demanding work respon-
sibilities as well as demanding parental responsibilities. Employment
policies and benefits can be altered to accommodate family responsibilities.
Some issues to consider in initiating policies and benefits in support of
working parents are how people view the employer's role with respect to family
issues, what benefits can be gained by the employer as a result of such
policies, and what are the policies and programs which would best support the
working parent.
Employer Involvement in Family Issues
Should employers be involved in family issues? Data from surveys and
conferences suggest that people feel employers should be involved in support-
ing working families. The White House Conference on Families expressed deep
concern about families in which all parents work. The number one recommenda-
tion was that businesses initiate family-oriented benefits (16).
General Mills conducted a nationwide survey in 1980 on the strengths and
strains of families at work. The survey results indicated that of those
surveyed 87 percent of the parents, 86 percent of the human resource officers,
and 87 percent of the labor leaders felt that it would be a good thing if
employers made it easier for working parents to arrange their jobs and careers
around their children's needs (17).
The Catalyst Career and Family Center conducted a survey of Fortune 1300
corporations about attitudes and practices concerning two-career families.
Seventy-six percent responded that they were concerned about two-career issues
because they could affect recruiting, employee morale, productivity, and
corporate profits (18). Over 75 percent did not feel that becoming involved
in the family issues would violate the privacy of employees (19).
Another indication of the interest and acceptance of employer involvement
in child care issues is the large number of conferences that have been held
around the country on employer policies and benefits that support the child
care needs of employees. Dana Friedman, a consultant on employer-related
child care issues, reported that she had spoken at over 50 such conferences in
1981-82. The high number of recent conferences is in sharp contrast to the
10-year period 1968-1978 when only 2 conferences on employer-related child
care services were reported in the literature.
4
Employer Benefits from Programs That Support Working Parents
Employers can benefit in many ways through support for working parents.
Programs that help working parents with their child care needs and family
problems can reduce stress that can cause lower productivity and more acci-
dents on the job. Reliable child care arrangements can reduce the tardiness,
absenteeism, and job turnover that result from disruptions in child care.
Policies and benefits for working parents can help recruitment efforts as well
as providing an image for the employer as a company that supports families.
Workers report that child care problems can affect their job perfor-
mance. In the 1978 survey by Family Circle magazine, 70 percent of the
mothers working full time responded that adequate child care helped their job
performance (20). Stress over child care problems was identified as a factor
in industrial accidents by 40 female assembly line workers at an auto workers
conference in Toronto (21).
Minnesota employers reported their opinions about the effects of provid-
ing assistance with employee child care in a survey conducted by Tom Copeland
of Parents in the Workplace. Sixty-seven to 85 percent of the respondents
from 473 businesses reported that assistance with employee child care would
have a positive effect on employee productivity, absenteeism, recruitment of
new employees, retention of current employees, employee morale, and tardiness
(22).
Employers that have provided child care services have reported benefits
from the programs. Parents with children enrolled in a company-supported
child care center in Minnesota had lower absenteeism and a lower job turnover
rate than other parents at the company who were not using the child care
center (23).
Alice Duncan, director of a child care center that serves 292 children of
employees at Intermedics in Freeport, Texas, reports the benefits to Inter-
medics since the opening of the center. Job turnover rate decreased by 23
percent in the first year and 37 percent in the second year for a total 60
percent decrease in two years. During the first year, reduced absenteeism
resulted in a savings of 15,000 work hours. The combined reduction in absen-
teeism and job turnover resulted in a savings to the company of more than $2
million in the first 2 years of center operation. Other observed benefits
were improvements in employee morale, productivity of employees, the company
image in the community, and the ability to recruit new employees. Because of
the success of its child care program in Freeport, Intermedics is planning a
center for 500 children near Houston.
Information on the benefits to sponsoring employers was collected in a
1978 nationwide survey of employer-sponsored child care centers by Kathryn
Senn Perry (24). One hundred and five centers were sponsored by industries,
hospitals, government agencies, and labor unions. Questionnaire respondents
reported many benefits to the sponsoring employer as a result of the presence
of the child care center. The percentage of 58 responding centers that
reported each benefit were:
5
Percentage
of Centers
Benefits
88
Increased ability to attract employees
72
Lower absenteeism
65
Improved employee attitude toward sponsoring
organization
60
Favorable publicity about the employer due to articles
about center
57
Lower job turnover rate
55
Improved employee attitude toward work
36
Improved community relations
Policies and Benefits That Support Working Parents
Employers and labor groups face a new problem as they consider family-
oriented benefits and child care involvement. Child care services seldom have
been included in employee benefit packages, and business planners lack know-
ledge about programs and policies that can help parents to meet both work
demands and family responsibilities. Any policy or program for parents will
need to be designed to match the specific needs of employees in view of the
employment situation and available community services.
Many alternative approaches have been used by employers to help working
parents, and these approaches can be divided into 3 general categories. The
first type of program assists parents in recognizing quality care, helps
parents find appropriate child care services, or provides reliable services.
The second type assists parents in balancing work and family responsibilities
through increasing the flexibility of work hours or through facilitating
communication between parents and children during the work hours. A third
approach is to provide support for existing child care programs in the com-
munity.
Child Care Services
An employer or union can establish programs or employee benefits that
help working parents through providing information about available and
reliable child care, easier access to child care, subsidies for child care
costs, or on-site child care centers. Inadequate child care causes stress on
the job, as parents worry about their chiloren, and causes loss of worktime
due to disruption in child care arrangements. Reliable, good-quality child
care services can produce more reliable and happier parent-employees.
6
Information About Child Care
An employer or union could provide information on child care through
brochures, through a child care "media center,' or through a personnel staffer
who is knowledgeable about community child care services. Brochures that help
parents evaluate the quality of child care centers and family day care homes
have been published by child care organizations, day care licensing agencies
in the State governments, and Federal agencies. An employer could provide
such brochures at the personnel office or other designated location.
A booklet that lists and describes the community child care centers and
family day care homes would be helpful for parents who need to make child care
arrangements. The local day care licensing agency may publish a book on
available services which the employer could make available to employees, or an
employer could gather information and publish a company brochure. The em-
ployer also could provide a brochure for parents describing local services
such as information and referral agencies that help parents locate child care
services.
A child care "media center" is a center in a company that has books and
brochures on child development and care as well as video tapes or slide shows
that instruct parents in using local child care programs or choosing good-
quality child care. Toys 'N Things, a child care support agency in St. Paul,
helps employers to design and implement child care media centers.
Another approach to providing information is to have a company or union
staff person become knowledgeable about community child care services and act
as a resource person to any parents who need help or information.
Parent Seminars
Seminars for working parents on child development, child care, and
work-family conflicts have been held at many business sites. Often the
seminars are scheduled during the noon hour SO that employees will not miss
worktime or their family time at home. Parent seminars have been designed by
family support organizations that conduct the seminars at various businesses,
and, in some cases, groups of employees have designed seminars for parent-
employees. Texas Institute for Families has conducted seminars at 25 com-
panies. Toys 'N Things of St. Paul conducted seminars for the Bremer
Foundation at 20 banks for bank employees and other interested parents in the
community. Wheelock College's Center for Parenting Studies conducts seminars
in the Boston area. Honeywell Corporation in Minneapolis appointed a task
force of interested parents who designed seminars to be held at Honeywell
locations where there are large numbers of young parent-employees.
Sonia Sands-Karens of Honeywell reported that the parent task force chose
the topics for a series of 6 seminars, rather than leaving the topic choice to
an outside consultant. The seminars focused on spending quality time with
one's family, managing work and family responsibilities, finding good-quality
child care, and identifying community resources for working parents.
7
Clifford Baden described the technique and results of the Wheelock
seminars--10 weekly sessions each lasting 1-1/2 hours. At each company, an
open workshop was held for parents to learn about the seminars and sign up for
the series. During the first seminar, the parent group planned what they
would discuss during the series. The seminars were designed for interaction
among the parents with some short presentations and case studies by the
instructor. Typical responses of the participants were, "It's supportive.
It's fun. Do we have to stop?" Parent seminars can help reduce the stress
caused by work-family conflicts because parents share their experiences with
others and learn how to cope better with the conflicts.
Information and Referral Services
Child care information and referral (I & R) services try to match a
parent's request with child care available in the community. A range of
services can be provided through I & R programs. A simple I & R program would
involve keeping an up-to-date list of child care centers and family day care
homes in a community; upon a parent's request, the I & R staff person would
provide a list of 5-10 homes or centers that would serve the child's age group
at a convenient location. As an added service, an I & R staff person could
screen the child care options for the employee and narrow the list of options
for appropriate care with space available.
Steelcase, Inc., in Grand Rapids, Michigan, provides child care informa-
tion and referral services to employees. The local day care licensing agency
provides a list of child care centers and family day care providers. Steel-
case child care coordinators provide consumer information on child care
services and screen the centers and family day care homes in the employee's
geographic area in order to advise the employee of 2 or 3 appropriate centers
or homes that have openings for the child.
An employer may choose to use the services of a city-wide I & R agency.
Honeywell in Minneapolis provided a grant of $25,000 and hundreds of hours of
managerial time to help a local agency develop a computerized I & R service
for the county. Toys 'N Things in St. Paul is developing the computer soft-
ware for child care I & R which the agency will be able to market in communi-
ties to facilitate the development of computerized I & R services. Employers
can help pay for the I & R program and, in return, may contract for direct
access to the computer system or for special services such as screening of the
list of appropriate child care centers/homes for openings.
Through an I & R program, the employer or union can find information
about employee preferences for child care and about the number and quality of
services in the community. Records kept on requests for services as well as
followup contacts on the type and quality of services found by the employee
provide an index of employee needs for child care. Information gathered in an
I & R program can direct planners as they choose other needed child care
involvement such as parent seminars, child care subsidies, child care centers,
or family day care networks. An employer might contract with the local I & R
program to provide special services such as keeping data on employee requests
and followup reports.
8
Child Care Room
Small businesses could consider establishing programs that would allow
parents to bring their school-age children to work on days when children do
not have school because of bad weather, teacher conferences, or winter vaca-
tion. Prospect Associates, a Maryland firm with 30 employees, has a child
care room stocked by the parents with toys and games. Children can play while
their parents work near by.
Summer Program
Providing a daily summer program for school-age chiloren is one way an
employer or union could help with employee child care needs. For several
years Fel-Pro Industries in Skokie, Illinois, has sponsored a summer day camp
for school-age children on recreation property owned by the company. A
company could contract with a local community agency such as a YWCA or YMCA to
provide a summer day camp for the employees' children. Community summer pro-
grams often do not match the working hours of the parents, and parents are
unable to use the services. Through working with community agencies, an
employer might arrange a children's program at convenient hours for the par-
ents at a moderate cost to the employer in addition to parent fees.
Sick-Child Care Program
A sick child cannot attend school or go to a child care center or family
day care home. Parents usually are unable to find an emergency babysitter,
and nurse's care is too expensive for most parents. A sick child usually
stays home alone while the parent works, or the parent uses sick leave or
vacation leave to care for the child. A sick-child care program could train
nurses' aides and make them available to employees on an emergency basis and
at a reasonable cost. The Greater Minneapolis Day Care Association directs a
sick-child care program for the Minneapolis area.
Flexible Benefits
A flexible benefits program, also called the "cafeteria plan," is one in
which each employee may choose benefits from among two or more alternatives.
Each employee usually receives an inflexible portion or core of benefits and
chooses additional benefits from various alternatives. Benefit alternatives
may include child care services, educational assistance, relocation assis-
tance, and physical fitness programs. They also may include choices that
supplement the core benefits such as additional vacation days, health insur-
ance, life insurance, or retirement benefits.
Because employees have more options in designing their benefit packages
with a flexible benefits program, the needs of individual employees may be
better served this way. Also, benefits useful to less than 50 percent of the
employees can easily be included in a flexible benefits program because equity
or equal use of the benefit by all employees is not an issue when each em-
ployee can choose from various benefit alternatives. Employers may hesitate
to offer child care services as a fixed benefit because only a small
9
proportion of employees would need the services each year, but an employer can
add child care services to a flexible benefits package without concern about
the equity issue.
Don Hasbargen with Hewitt Associates in Minneapolis reported that, in
January 1982, 21 organizations had flexible benefits programs. Two of the 21
programs included child care services as an alternative, and several others
are expected to add such services as an alternative benefit by 1983. Northern
States Power in Minneapolis is adding a child care reimbursement program to
employee benefit options in 1983, and a large midwestern company is adding a
flexible benefits program including child care in 1984.
A flexible benefits program can be very simple, containing as few as two
alternatives, or it can have complex alternatives requiring sophisticated com-
puter systems for their administration. With flexible benefits, the employer
can better serve the various lifestyles of employees.
Family Day Care Network
Family day care is child care provided for several children at the home
of the caregiver. Some parents prefer family day care because often the care
is closer to the parent's home and is less expensive than center care. Infant
care and after-school care near the child's school are more easily found
through family day care than at centers. An employer can establish a network
of independent family day care providers who will supply child care for em-
ployees' children. The network organization can recruit and train caregivers;
after a day care home is established, network personnel can keep in contact
with the caregivers through visits, newsletters, and programs on caregiving.
Through a network organization, the employer can develop more family day care
homes for employees and maximize the quality of care through communication
with caregivers and training sessions.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has a network of family
day care providers. Most of the providers are wives of graduate students from
foreign countries who need employment. The program serves MIT employees and
students.
A network of independent family day care homes grew out of an information
and referral program at Steelcase, Inc. in Grand Rapids. Caregivers are in-
cluded in the network when they serve a Steelcase child. After an employee's
child is placed in a family day care home, the Steelcase child care coor-
dinator makes periodic visits to the home and provides resource materials, a
toy-lending library, and Saturday training sessions for the caregiver. The
Steelcase program has become known in the community, and women approach
Steelcase and request to become caregivers in the network.
Subsidies for Child Care
Employers can provide money for child care for employees' children. When
child care slots are available in the community, what parents may need most is
help in paying for dependable services.
10
An employer or union can subsidize the cost of care by providing vouchers
for X amount of money that can be used at any licensed child care center or
family day care home or for a caregiver at the parent's home. Polaroid
Corporation provides child care subsidies on a sliding scale according to
family income. The parent chooses the child care provider, and the provider
in turn bills Polaroid for the subsidy.
The Ford Foundation provides child care subsioies for any employee who
has a gross family income below $25,000. The subsidy is in the form of a
reimbursement for approximately 50 percent of the employee's work-related
child care expenses.
Slots in Existing Centers
When an employer wants to provide child care services for employees but
has only a small number of employees who need services, the employer can
reserve slots in an existing child care center. The employer can pay for the
slots and charge employees whatever it chooses. If the slot is unfilled, the
employer must pay for the slot, but, by retaining slots, the employer provides
for the availability of care in a tight child care supply market.
When ample services are available in a community, an employer can pay for
slots when the care is needed, rather than reserving slots in advance. A
unique program whereby an employer can purchase slots for employees has been
organized by Phoebe Carpenter, Administrator of 4-C in the Orlando area. The
employer provides money to be used for child care slots and pays a fee to 4-C
to administrate the program. The 4-C counselor helps each employee in need of
services to find suitable child care in the community. In addition, the
counselor procures Federal, State, or local funding for child care if the
employee qualifies. The rest of the child care fee is covered by an amount
the parent is able to pay and the subsidy provided by the employer. The 4-C
agency provides a variety of services to the parent and to the providers of
child care.
The two employers participating in the 4-C program hire seasonal work-
ers. The local 4-C agency provides needed child care services for employees
that the employer could not easily provide through independent programming on
a seasonal basis.
Consortium
A group of employers can work together to develop and support a child
care center or other child care program to serve their employees. Some
examples of where this approach might be most feasible are a large office
building housing several organizations, an industrial complex, or a downtown
area with several large employers. Arms Day Care Center, Coon Rapids,
Minnesota, serves employees of a hospital and a college. The Government
Center Child Care Corporation in Boston directs an employee-initiated child
care center that serves a group of Federal agencies. The Baltimore Region of
the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union supports 6 centers for
union members through the cooperation and funding of employers who hire union
members.
11
Child Care Center
A child care center for the use of employees can be established by the
employer, by the union, or by a group of employees. The advantage of the
establishment of a child care center for employees over other child care
services is that reliable child care can be made available for all ages of
children, at a convenient location, and at hours accommodating work demands.
For example, infant care is seldom available at community child care centers,
but, in 1978, 97 percent of centers sponsored by military employers enrolled
children under 1 year old and 64 percent of other employer-sponsored centers
enrolled children under 1 year old (25). Almost no community centers provide
evening child care, but 43 percent of the hospital-sponsored centers in 1978
offered care for second-shift workers (26).
Another advantage to establishing a child care center is the benefits
derived by the employer. Benefits to employers in the 1978 survey included
aid in recruitment, lowered absenteeism, a more positive attitude of the em-
ployees toward the employer and the work experience, favorable publicity for
the employer, lowered job turnover, and an improvement in community relations
(27). The importance of these benefits to the sponsoring employer can in-
fluence a management decision on child care involvement and the amount of
employer subsidy for child care.
In 1978, 105 child care centers in the U.S. were sponsored by industries,
labor unions, government agencies, and hospitals, according to the Perry sur-
vey. Since that time the number has been increasing. In the appendix are
listed 169 of the centers that are sponsored or supported by the employer.
Family-Oriented Policies
Family-oriented policies include programs, practices, and benefits that
assist working parents by increasing the flexibility of working hours, allow-
ing more parent-child interaction during work hours, and recognizing or
assisting in the job placement needs of the employee's spouse. These policies
help reduce the stress often produced when work and family responsibilities
conflict.
Telephone Access
Company policies often discourage employees from receiving or making
personal calls on the job. Parents can be relieved of stress and concern over
children if they know that the babysitter or child can reach the parent by
telephone if a problem arises. A parent whose 12-year-old child returns to an
empty house after school would like to be able to call the child for mutual
reassurance that everything is all right. An employer can establish a policy
whereby parents can receive phone calls for family problems, not just dire
emergencies, and can make calls to their children or babysitter. Telephone
access can reduce the stress of parents' concern about their children.
12
Family Time-Off
Working parents often need to take children for medical examinations or
school conferences during the workday because they are unable to schedule the
children's appointments on evenings and weekends. An employer could allow
some family time-off for employees each year SO parents could make needed
medical appointments, attend parent-teacher conferences, or see their children
perform in special school activities.
Sick Leave When Child Is Sick
In many companies sick leave is allowed only when the employee is sick.
When a child is sick and cannot attend day care or school, the parent often
has no alternative but to stay home with the child. Many parents are trapped
in a situation in which they must lie and claim they are sick in order to care
for their sick children. An employer could allow working parents to claim
sick leave whenever a dependent child is sick as well as when the employee is
sick.
Maternity and Paternity Leave
Many mothers choose to return to their jobs after a child is born. With
both parents working, many fathers are sharing parenting responsibilities and
also want some time at home. An employer could design a disability leave
policy which would allow either parent to spend time with a newborn child and,
afterward, continue in the same position in the company.
Flexible Scheduling
Flex-time is a work schedule in which workers may choose arrival and
departure times within certain limits. All employees work during a core
period, and each employee chooses a daily schedule from the flexible periods
to add up to the total required hours. The system allows parents to choose
arrival and departure times to suit their child care needs. Flex-time reduces
tardiness because the work schedule is chosen to fit the employee's personal
commitments. An employer could establish flexible scheduling to accommodate
company demands and allow employees more control over work schedules.
Part-Time Employment
In recent years part-time work has increased. Many women who have house-
hold and family responsibilities prefer part-time to full-time work. In the
General Mills study, working women reported their preferences (28): If they
had enough money to live on, they preferred part-time work (41 percent) to
full-time work (17 percent); of women who helo executive/managerial/
professional jobs, 51 percent preferred part-time work and 19 percent
full-time work.
Some of the problems with part-time work for women have been that the
jobs have been lower paying than comparable full-time jobs, few if any
benefits have been provided, and the part-time jobs have not allowed for
promotion or advancement. One advantage of part-time work is that it allows a
13
parent to spend more time with her children during the years of heavy child
care responsibilities as well as adding to the family income and advancing her
career. Employers could establish part-time positions with pro-rated benefits
and a ladder for advancement; the positions would help parents of young
children meet family responsibilities while continuing with their careers.
Job Sharing
Through job sharing, two people can fill one full-time job. The two
people can choose the days and hours they prefer to work. Job sharing is
especially attractive to nurses because two nurses can split the holiday and
weekend duties. Job sharing requires little extra cost for the employer. For
a $17,000 nursing salary in 1981, it cost the employer $162 extra for State
and Federal unemployment when two persons shared the job (29). Job sharing is
part-time work with relatively flexible hours and allows parents flexibility
in meeting child care needs.
Flex-Place Work
Flex-place work is work done at an alternate site. Advances in computer
capability allow a person to feed data into a computer terminal located at
home and connected with the employer's office. As our technology advances,
there will be more opportunities for flex-place working arrangements. Flexi-
bility in work location can provide more home-time for parents to be with
their children.
Relocation Services
Job relocation is more difficult for a two-career family than for a
one-career family. Relocation services can assist an employee by helping the
spouse to find a job, helping to locate suitable schools and child care ser-
vices, and subsidizing moving expenses.
Removing Antinepotism Rules
Antinepotism rules prohibit a spouse from job placement with the hus-
band's or wife's employer. They make relocation more difficult for two-career
families because the husband and wife cannot work at one company. Anti-
nepotism rules at a major company in a small city compound the job-finding
problems for husband and wife. Removal of restrictions which prohibit a wife
and her husband from working at the same company would assist two-career
families.
Donations to Community Child Care Programs
Employers can assist through donations of money, goods, or services for
the development or the continued operation of child care programs. In com-
munities where a few programs serve the area, donations to these programs will
help the community as well as the employees who have the programs available
for use.
14
An employer or labor group could provioe money to assist in the estab-
lishment of a child care program for employees. The International Ladies'
Garment Workers Union contributed funds for planning and research to develop
Children's Village, a child care center that serves many garment workers in
Philadelphia. An insurance company in Wausau, Wisconsin, donated land near
its office building for construction of a nonprofit community child care
center; the large charitable donation helped the community as well as estab-
lishing a child care center near work to serve employees.
An employer could donate accounting, tax, advertising, management, or
legal services to a child care program. The company's product or waste
materials suitable for art projects might be helpful donations to the cen-
ters. Free services and products allow a center to cut operating expenses and
provide services to parents at a lower cost.
Several banks and other lending institutions have supported child care
through their loan programs. Citibank of New York, Bankers Trust Company of
New York, and Chase Manhattan Bank of New York are a few of the institutions
that made it a policy to provide loans for construction and renovation of
child care facilities in the city (30).
Military Child Care
The U.S. Defense Department operates more child care services for
employees than any other employer in the United States. The number and types
of programs vary with the military installation. The types of care at mili-
tary installations include full-day care, part-day (nursery school) programs,
hourly care, family day care, and before/after school care. Many of the
military child care centers remain open evenings and weekends and serve the
parents' social child care needs as well as needs during working hours.
The child care programs are funded through Defense Department appropria-
tions, parent fees, and nonappropriated funding at the installation. Defense
Department appropriations usually cover such costs as facility, utilities,
some supplies and equipment, and the salary of the program coordinator or
administrator. Parent fees cover most of staff costs. Any remaining costs
are covered by the nonappropriated funding at the individual installation.
The Air Force has child care centers at 123 installations and preschool
(nursery) programs at 101 installations. The Air Force serves approximately
18,000 children in child care centers, 11,000 in preschool programs, and 1,000
children in before/after school programs at youth centers. Thirty-three of
the installations are located overseas.
The Army has 281 child care programs at 162 installations. Sixty percent
of the installations are in the United States. Army programs have space for
approximately 23,000 children at one time. The Army is presently developing
two model child care facilities--one in Texas and one overseas.
15
The Marine Corps supports 33 programs at 16 installations, most of them
in the United States. Marine Corps programs serve approximately 4,000
children each day.
The Navy operates 78 child care centers at installations located through-
out the world. These services provide care for 12,000 children a day.
Additional information about military child care is included in Military
Child Care Programs: Progress Made, More Needed, listed in the "resources"
section on page 18. Contact persons for information about military child care
are:
Air Force:
Beverly Schmalzried
HQ AFMPC/MPCSOH
Randolph Air Force Base
Texas 78150
Army:
Margaret Lucas
Director of Army Community Support Program
Headquarters, Dept. of Army
(DAAG-PSC)
Alexandria, VA 22331
Marine
Barbara P. Nophlin
Corps:
Marine Corps Headquarters
Code MSMS-1
Washington, DC 20380
Navy:
Carolee Callen
Naval Military Personnel Command
1300 Wilson Blvd.
Rosslyn, VA 22203
Recent Research on Employer-Supported Child Care Services
With the increased interest in employer-supported child care programs,
there has been an increase in research in the area. Work on 4 major research
initiatives is being completed in 1982. The Appalachian Regional Commission
funded 2 projects--one conducted by the Winthrop College School of Consumer
Science and Allied Professions and the other by the University Research
Corporation. Dana Friedman conducted a study of employer initiatives for
working parents for the Carnegie Corporation. The Administration for
Children, Youth and Families funded the National Employer Supported Child Care
Project, conducted by the Child Care Information Service in Pasadena.
The Winthrop College project, named "Family Support Systems: Alternative
Child Care Arrangements," included a survey of working women, a study of
employer-sponsored child care centers, and the development of a multi-media
marketing package to interest employers in providing child care services for
employees. Working women surveyed in the project showed a preference for day
16
care at the workplace over other child care alternatives. For further infor-
mation about the project, contact Debbie R. Paskoff, School of Consumer
Science and Allied Professions, Winthrop College, Rock Hill, SC 29733.
The "Employer Supported Child Care Study," conducted by University
Research Corporation, included 4 surveys covering employer-supported child
care programs in the U.S., Appalachian child care programs, households with
children enrolled in the Appalachian child care programs, and Appalachian
employers. Of the 288 Appalachian employers surveyed, over 50 percent showed
interest in learning more about various employer programs that aid working
parents, and 50 percent reported that they would send a representative to a
local conference about employer-supported child care services. In the
project's final report, the survey results are compared with findings from 8
other surveys of employers, and recommendations are made for promoting
employer involvement in child care services. For further information check
the final report listed under "Resources" in this section or contact Leo
Fishel, University Research Corporation, 5530 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.,
Washington, DC 20015.
Dana Friedman, in the "Working Parents Project" for Carnegie Corporation,
focused her investigation on 4 communities where there was a significant
amount of interest in employer initiatives for working parents: Boston,
Minneapolis/St. Paul, San Francisco, and Houston. Two of the objectives of
the study were (1) to assess the resources and expertise needed for an em-
ployer to implement a program for working parents and (2) to develop recom-
mendations for promoting employer involvement in services and benfits for
working parents. For further information, see the project report in the
"Resources" section or contact Dana Friedman, Center for Public Advocacy
Research, 12 West 37th St., New York, NY 10018.
The National Employer Supported Child Care Project, directed by Sandy
Burud at the Child Care Information Service, includes a nationwide survey of
employer initiatives for working parents and the development of a manual to
assist employers interested in providing services for working parents. The
manual will include a list of employers that support child care services,
information about the various "models" of employer involvement, cost-benefit
information from the surveyed employers, and information on needs assessment
and planning. The manual will be published in the fall of 1982, and is listed
under "Resources."
Resources on Employer-Supported Child Care Programs
Baden, Clifford. Work and Family: An Annotated Bibliography, 1978-1980.
Boston: Wheelock College for Parenting Studies, 1981. ($4.50 from
Office of Continuing Education, Wheelock College, 200 The Riverway,
Boston, MA 02215)
Baden, Clifford, and Dana E. Friedman, Eds. New Management Initiatives for
Working Parents. Boston: Wheelock College, 1981. ($11.00 from Office
of Continuing Education, Wheelock College, 200 The Riverway, Boston, MA
02215)
17
Children's Defense Fund. The Child Care Handbook: Needs, Programs, and
Possibilities. Washington, DC, 1982. ($7.50 from CDF Publications
Department, 1520 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036
Collins, Natalie M., Constance C. Bell, and Beverly P. Propes. Business and
Child Care Handbook. Minneapolis, MN: Greater Minneapolis Day Care
Association, 1982. ($9.25 from GMDCA, The Lehmann Center, 1006 West Lake
St., Minneapolis, MN 55408)
Fishel, Leo, Inese Balodis, and David Klaus. Appalachian Regional Commission
Employer Supported Child Care Study Final Report. Washington, DC:
University Research Corporation, 1982. (Available from Appalachian
Regional Commission, 1666 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20235)
Friedman, Dana. "Management by Parent Objectives: Establishing the
Feasibility of Employer-Sponsored Child Care and Other Family Supports."
Doctoral Dissertation, Harvard University, 1982. (Available through
University Microfilms, Phone: 800-521-3042)
Friedman, Dana. "Report on the Working Parents Project." New York: Carnegie
Corporation, in preparation for fall 1982 publication. (Available from
Carnegie Corporation of New York, 437 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022)
Manual of the Employer Supported Child Care Project. In preparation for fall
1982 publication. (Contact Sandy Burud, Child Care Information Service,
363 E. Villa, Pasadena, CA 91101)
McCroskey, Jacquelyn. "Work and Families: What Is the Employer's
Responsibility?" Personnel Journal, January, 1982(61), pp. 30-38.
Parents in the Workplace Series: "Impact of Working Women on Business"
($2.50), "Minnesota Business Survey" ($4.00), "Taxes and Child Care
Programs" ($3.50), "On the Job Parent Training" ($3.50), "Child Care
Delivery System" ($5.00). St. Paul, MN: Parents in the Workplace.
(Available from Toys 'N Things Press, 906 North Dale St., St. Paul, MN
55103)
Perry, Kathryn S. "Survey and Analysis of Employer-Sponsored Day Care in the
United States." Doctoral Dissertation, University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee, 1978. (Available from University Microfilms, Phone:
800-521-3042)
U.S. General Accounting Office to Secretary of Defense. Military Child Care
Programs: Progress Made, More Needed. (GAO/FPCD-82-30, June 1, 1982)
(Single copies free from U.S. General Accounting Office, Document
Handling and Information Facility, P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg, MD 20760)
Welfare Research Institute. On-Site Day Care: The State of the Art and
Models Development. Albany, NY, 1980. ($10.00 from Empire State Day
Care Services, Inc., Empire State Plaza, Agency Bldg. #2, 12th Floor,
Albany, NY 12223)
18
ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE AND ASSESSING NEEDS FOR
EMPLOYER/LABOR INVOLVEMENT IN CHILD CARE SERVICES
Assessing the need at a company for family-oriented policies and benefits
is a new process for most business planners and labor groups. The task
involves a careful investigation of employee needs and preferences, company
management philosophy, and community child care services. Among the first
questions that management officials and union leaders ask are, "What services
are other companies (unions) providing?" and "How did they get started?"
The following guidelines for child care involvement include information
about employer-related child care services and resources for further investi-
gation. The guidelines have been drawn from a nationwide review of employer-
sponsored child care, from in-depth telephone interviews with representatives
of over 15 employer-sponsored programs, from available publications in the
child care field, and from personal communications with tax specialists and
child care planners.
In planning for child care involvement, there are many different types of
employment policies and child care-related services for planners to consider.
Different employment situations lend themselves to different types of involve-
ment, and each type requires a different legal approach to organizing the
program SO that the best benefits will accrue to employees and employers.
Also, designing a program to match employee needs with available assets re-
quires a thorough needs assessment and cost analysis of the proposed program.
The planning begins with establishment of a task force.
Setting Up a Task Force
One challenge faced by planners is effecting change within a system.
Employment practices and employee habits are basically conservative and
resistant to change, even if the planners view the change as beneficial. Any
innovation in a system must be planned carefully to enlist the support of the
various groups in an employment situation.
Often the idea to initiate child care involvement develops when persons in
management or employees become interested in women's issues. These planners
may be hindered because they do not understand the needs of the parents, they
do not know how to influence management, or they are unable to approach child
care services from a business standpoint. One industry-sponsored center ran
into problems at the program's inception because planners had failed to
include the union in the planning. Another center was in the planning stage
for 5 years because of inability to influence management and the planners'
poor business skills.
In setting up a task force, it is best to include persons that represent
major groups in a company and persons with power and influence. It has been
suggested that planners should be chosen who represent opinion leadership,
formal authority, and major factions or vested interests, and display charac-
teristics of public relations ability, credibility, ano respectability (31).
19
Persons planning for child care services should try to include in their work
group a management representative who can influence decision making, an
influential labor representative, parents knowledgeable about child care needs
and approaches, and persons with skills in personnel management, law, and
public relations.
Needs Assessment
The needs assessment process contains many levels of investigation in
order to demonstrate to parents and the company the problems caused by family
demands on working parents and to suggest appropriate employer actions to
lessen or solve the problems.
A first step in planning is a study by the task force of the various
employment policies and programs that have been used by employers and how the
programs have helped working parents and the employers. It is important that
planners realize there is a range of solutions and that any one solution, such
as a child care center, is not necessarily the best solution. The planners
may choose a program similar to another company's or create a unique plan to
meet the needs of the situation.
The planners need to identify the problems parents have in balancing work
and family responsibilities and the problems for management caused by parents'
family responsibilities. What exactly is the problem for parents? If the
problem is child care, is this a problem because reliable care is unavailable,
good-quality care is unavailable, center care is unavailable, infant care is
unavailable, care is not available during the hours of need, care is too ex-
pensive? It is important to analyze the situation thoroughly.
The problem for the employer may be low productivity, absenteeism, exces-
sive job turnover, or employee recruitment difficulty. The planners may be
looking for a program that attracts employees because it lessens family
strains associated with working. In considering a problem and a proposed
solution the planners should consider whether the solution is appropriate for
the target group--those persons one is trying to influence. The target group
for reducing absenteeism are present employees, while the target group for
improved recruitment are qualified persons at home or at other jobs. The
target group will determine who will be considered, interviewed, or surveyed
to gather information.
Planners should also consider the company philosophy on policies and
benefits and management practices in relation to parents' family-related
problems during worktime. An evaluation of policies and practices can indi-
cate the acceptance of or potential resistance to new family-related policies
and programs.
Information can be gathered from various sources. Interviews and group
discussions among key employees can provide a wealth of information on manage-
ment's problems and parents' needs. The results from an employee question-
naire for all employees or a sample of employees can provide information in
relation to specific programs under consideration.
20
Employee surveys have often been used to evaluate the need for child care
services. If planners are considering sponsorship of a child care center,
they may need to estimate the need for child care by parents other than
company employees in the community where the center will be located. In cases
where employees' children will not fill the center to capacity, community
children or children whose parents work at nearby companies can be enrolled.
In the past, a few employers withdrew support from centers because of escalat-
ing costs due to underenrollment of employees' children. The availability of
parents in the community who need child care services, in addition to parent-
employees, can provide a "cushion" of clients to fill a center to capacity.
Employee Survey
Planners can find information about child care needs through a question-
naire completed by employees. To get the truest picture of employee child
care needs and opinions, the planners should advertise the survey SO that most
interested persons will respond, explain child care alternatives under con-
sideration SO that parents are not misled, and structure the survey to include
information pertinent to planning without making it cumbersome to complete.
Advertisement
Planners should disseminate information about an upcoming survey so that
interested employees will be watching for the survey and will be more likely
to complete it. One union advertised the survey through articles in the union
newspaper before the questionnaire was distributed by union stewards on each
shift. At an office building, planners can place posters in heavily traveled
areas, such as entrances or the cafeteria, as well as previewing the upcoming
survey in company newspapers or fliers.
Communication of Child Care Alternatives
Planners may be considering an information and referral service, subsi-
dizing existing child care slots, sponsoring a center, or other plan. If
employees do not know about the range of child care services under considera-
tion, they may develop unrealistic expectations and react negatively to any
plan which offers less than they expected. Because employer-sponsored child
care is associated with free care in many peoples' minds, planners may need to
educate employees about the high costs and complexity in developing child care
services. Employees should be made aware of feasible alternatives.
If the planners have no alternatives in mind when the questionnaire is
disseminated, they should make the situation clear to employees. Since
assumptions about services may be made from items on the questionnaire,
planners should state the reasons for the questionnaire SO that employees will
not draw erroneous conclusions.
Information about child care planning can be disseminated through company
newspapers, a cover letter on the questionnaire, or personal contact between
planners and employees. At Intermedics, Inc., the person who would serve as
21
center director met with groups of 10 to 15 interested employees on company
time to discuss child care planning. During the meetings, employees completed
the needs-assessment questionnaire, heard about the child care plans, and
shared their own concerns about services. The director felt the personal
contact allowed for good communication between planners and parents. Through
the meetings, rapport developed between the director and parents, and that
rapport helped reduce the need for a public relations campaign to enroll
children when the center opened.
Questionnaire Items
The questionnaire should be designed to collect the information needed for
child care programs under consideration. Following are questions frequently
asked, their use in the planning, and results planners have had using answers
to such questions in the past.
1. "Would you be willing to give some time and your expertise to help
?" An item like this was included in a questionnaire at the
U.S. Department of Labor to get volunteers to help organize and manage
a parent-controlled program. Many people who had no small children
volunteered to share their time and influence in organizing the child
care center.
2. "Do you have dependent children under 6 years old living at home? If
so, how are they cared for while you work?" Alternative answers could
be "by spouse at home, by a relative at home, by a babysitter at home,
by a relative at the relative's home, by a babysitter at the sitter's
home, at a day care center." A similar question could be asked
regarding children 6-13 years old. This question requests information
about the employees' need for child care and the types of child care
services presently available to employees. Parents often use more than
one form of care for each child. Depending on the amount of informa-
tion needed, the planners can ask for specific numbers of hours for the
type of care for each child.
3. "How much do you pay for child care services for each child using ser-
vices? $
for
hours per week for child
years
old." The amount presently paid by employees can serve as an indica-
tion of what parents are willing to pay.
4. "Would you be interested in enrolling a dependent child in a child care
center located close to where you work?" Several center directors
reported that many more parents indicated interest in enrolling chil-
dren than actually enrolled children. In one case of a growing
company, the needs assessment underestimated the number of parents
interested in services.
5. "What is the age of the child (children) that you would be interested
in enrolling in the child care center?" Include a space for number of
children by age brackets. Use the age brackets that determine
teacher child ratios for State licensing laws. This information can
22
help in planning size of each center age group. Recently opened
centers have reported that the greatest demand when the center opened
was for infant care (seldom available in the community) rather than
preschool care.
6. "What hours and days would child care be needed?" The alternatives to
be listed would be determined by the working days and hours of the
employees.
7. "Do any of your children that you're interested in enrolling have a
handicap? If so, what is the child's condition?" Since a child care
center may not be able to serve children with certain handicaps,
planners may want to know how many children are handicapped and in what
way.
8. "What would you be willing to pay for care for one child in a child
care center near work?" List alternative ranges of fees. One center
director noted that responses to a questionnaire item like this stated
much lower amounts of money than parents actually were willing to pay
when the center opened. The director felt that comparing the respon-
dents' family income with the income range of parents paying comparable
fees at other centers was a better indicator of fees parents would be
willing to pay.
9. "What is your total gross family income?" List income ranges. Gross
family income can serve as an indicator of what parents are able to pay
for child care services. A rule of thumb often used is that a family
can spend 10 percent of its gross income for child care. If planners
are considering fees for services on a sliding scale basis, they will
need to find out if they will be able to enroll enough families at the
high end of the fee schedule (high income) to balance the number of
families at the low end of the fee schedule (low income).
10. "If all the following forms of child care service were available to
you, which would be your first choice?" List alternative child care
services. Preference data may be useful if planners are considering
various forms of services. Cost is a major factor in choice of care;
therefore, responses may not reflect the parent's actual preferences
when cost is considered.
11. "Do you feel that a service at the company that supplied you with names
of child care providers in your community would help you make child
care arrangements?" Questions should be included that relate to each
child care service under consideration.
12. "How would you describe your present child care arrangements?
"Cost of Care
Too expensive
Moderate
Inexpensive
23
"Location of Care
Close to home
Close to work
Inconvenient distance to travel
Other:
"Hours of Care
Available during times needed
Not available as early as I would like
Not available as late as I would like"
Other items under this question could cover evaluation of curriculum
activities for children and adequacy of staff, or ask the number of
children at home or center.
13. "Have you missed work during the past 6 months because:
child was ill, No. of days:
sitter was ill, No. of days:
needed to find new child
care arrangements, No. of days:
other child care problems:
"
14. "Were you late for work during the past 6 months because of child care
problems?
No
Yes
How many times?
Describe the problem/s:
"
15. "Have you left work early during the past 6 months because of child
care problems?
No
Yes
How many times?
Describe the problem/s:
"
24
16. "Do you ever waste time or make mistakes because you are worried about
your child care problems?
No
Some
A lot
What problems bother you the most?"
The following handbook is available for planners needing more information
on needs assessment:
The Education Commission of the States. The Children's Needs Assessment
Handbook, Report #56. Denver, Colorado, 1976. ($4.50 from The Education
Commission of the States, Suite 300, 1860 Lincoln St., Denver, CO 80295)
Two publications that focus on needs assessment are the McCroskey article
in Personnel Journal and a chapter by Gwen Morgan in New Management
Initiatives for Working Parents. Both are cited under the section entitled
"Resources on Employer-Supported Child Care Programs."
Survey of Available Child Care Services
Planners can gain a better understanding of the child care situation by
surveying available child care programs near the workplace and in the com-
munities where employees live. The State day care licensing agency in the
area will usually provide a list of licensed centers in the community.
Planners can call each center for information about the operating hours, the
ages and number of children served, whether each center is fully enrolled, and
the length of any waiting lists for enrollment. The quality of child care
programs is best evaluated through center visits by a person knowledgeable in
this field.
Other resources that might be available in the community are child care
information and referral programs and "umbrella organizations" of family day
care homes. Independent family day care homes are seldom licensed and change
"provider" status frequently, but the providers may be registered at an agency
or listed during training programs. Planners will need to seek advice from a
local child care agency on how to assess the number of family day care homes.
Many nursery school programs, Head Start programs, or Title I enrichment
programs may be located in the community, but programs such as these usually
provide short-term care that does not meet the needs of working parents.
Planners need to identify the hours and days of service provided by each
program as well as the number of child care slots available and the quality of
care.
Survey of Child Care Need in the Community
Planners should evaluate the child care needs of parents in the community
or at neighboring businesses. Both these sources would be helpful to planners
25
interested in identifying an additional source of clients for a child care
program, or determining whether a feasible solution to child care neeas might
be a consortium of businesses entering into a child care program. For data on
community residents, planners might use census tract records or school census
results. School census data, which identify the number and ages of children
in a certain school district, often are collected yearly, updating informa-
tion about children living in a community.
Personnel officers in neighboring companies may be able to estimate
employees' child care needs by supplying the number of employees with
preschool children or the number of female employees of childbearing age.
Simple questionnaires could be circulated at neighboring companies to identify
those employees' child care needs and preferences.
26
PLANNING AND COST ANALYSIS
Planners should analyze the costs and the funding resources for each
program of child care services that they are considering before deciding on a
service. A cost analysis for a simple program, such as providing or publish-
ing booklets on child care, should be relatively easy for the planners.
Analyzing costs for a child care center is a complex problem, and many
community resources will need to be tapped to develop a cost analysis that
covers the many facets of center operation.
Planners may be developing a proposal with various "levels" of child care
services to be presented to management or union officials. Perhaps they are
considering an I & R program or how to organize and structure a small,
parent-operated, cooperative center. No matter how extensive the plan, the
cost analysis should be thorough and geared to the specific program. Each
situation is different with respect to facility or grounds available, in-kind
services available, specific programming under consideration, and the ability
of parents to bear costs--and the cost analysis should reflect the differences.
To get a clearer picture of the proposed program costs for the services
provided, planners can convert program costs into a unit cost for service.
Planners can estimate a unit cost of service, such as the cost of care per
child per day or the cost of an information service per parental request. The
unit cost should equal the per unit resources from fees for services and other
financial support. The financial support category includes employer subsidies
as well as outside funding and support from fundraisers.
In preparation of the cost analysis, many factors will affect the pro-
portions of costs that can be covered by employer subsidies and by user fees.
The income of parents will influence the fees they can pay for services; the
value of the service, as perceived by the employer or labor union, will
influence the amount of funds the supporters are willing to contribute to the
service operation. If an employer views the service as a morale booster, a
recruitment tool, or a remedy for a high job turnover rate, it is more likely
to contribute a large percent of the program costs than if the program is
perceived as a mere convenience for employees.
Benefits of Outside Consultation
Throughout the process of planning and establishing child care services,
planners can benefit from the knowledge and the experience of an expert in the
field. Preparing a cost analysis requires a complete knowledge of running the
program under consideration. For example, to develop a thorough cost analysis
of a child care center requires knowing all the facets of running a center as
well as the complications of the start-up process. If planners lack knowledge
and experience in the child care field and if funding is available, hiring a
consultant should be considered to help at the cost analysis stage.
Some functions that a consultant might perform at the program planning
and cost analysis stages are:
27
1. Sharing information on various child care philosophies, and helping
planners choose a philosophy for their program.
2. Assisting in site selection and assisting the architect/designer in
planning a facility and equipment.
3. Making contact with various licensing agencies to ascertain
feasibility/acceptability of the program plan.
4. Assisting planners in choosing the components of a program under
consideration by providing information about the values/benefits of
each component and the costs involved (such as health screening and
after-school care).
5. Evaluating the quality of existing child care centers (when pur-
chasing child care slots or contracting with a child care chain).
6. Evaluating funding possibilities, outside of employer subsidies, for
programs under consideration.
7. Developing a program model and a program budget or cost analysis.
Limited "free" consultation services may be available through State day
care licensing agencies. The planners or their consultant should contact the
State day care licensing office in their geographic area as soon as child care
programs are being analyzed. The agencies often have helpful information on
establishing programs as well as the rules for licensing. Developing good
rapport with the licensing agent in the beginning may later provide the
planner access to useful information and make the process of licensing
smoother.
Whenever planners are considering outside consultation, they should
remember the cost control of the project. Planners should evaluate how much
money they can appropriate to consultation services and when the services can
best be used--in early program planning and needs assessment, program cost
analysis, setting up the program, or training program staff. When a consul-
tant is hired, the planners can exert close cost control by performing as many
activities on an in-house basis as are feasible and by contracting with the
consultant for specific activities.
Consideration of In-Kind Services Provided by the Company
As planners are considering child care services and costs of the pro-
grams, they should consider all the services available at the company or
sponsoring organization that could be used in the child care program. Some
services can be provided by the company at no additional cost to the company
or at a cost lower than that for which services can be obtained elsewhere.
In the 1978 survey of employer-sponsored child care centers, 82 percent
of the centers reported that they received in-kind services from the employer
28
(32). These included free use of facility, janitorial services, food ser-
vices, health services, secretarial services, maintenance/repair services,
laundry services, and utilities. Other services needed in planning and
operating child care programs which might be provided by the employer are
legal, accounting, public relations, and building/design services.
In development of a cost analysis, the fair market value of proposed
in-kind services should be determined as well as the cost of these services to
the employer. The full market value of the services provided by the employer
should be used to determine unit costs of service and should be included in
the financial support category. The cost to the employer should be estimated
and presented to management officials when negotiating for employer subsidies.
Program Costs for a Child Care Center
One direct solution to meeting employees' child care needs is the spon-
sorship of a child care center. A child care center is a small business in
itself, and many factors influence the cost of services and the quality of the
program. Listed in this section are several costs related to the development
and the operation of a child care center. The center plan will influence
which of these costs will be included in the cost analysis. For example, the
housing costs may be reflected in building a facility or in rent payments for
an existing facility.
Before developing a cost analysis for the center, planners or their
consultant will need a good understanding of the components of a child care
operation. The section in this booklet on "Program Components of a Child Care
Center" and the additional resources referenced in that section will help
planners understand program costs.
Costs for a child care center operation can be divided into start-up
costs and operating costs. The start-up costs are any expenses incurred in
planning and establishing the child care center. The operating costs are
costs incurred in running the child care center.
Following is a list of costs relating to the start-up of a child care
center:
Center space:
-- Capital costs for buying the land, building the facility, developing
the playground, or renovating existing space.
-- Connection fees and deposits (electricity, gas, water, sewer, tele-
phone).
-- Special tax assessments related to the building process.
29
Equipment:
-- Classroom equipment and outdoor play equipment.
-- Furniture for office and staff lounge.
-- Kitchen equipment.
-- Maintenance equipment.
Vehicles (vans or buses for transporting children).
Salaries and/or contract services before center opening:
-- Planning services (conducting needs survey, budgeting program,
licensing program, planning curriculum, ordering supplies, arranging
for insurance and vendors, setting up bookkeeping, hiring staff).
-- Staff training.
-- Public relations and recruitment of children.
-- Legal services (establishing center program as legal entity and review-
ing building and land contracts).
Costs of underutilized staff after opening.
Working capital (funds to cover costs between the opening and the receipt
of funds from fees or financial support).
Miscellaneous fees related to incorporation and establishment of the
center.
Through close cost control, planners can keep start-up costs at a minimum
without reducing the quality of the center program. One way to help minimize
costs is through careful development of the staff. Since it may be a year and
a half after opening before a center reaches full capacity, the caregiver
staff should be hired one at a time as enrollment increases (33). Enrollment
of additional children can be delayed until enough children are waiting to
warrant the hiring of an additional staff member.
Operating costs vary greatly depending upon the services provided by the
center. Program operating costs can include the following:
Staff.
-- Salaries.
Administrator.
Caregivers.
Clerical staff.
Custodian.
Cook.
Bus driver.
Substitutes.
30
-- Benefits.
0
Social Security.
Workers' compensation.
Unemployment insurance.
Holiday-vacation plan.
Health insurance.
Retirement.
-- Bonding.
Housing.
-- Rent or mortgage payments.
-- Property taxes.
-- Utilities.
-- Repairs.
-- Insurance (fire, liability, vandalism).
Major equipment.
-- Rental of office equipment or other equipment.
-- Depreciation of owned equipment.
Consumable supplies.
-- Teaching and child care supplies.
-- Food.
-- Maintenance supplies.
-- Clerical supplies.
Communication.
-- Postage.
-- Telephones.
-- Publicity.
-- Parent meetings.
-- Publishing parent newsletters or program reports.
Transportation.
-- Vehicle rental or debt payment related to vehicle purchase.
-- Liability and accident insurance.
-- Transportation for field trips.
-- Depreciation of owned vehicles.
Staff development and training.
-- In-service training.
-- Professional publications and resource books.
-- Dues for child care associations.
-- Attendance at child care conferences.
31
Social services.
-- Medical consultation or screening.
-- Psychological consultation or testing.
Other administrative services.
-- Legal.
-- Accounting or auditing.
Emergency funds (funds available that are equivalent to 2 months of oper-
ating expenses).
Resources on Cost Analysis
Abt Associates. Cost and Quality Issues for Operators. Washington, DC: Day
Care and Child Development Council of America, 1972. ($4.75 + $1.00
shipping from DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
Council for Community Services in Metropolitan Chicago. Financial Reporting
and Cost Analysis Manual for Day Care Centers, Head Start and Other
Programs. Chicago, 1973. ($7.50 from Council for Community Services in
Metropolitan Chicago, Research Department, 64 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago,
IL 60604)
Day Care and Child Development Council of America. Standards and Costs of Day
Care Programs. Washington, DC, 1971. ($.75 + $1.00 shipping from
DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
"The Money Column: Setting Parent Fees in Day Care." VOICE, August, 1975,
pp. 18-19.
Rowe, M. The Costs of Child Care: Money and Other Resources. Washington,
DC: Day Care and Child Development Council of America, 1972. ($3.00 +
$1.00 shipping from DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
Southern Regional Education Board. A Cost Analysis System for Day Care
Programs, Southeastern Day Care Bulletin No. 3. Atlanta, GA, 1971.
(Southern Regional Education Board, 130 Sixth St., N.W., Atlanta, GA
30313)
32
FUNDING SOURCES FOR CHILD CARE SERVICES
Almost any project in support of child care services will cost money to
initiate and sustain. Parent fees will contribute to program costs for child
care services, but fees may not cover the full cost of the program. Initial
start-up costs for some programs, such as child care centers, are high and
will have to be covered by employer or union support, outside funding, equity
financing, or debt financing. Financial support for a child care program may
come from the employer, the union, outside funding, or a combination of the
three.
Employer Funding
An employer may support policies or programs for working parents through
establishing a program within the company organization, establishing a program
that is independent of the sponsoring company, contracting with an outside
agency to provide services for employees, providing money to an employee union
to provide services, or making charitable contributions to programs that
provide services for parents. Employer contributions to programs may be in
the form of money or in-kind services. A major consideration of an employer
in planning involvement in child care services is the way employer contribu-
tions will be viewed by the Internal Revenue Service for tax purposes. Im-
portant tax issues in employer support of child care programs are discussed in
the section entitled "Tax Issues and Employer-Sponsored Child Care Services."
Union Funding
In recent years the Coalition of Labor Union Women and many unions have
supported union involvement in securing funds for child care services for
union members. At present, few unions have established programs. The
Baltimore Region of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union, in
its contracts with employers, negotiated for employers to donate 2 percent of
their gross payroll to a union health and welfare fund to be used for child
care services.
Because of recent union interest in child care, planners should investi-
gate the possibility of union involvement and funding. National unions may be
willing to lend financial support to a pilot or demonstration project, or
interest at the local level may develop into local support and funding.
Outside Funding
Child care programs may solicit outside funding, that is, funding beyond
parent fees and employer-related subsidies. In 1978 about one-third of 121
employer-sponsored child care centers reported that they received outside
funding (34).
33
Most government funding for child care is restricted to services for low
income persons, but programs serving middle income parents may be eligible for
government funds for food programs or job training programs. Other funding
may come from foundations or from supportive local organizations.
Child Care Food Program
The Child Care Food Program, administered by the USDA, provides reim-
bursement for nutritious meals that are served to children in child care
centers or in family day care homes. To be eligible for funding, a child care
center or an "umbrella sponsor" of family day care homes must have Federal tax
exemption or be receiving funding from Title XX of the Social Security Act.
The food reimbursement includes a base rate for all children and increased
rates for children from low income families that are eligible for free or
reduced-price meals. Reimbursement rates are revised every 6 months.
The following pamphlets, single copies free, are available on the Child
Care Food Program.
Children's Foundation. Umbrella Sponsorship for Family Day Care Homes. (The
Children's Foundation, 142 New York Ave., N.W., Suite 800, Washington,
DC 20005)
Children's Foundation. Child Care Food Program: A Fact Sheet From the
Children's Foundation. (The Children's Foundation)
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food for Kids. Washington, DC, 1977. (Child
Nutrition Division, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, Washington, DC
20250)
Title XX, AFDC, and WIN
The Federal Government provides funding for day care services for many
persons in the poor or near-poor classification. Title XX of the Social
Security Act provides funds for child care to many families at or near the
poverty level. Parents in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
program may be eligible for AFDC Work Expense Allowance to pay for child care
SO that they can find employment. Participants in the Work Incentive (WIN)
program are entitled to child care services that are necessary for the
participant to find a job.
The local welfare department or department of social services usually
determines which child care centers will serve those parents eligible through
Title XX, AFDC, or WIN. The local agency may provide child care or may con-
tract with for-profit centers, not-for-profit centers, or family day care
homes to provide services.
If a child care center will be serving many low income parents, the
planners should contact the local department of social services to investigate
34
the possibility of receiving funding for child care for parents eligible for
services through Title xx, AFDC, or WIN.
The following resource booklet on Title XX is available:
Copeland, W. C., and I. Iverson. A Roadmap Through Title XX. New York:
Child Welfare League of America. ($6.00 from CWLA, Publications Order
Department, 67 Irving Place, New York, NY 10013)
Foundation Funding
A survey of foundations revealed that 63 foundations in the United States
funded child care programs and organizations (35). According to Truda Lash of
the Foundation for Child Development, foundations often fund demonstration
projects but stay away from funding ongoing child care services. If planners
are considering a unique program to serve child care needs, they may be able
to secure funding through a philanthropic foundation (36).
An example of foundation funding for a program serving employees is Texas
Institute for Families (formerly Texas Child Care '76) which receives some
funding as well from public, private, and corporate sources. Among the
institute's programs is a project which sponsors parent education seminars
during lunch breaks at businesses in Texas. Texas Institute for Families
receives funding from the Levi Strauss and the Carnegie foundations.
Another program, funded by the Levi Strauss and Ford foundations, focuses
on school-age child care. This demonstration project will assist 8 com-
munities to develop school-age programs that mesh with available resources in
each community (37).
Other Funding
Other funding sources may be available to an employer-related child care
program. State job training programs may provide money for training child
care workers. Service groups, such as hospital auxiliaries or military wives'
clubs, may donate money to a child care program that serves the organization
with which the service group is affiliated.
Child care organizations can solicit direct contributions to the program
through fundraisers or through paid membership in the child care organiza-
tion. The Government Center Child Care Corporation, created by and serving
mainly Federal employees in Boston, sells memberships in its tax-exempt
corporation to Federal employees who, although they have no children in child
care, wish to support the child care effort.
Another avenue for gaining services for the child care program is through
agreements with nearby high schools, colleges, and specialized institutions of
higher education. If the program offers a good curriculum with an experienced
staff, students may be placed at the center and volunteer many hours of work
35
to gain experience in child care techniques. Nursing students, for example,
can make health assessments and screen children for various problems, such as
in vision or hearing.
Resources Related to Fund Raising
Coalition for Children and Youth. How to Raise Money for Kids. Washington,
DC, 1977. ($2.00 + $1.00 shipping from CCY, 815 15th St., N.W., Suite
600, Washington, DC 20015)
Drotning, P. T. Putting the Fun in Fund Raising: 500 Ways to Raise Money for
Charity. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc., 1979. ($10.95)
Levine, J. A. Hustling Resources for Day Care. Washington, DC: Day Care and
Child Development Council of America, 1974. ($2.00 from DCCDCA, 1602
17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
Women's Action Alliance. Getting Your $hare: An Introduction to Fund Raising.
New York. ($2.00 + $.75 shipping from Women's Action Alliance, Inc., 370
Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10017)
36
TAX ISSUES AND EMPLOYER-SPONSORED CHILD CARE SERVICES
In planning child care services for employees, the employer needs to
consider how money spent on the child care program will be viewed by the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax purposes. Depending on the program
design, contributions by employers for child care services could be viewed by
the IRS as increased salary to the participating employees, a noncompensatory
business expense of the employer for a general benefit for employees, an
investment, or a charitable donation.
Following is a general description of tax issues to be considered in
planning employer-related child care programs. For answers to specific ques-
tions, planners should contact their attorney or accountant or the taxpayer
personnel of their IRS district office. Planners will also have to consider
State taxes with respect to the various programs.
Dependent Care Assistance Program
Both the employer and employees are concerned with whether employer
contributions for employee child care services will be treated by the IRS as
employee compensation. If child care services are treated as income, the
employer must withhold employment and income tax from that income related to
child care, and the gross income reported on a participating employee's W-2
form would be higher than that reported for a nonparticipating employee who
earns the same base compensation (38).
Compensation for income tax purposes includes not only cash but the fair
market value of property or services received for work (39). Certain fringe
benefits have been excluded by law from the employee's gross income. The
Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 excluded certain child care benefits from
the employee's gross income for Federal income tax purposes. Amounts paio or
incurred by the employer for dependent care assistance are excluded from the
employee's gross income if the program qualifies as described in Section 129
of the Internal Revenue Code.
The child care services allowed under a dependent care assistance program
could include care for a child at the parent's home, at another person's home,
or at a child care center. An employer could provide services at an
employer-operated child care center, a community child care center, or a
family day care home, or the employer could provide funds to cover any eli-
gible services that the parent might choose. Employer programs which do not
involve actual care for the child, such as parent seminars or information and
referral services, would not qualify as dependent care assistance programs.
A dependent care assistance program is a separate written plan of an
employer for the exclusive benefit of employees and must meet the following
requirements:
37
Eligible Participants
1.
The program cannot discriminate in favor of employees who are officers,
owners, or highly compensated, or their dependents. Employees may be
excluded from the program if the employees are in a unit covered by a
collective bargaining agreement and if the exclusion is a result of good
faith bargaining between employer and employee representatives.
2.
Principal shareholders or owners (or their spouses or dependents) who own
more than 5 percent of the stock or capital or profit interest of the
company may not receive more than 25 percent of the amount paid by the
employer for dependent care assistance during any 1-year period.
Eligible Child Care Services
1.
Dependent care assistance includes the payment or provision of services
for the care of an employee's dependent who is under 15 years old or for
an employee's dependent or spouse who is physically or mentally incapable
of caring for herself or himself.
2.
The amount of the assistance cannot exceed the income of an employee who
is not married. For married employees, the assistance cannot exceed the
lesser of the income of the employee or the income of the spouse. The
earned income of a spouse who is a student for at least 5 months of the
year or who is incapable of caring for herself or himself is deemed to be
$200/month.
3.
The payments for dependent care assistance cannot be made to a person who
is a dependent of the employee or the employee's spouse or to one of the
employee's children under 19 years of age.
4.
Payments made by the employer for dependent care assistance cannot be
reported on the employee's tax form as expenses for calculating the child
care tax credit.
Reporting Requirements
1.
Eligible employees must be notified about the availability and terms of
the dependent care assistance program.
2.
On or before January 31, the employer must provide a written statement
showing the amount paid or incurred by the employer for dependent care
assistance for the employee during the previous calendar year.
The IRS will issue regulations on the dependent care assistance programs
during summer, 1982. The regulations may further define or limit allowable
programs.
38
Salary Reduction Agreements
If the IRS regulations for dependent care assistance programs allow for
salary reduction agreements, the employer and employee may agree to reduce the
employee's income by a certain amount which will be placed in dependent care
assistance for the employee. Through such an agreement, the employee can
avoid paying Federal income taxes on the amount used for dependent care
assistance, and the cost to the employer for dependent care assistance is
nothing.
One concern with the salary reduction approach is that for the same
amount of funds placed into salary reduction, the employee with a high income
has a greater tax savings than an employee with a low income. For example, a
family of four with $20,000 in gross income would pay $120 more in taxes if
they chose to make a $2,000 salary reduction agreement for dependent care
assistance rather than to report $2,000 in expenses for the child care tax
credit. A family of four with $40,000 in gross income would pay $308 less in
taxes if they chose to make a $2,000 salary reduction agreement for dependent
care assistance rather than to report $2,000 in expenses for the child care
tax credit (40). In order for salary reduction agreements to be included in a
dependent care assistance program, the program would have to be structured in
a way that did not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees.
Employer's Yearly Expenses
Amounts paid by the employer that produce a benefit that lasts for no
more than 1 year are deductible to the employer if they qualify as ordinary
and necessary business expenses (41). Expenditures for child care services
provided by the employer for the welfare and morale of employees are business
expenses because these services help attract and retain employees and increase
productivity. An employer's payments to a community child care center to
provide child care for preschool children of its employees was viewed by IRS
as a business expense under Section 162 of the code (42). Payments for
operating costs at a child care center, payments for reserving slots in a
child care center, payments for child care at a community home or center,
costs incurred in providing information and referral services, and costs in
presenting parent seminars are examples of employer expenditures that might be
deductible as business expenses.
Employer's Capital Expenses
Capital expenses are costs incurred for assets that have a useful life of
more than 1 year such as land, buildings, and equipment. Employers can
depreciate child care center property such as building, equipment, and major
remodeling of a building under the Accelerated Cost Recovery System if the
assets were placed into service after December 31, 1980 (43). Property placed
into service before 1981 must be depreciated under other methods. Also, a tax
investment credit of 10 percent of the investment is allowed in the year the
property is placed into service for eligible investments (44).
39
Start-Up Expenses for New Businesses
Start-up and investigatory expenses that an employer incurs before
opening a business may be amortized over a period of 60 months or more (45).
Eligible expenses include planning and investigatory costs with a useful life
less than 1 year, not capital costs. If an employer is starting child care
services for employees at the same time she or he is opening a business, those
child care planning expenses would be eligible. Start-up expenses would not
be eligible if an existing business were merely expanding business or starting
a new child care program.
Tax-Exempt Program
An employer may choose to provide child care services for employees by
using a charitable, tax-exempt program existing in the community or by
establishing a not-for-profit corporation that is exempt from Federal taxes.
Charitable Donations to Community Programs
An employer may donate money to a charitable, tax-exempt program and
deduct the contribution as a charitable donation. The total deduction that
IRS allows a corporation for charitable contributions during a year is 10
percent of the corporation's taxable income (46). However, if the employer
receives child care services for employees in return for the donation, then
the deduction will be disallowed on the theory that the employer is purchasing
a service rather than making a contribution (47).
Establishing Tax-Exempt Programs
An employer-related child care program could be established as a
not-for-profit corporation if State laws SO permit. Not-for-profit corpora-
tions are restricted in their use of income from a program and on disposition
of the assets if a program ceases operation. Generally, the income or assets
may not benefit a private individual. The assets of a not-for-profit program,
such as furniture, could not be reacquired by the sponsoring company as in the
case where the program remained a part of the sponsoring organization. The
not-for-profit corporation would be a separate legal entity, and the employer
could pay the corporation for services for employees and deduct the cost as a
business expense in the same manner discussed above. The employer could not
deduct donations to the not-for-profit program from Federal taxes as chari-
table contributions unless the program had secured tax-exempt status under
Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code (48).
A not-for-profit corporation can file with the IRS for exemption from
Federal taxes. Employer-related child care programs have secured tax-exempt
status under sections 501 (c) (3), 501(c)(4), and (c) (9) of the Internal
Revenue Code. Section 501 (c) (3) covers charitable and educational organiza-
tions that serve "a public rather than a private interest" (49). Section
40
501(c) (4) covers local associations of employees whose net earnings are
devoted to charitable or educational purposes. Section 501 (c) (9) covers
voluntary employees' beneficiary associations such as employee-financed health
and welfare funds. Each type of tax-exempt organization benefits by being
exempt from Federal income and employment taxes and by being eligible for the
Child Care Food Program. Only programs under Section (c) (3) can accept
contributions that can be deducted on the donor's income tax return as a
charitable contribution (50).
Child care programs eligible for tax-exempt status as charitable organi-
zations under Section 501 (c) (3) must serve a public interest and only inciden-
tally benefit private individuals. A program that restricted enrollment to
employees would be viewed by the IRS as serving the employer's benefit and
would not be an eligible organization (51). An organization that gave
priority to union members and charged lower fees for union members than for
the general public was viewed as showing preferential treatment to an interest
group, and the organization was ineligible for (c) (3) status (52). On the
other hand, an employer-sponsored child care program that did not limit
enrollment to employees' children and chose children for enrollment according
to objective criteria such as financial need and the child's need for the
program did qualify as a Section 501 (c) (3) organization (53). In a case where
two or more employers formed a program for a business community, an open
enrollment procedure might meet the requirements for 501 (c) (3) status as well
as provide the needed child care services to the employees in the companies.
A child care organization may also qualify for tax-exempt status under
Section 501 (c) (3) as an educational program. An educational day care program
for children aged 6 months to 3 years and a child care organization with a
center for children 15 to 72 months and with an infant home program for
children 1 to 15 months were both held to be educational organizations (54).
The courts stressed the nature and quality of the curricula, the professional
expertise of the staff, and the opinions of experts in early childhood educa-
tion to demonstrate the educational orientation of the program and substan-
tiate the incidental nature of custodial care in the programs.
Another consideration in seeking tax-exempt status is the policy of the
organization relating to racial nondiscrimination. For a school to qualify as
an organization exempt from Federal income tax, the school must have a
racially nondiscriminatory policy and must abide by certain requirements
relating to admissions procedures and the public statement of that policy (55).
Services Provided Through Employer's Private Foundation
Every organization that qualifies for tax exemption under 501 (c) (3) of
the code is a private foundation unless it falls into one of the categories
specifically excluded from the definition of that term (under 509[a][1], [2],
[3], and [4] of the code). Educational organizations fall into one of the
excluded categories (56). There are several restrictions and requirements
imposed on private foundations. Of particular interest to employer-related
child care organizations are prohibitions on self-dealing between the private
41
foundation and its substantial contributors (57). The prohibition on self-
dealing may preclude furnishing services to employees of a major contributor
in a manner more favorable than to the general public.
Nevertheless, employer-funded private foundations have provided funds to
help establish child care services for employees along with others in the
community. For example, for several years Stride-Rite Foundation has provided
support for an on-site child care center that serves employees' children and
community children equally. The Corning Foundation established a child care
center that enrolled children in a community where Corning is a major employer.
Forming a Separate "For-Profit" Corporation
A separate subsidiary or sister corporation could be established to
provide child care services for employees of the parent corporation, or a
group of employers could form a separate for-profit corporation. "For-profit"
is often associated with child care programs realizing a profit; in this
situation "for-profit" refers to legal structure, and the program may operate
at a loss.
The parent corporation's investment in the subsidiary or affiliate, in
the form of either a loan or a stock purchase, would be treated as any other
capital investment, and no tax deduction would be allowed to the parent unless
the parent and subsidiary corporation filed a consolidated tax return or the
program ceased operation. If the subsidiary corporation were at least 80 per-
cent owned by the parent corporation, the subsidiary corporation would be part
of the consolidated group filing a consolidated return. If a consolidated tax
return is filed, the tax consequences for the parent corporation would be the
same as if the program were part of the parent corporation. Through estab-
lishing a subsidiary corporation, the parent corporation may avoid tort
liability to third parties. Intermedics in Texas established its large child
care center as a wholly owned subsidiary.
If two or more employers were contributing equally to a for-profit cor-
poration, the employers would not be able to deduct losses from operating the
child care services against profits as if the program were a part of each
employer's operation.
Forming a Partnership
Employers could form a partnership to provide child care services for
employees. In a partnership, each partner pays her or his share of the income
taxes for the business partnership (58). The business income as well as the
tax consequences, such as business deductions and amortization, are passed
along to the partners in proportionate shares.
42
Targeted Jobs Credit
An employer may take a targeted jobs tax credit for certain wages
incurred by or paid to members of targeted groups who are hired before 1983
(59). An employee hired to work under a child care program may qualify as
eligible.
Members of targeted groups are persons who are: vocational rehabilita-
tion referrals, economically disadvantaged youths, economically disadvantaged
Vietnam-era veterans, Supplemental Security Income recipients, general assis-
tance recipients, economically disadvantaged youth participating in a coopera-
tive education program, economically disadvantaged ex-convicts, involuntarily
terminated Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) employees, and
eligible Work Incentive (WIN) program employees. The person must be certified
as a member of a targeted group by the designated local agency (the State
Employment Security Agency) before she or he begins employment in order for
the employer to claim the tax credit.
The amount of targeted jobs credit allowable for a tax year is 50 percent
of the qualified first-year wages of the employee for that year, plus 25 per-
cent of the qualified second-year wages for that year. Qualified first-year
and second-year wages are each limited to $6,000.
Resources on Tax Issues
A most useful guide on tax issues for attorneys and accountants is Tax
Incentives for Employer-Sponsored Day Care Programs, Commerce Clearing House,
Inc. ($2.00 + $.84 shipping from CCH, 4025 W. Peterson Ave., Chicago, IL
60646)
The Bay Area Child Care Law Project has issued several short publications
with regard to child care as an employee benefit. (9 First St., Suite 219,
San Francisco, CA 94105)
Summary of Federal and California Tax Provisions Relating To Child Care
For and After 1982 ($2.00, includes a model plan for Dependent Care
Assistance)
Legal Aspects of Child Care as an Employee Benefit ($1.00)
The following free pamphlets are available at your local IRS office.
Child and Disabled Dependent Care, Publication 503.
Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization, Publication 557.
Targeted Jobs, WIN, and Research Credits, Publication 906.
43
Tax Information for Private Foundations and Foundation Managers,
Publication 578.
Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organizations, Publication 598.
44
PROGRAM COMPONENTS OF A CHILD CARE CENTER
Employer-sponsored child care centers have ranged in size to serve from
12 to 250 children (60). No matter what size the center will be, planners
should maximize the quality of the facility and the programming while they
minimize costs through close cost control. One way to help maximize the
quality of a program is to be informed about the alternatives in child care
programming and developments in playground design, facility design, and class-
room equipment. Each of the following program component descriptions includes
resources to guide planners in program development.
Administration
The administrative duties in running any child care center are generally
the same, but assignment of the responsibilities varies with the organization
of each center. Administrative responsibilities for a child care center in-
clude:
1.
Determining program philosophy,
2.
Planning curriculum and activities,
3.
Setting policies (operating, admission, and personnel),
4.
Managing finances,
5. Keeping records on finances, children, and management decisions,
6.
Mobilizing resources (funding resources and volunteer services),
7.
Supervising operations,
8. Developing staff (recruiting, hiring, and training),
9.
Promoting parent involvement,
10. Handling employer-center relations, community relations, and
publicity,
11.
Evaluating the child care program (61).
The assignment of administrative responsibilities is determined by the
structure of the child care program and the delegation of authority by the
decision makers within the program structure. Most employer-related centers
have been structured as part of or a department of the sponsoring employer/
union or as a separate corporation that is either for-profit or not-for-profit.
Center as Part of Sponsoring Employer/Union
When a child care center remains part of the sponsoring employer or
union, the administration of the center is usually in the hands of management
officials or union officers. Many of the administrative duties may be dele-
gated to the program director.
Although a center could be directed by a center board or parent body,
most child care centers that are part of the sponsoring organization reported
that a department in the organization was responsible for center administra-
tion (62). In some cases a parent advisory board was established to advise
the decision makers on child care policy.
45
Parent involvement in the administration of a child care operation can
lead to a higher level of parent satisfaction with the child care program and
to continued program improvement. Parents involved in the direction of a
child care program feel they have control over their children's care. In-
volved parents will work to improve programming, rather than resorting to
unspoken discontent and withdrawing children from the program.
Center as a Separate Corporation
A child care center can be established as a separate legal entity through
incorporation according to State laws. Individual persons and the sponsoring
organization can avoid liability with respect to the center operation when the
center is established as a corporation. Also, centers must be incorporated to
be eligible for some types of funding and for tax-exempt status. The process
of incorporation requires that an attorney file articles of incorporation with
the State government and that the corporation's board of directors establish
by-laws for the organization. A ruling by the IRS is necessary for a corpora-
tion to be exempt from Federal income taxes and for gifts to the center to be
deductible from the donor's taxes.
Administration of corporations is conducted by a board of directors. The
board can be made up totally of management representatives/union officials,
totally of parents, or a mixture of management officials, union officials,
parents, and community representatives. If the child care center is a
not-for-profit center seeking tax-exempt status, board composition may be
diversified to help establish the center as a program serving "public inter-
ests."
Boards of directors for child care centers usually range from 10 to 20
members and establish standing committees to be responsible for the various
administrative duties (63). Some basic standing committees for child care
centers are:
1. Executive Committee--acts for board in emergencies and runs operation
when the board cannot meet.
2. Personnel Committee--supervises staff development, plans personnel
policies, suggests salary ranges and career ladders, negotiates with
child care labor representatives, and acts as a grievance committee.
3. Building and Grounds Committee--responsible for maintenance and
repair of grounds, building, and major equipment; plans for acquisi-
tion of new property/equipment and new construction/renovation; plans
for adequate insurance coverage for property and transportation
vehicles.
4. Program Committee--plans children's program, parent involvement, and
supportive services of the child care program.
46
5. Finance Committee--plans budget, analyzes program costs, and seeks
funding resources.
6. Nominating Committee--nominates persons for board membership.
Advisory panels also can be established to provide to the board informa-
tion from groups that are not fully represented on the board. Parent groups
can add information from the use viewpoint, technical groups can lend needed
skills to the board, and center staff groups can provide useful suggestions
about programming and personnel policy.
Resources on Administration
Boguslawski, D. B. Guide for Establishing and Operating Day Care Centers for
Young Children. New York: Child Welfare League, 1966. ($3.95 from
CWLA, Publications Order Dept., 67 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003)
Carmichael, V. S., M. W. Clark, and B. Leonhard. Administration of Schools
for Young Children. Los Angeles: Southern California Association for
the Education of Young Children, 1972. (Order from SAEYC, P.O. Box 691,
Sierra Madre, CA 91024)
Child Welfare League of America. Guide for Board Organization in Social
Agencies. New York, 1974. ($3.50 from CWLA, Publications Order Dept.,
67 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003)
Day Care and Child Development Council of America. How to Start a Day Care
Center. Washington, DC, 1981. ($5.95 from DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W.,
Washington, DC 20009)
Decker, C. A., and J. R. Decker. Planning and Administering Early Childhood
Programs. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1976.
($12.50)
Evans, E. B., B. Shub, and M. Weinstein. Day Care: How To Plan, Develop, and
Operate a Day Care Center. Boston: Beacon Press, 1971.
Hewes, D., and B. Hartman. Early Childhood Education: A Workbook for
Administrators. San Francisco: R & E Research Associates, 1974.
($4.00 + $.40 postage from R & E Associates, 4843 Mission St., San
Francisco, CA 94112)
Host, M. S., and P. B. Heller. Day Care--7: Administration. Washington,
DC: Office of Child Development, U.S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, 1971. Publication No. (OCD) 73-20. (One copy free from
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Human Development
Services, Washington, DC 20202)
47
Ruopp, R., B. O'Farrell, D. Warner, M. Rowe, and R. Freedman. A Day Care
Guide for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents. Cambridge, MA: The MIT
Press, 1973.
Sciarra, D. J., and A. G. Dorsey. Developing and Administering a Child Care
Center. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1979. ($13.95)
Stevens, J. H., and E. W. King. Administering Early Childhood Education
Programs. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1976. ($7.95)
Philosophy
Before discussions on program design begin, the decision makers/
administrators should develop a clear philosophy for the child care programs
that will lead to program goals and objectives. Decisions about curriculum,
equipment, and facilities all will be influenced by the program philosophy.
The major purpose of an employer-supported child care program may be to
provide a service to parents. The program philosophy should include a state-
ment of the manner and the extent to which the child care program should serve
parents.
The philosophy of a child care center also should include the child
development principles that the decision makers view as most important and the
main purposes for the child development program. In choosing the philosophy,
the decision makers will need to learn about the various issues in child
development as well as the prevailing values of the parents who will be using
the center services.
Child development principles of learning can be divided into three
groups: environmental, maturational, and interactional (64). The environ-
mental position (Skinner, Thorndike) holds that learning occurs as a result of
the extrinsic consequences of the behavior. The maturational position
(Gesell) supports an internal timetable that allows for a child's learning.
The interactional position (Piaget) argues that learning takes place through
an interaction between internal schemata and the environment. The choice of
the learning theory will determine whether the emphasis of the curriculum will
be on teacher-direction or on child-control.
The prevailing values of parents and decision makers will influence the
purpose of the child care program. Do planners view the child care program as
preparation class for school skills and problem-solving skills? Do planners
feel that the cognitive domain or the social-emotional domain is more
important for child care programming? The program philosophy should include
the purpose of the programming for the child and the skill areas viewed as
most important.
By carefully designing a program philosophy, planners lay the base for
establishing a child care program. If planners adhere to the basic philosophy
to build the program, the program components work together toward a unified
purpose.
48
For a resource in designing the philosophy, planners could ask someone
knowledgeable in child development to explain the child development issues.
Child care issues and programs are discussed in the following publications:
Evans, E. D. Contemporary Influences in Early Childhood Education, 2nd
Edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975.
McFadden, D. N. (ed.) Early Childhood Development Programs and Services:
Planning for Action. Washington, DC: National Association for the
Education of Young Children. ($2.50 + 10 percent shipping from
Publications Sales Dept., NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington,
DC 20009)
Parker, R. K. The Preschool in Action: Exploring Early Childhood Programs.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1972.
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Day Care 1: A Statement
of Principles. Publication No. (OHDS) 78-31055. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1978. (Single copies free from U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC 20201)
Licensing
A major influence and limiting factor in designing a child care center
are the State day care licensing regulations. States require a license to
operate a child care facility. State licensing regulations are designed to
insure a minimum standard of child care and may include regulations on almost
every component of the program. Regulations usually set minimum standards for
physical space and equipment, child:teacher ratios, educational background of
caregivers and administrators, health examinations for staff and children,
food services, children's activities, admission policies, recordkeeping, and
transportation services. At an early stage in center planning, planners
should contact State day care licensing agencies in their area for a copy of
the licensing requirements.
Curriculum
The curriculum for a child care center includes the daily program activi-
ties that the children experience. The curriculum components are the learning
activities or opportunities indoors and outdoors, the food services, the rest
or nap procedures, the caregiving style of the staff, the health and safety
policies and procedures, the group sizes, the ages of children in each group,
the ratio of adults to children, and the scheduling of the various activities.
Many factors influence curriculum decisions. The program philosophy will
determine the style and subject matter of learning activities and will in-
fluence decisions about most curriculum components.
49
Licensing regulations will strictly limit the choices relating to food
services, nap procedures, grouping of children, adult:child ratios, and health
and safety procedures. The physical space assigned to the child care center
and the employer's in-kind services also will influence decisions on some
curriculum components. The curriculum decisions left to the administrators
can be made best by considering the values of the community being served, the
values of the employer or union supporting the child care effort, and the
available body of knowledge about child care and child development.
A recent investigation of child care centers in the United States, the
National Day Care Study (65), developed data about how the size of the group
and teacher child ratios affected the quality of child care. These data may
influence curriculum plans at a center. For example, smaller groups of chil-
dren were associated with better quality care, whereas the teacher:child
ratios were not important factors when ratios of from 1:5 to 1:10 for 3-to-
5-year-olds were considered. Children in smaller groups, contrasted to larger
groups, made higher gains on developmental tests, showed more verbal initia-
tive and innovative behavior, and showed less hostility and aimless wander-
ing. Lead teachers of smaller groups showed more social interaction and less
passive watching than teachers of larger groups. The optimum recommended
group size of 3-to-5-year-olds was 14 (attendance-based). The suggested group
size limit for toddlers was 8 to 12 and for infants, 12. The effects of group
size on the child care program are important factors to consider in grouping
children in a child care center.
Curriculum resources include:
American Academy of Pediatrics. Recommendations for Day Care Centers for
Infants and Children. Evanston, IL, 1973. ($3.00 from American Academy
of Pediatrics, P.O. Box 1034, Evanston, IL 60204)
Anselmo, S., and J. D. Petersen. A Manual for Caregivers of Infants and
Toddlers. San Francisco: R & E Associates, Inc., 1978. ($6.00 from
R & E Associates, Inc., 4843 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94112)
Association for Childhood Education International. Bibliography of Books for
Children. Washington, DC, 1977. ($3.75 from ACEI, 3615 Wisconsin Ave.,
N.W., Washington, DC 20016)
Association for Childhood Education International. The Child and
Science--Wondering, Exploring, Growing. Washington, DC, 1977. ($2.75
from ACEI, 3615 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20016)
Blau, R., E. H. Brady et al. Activities for School-Age Child Care.
Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young
Children, 1977. ($3.50 + 10 percent shipping from Publications Sales
Dept., NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
50
Cohen, D. H., and A. S. Brandegee. Day Care--3: Serving Preschool Children.
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Publication No. (OHD)
74-1057. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974.
(Single copies free from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Washington, DC 20201)
Cohen, D. H., R. K. Parker et al. (Eds.) Day Care--4: Serving School Age
Children. U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare Publication No.
(OCD) 72-34. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.
(Single copies free from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Washington, DC 20201)
Croft, D. J. A Resource Book for Home, School, and Community Relations.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1979.
Croft, D., and R. Hess. An Activities Handbook for Teachers of Young
Children, 2nd Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.
Day Care and Child Development Council of America. Program Planning Aids for
Day Care Centers. Washington, DC, 1972. ($3.50 + $1.00 shipping from
DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
DeLorey, J. L., and M. E. Cahn. A Practical Guide for Day Care Personnel: Let
the Sun Shine In, 1977. (Available in ERIC, Ed 142 315)
Diffendal, E. Day Care for School-Age Children. Washington, DC: Day Care
and Child Development Council of America, 1972. ($3.50 + $1.00 shipping
from DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
Fowler, W. Infant and Child Care: A Guide to Education in Group Settings,
and Curriculum and Assessment Guides for Infant and Child Care. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1980.
Herbert-Jackson, E., M. O'Brien, J. Porterfield, and T. R. Risley. The Infant
Center: A Complete Guide to Organizing. Baltimore: University Park
Press, 1977. ($15.75)
Hill, D. M. Mud, Sand, and Water. Washington, DC: National Association for
the Education of Young Children, 1977. ($2.00 + 10 percent shipping from
Publications Sales Dept., NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington,
DC 20009)
Hohmann, M., B. Banet, and D. P. Weikart. Young Children in Action, A Manual
for Preschool Educators. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press, 1979.
(Available from High/Scope Press, 600 N. River St., Ypsilanti, MI 48197)
Holt, B. Science With Young Children. Washington, DC: National Association
for the Education of Young Children. ($3.25 + 10 percent shipping from
Publications Sales Dept., NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington,
DC 20009)
51
Leeper, S., R. J. Dales, D. S. Skipper, and R. L. Witherspoon. Good Schools
for Young Children, 3rd Edition. New York: Macmillan, 1974.
Lundberg, C. M., and B. Miller. Parent Involvement Staff Handbook: A Manual
for Child Development Programs. Washington, DC: Day Care and Child
Development Council of America, 1972. ($3.25 + $1.00 shipping from
DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
Marbach, E. S., M. Plass, and L. O'Connell. Nutrition in a Changing World,
the Preschool Guide. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1978.
($8.95)
McDonald, D. T. Music in Our Lives: The Early Years. Washington, DC:
National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1979. ($2.50 +
10 percent shipping from Publications Sales Dept., NAEYC, 1834
Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
McSpadden, L. A. Developmental Curriculum. Washington, DC: Day Care and
Child Development Council of America. ($3.75 + $1.00 shipping from
DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
North, A. F. Day Care--6, Health Services: A Guide for Project Directors and
Health Personnel. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,
Publication No. (OCD) 73-12. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1971. (Single copies free from U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Washington, DC 20201)
O'Brien, M., J. Porterfield et al. The Toddler Center: A Practical Guide to
Day Care for One and Two-Year-Olds. Baltimore: University Park Press,
1979.
Pipes, P. L. Nutrition in Infancy and Childhood. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby
Company, 1977. ($7.95)
Sprung, Barbara. Non-Sexist Education for Young Children: A Practical
Guide. New York: Citation Press, 1975. ($3.25)
Stone, J. G. A Guide to Discipline. Washington, DC: National Association for
the Education of Young Children, 1978. ($1.50 + 10 percent shipping from
Publications Sales Dept., NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington,
DC 20009)
Tronick E., and P. M. Greenfield. Infant Curriculum: The Bromley-Heath Guide
to the Care of Infants in Groups. New York: Media Projects, Inc., 1973.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food Buying Guide for Child Care Centers
(FNS, 108). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. A Planning Guide for Food Services in Child
Care Centers. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.
($.75, order #0124-00205 from Superintendent of Public Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402)
52
Willis, A., and H. Ricciuti. A Good Beginning for Babies: Guidelines for
Group Care. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of
Young Children, 1975. ($4.50 + 10 percent shipping from Publications
Sales Dept., NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
Staff
Staff-related activities include setting salaries and staff policies,
selecting staff to meet program needs, training staff to carry out the
curriculum plan, establishing career ladders or opportunities for staff, and
evaluating and updating staff responsibilities and personnel policies to best
serve the program. Performing each of these activities requires careful
consideration of the fact that child care is traditionally a low-paying
vocation. Administrators can design personnel strategies to attract the most
talented caregivers in the community and can use opportunities within the
sponsoring business organization and elsewhere in the community to develop the
best career development program for the staff.
Planners should first approach the salary issue by conducting a salary
survey of centers in the area. With knowledge about child care salaries,
planners can then decide whether they wish to pay comparable salaries or try
to attract high-quality personnel by paying higher than average salaries.
In selecting staff members, the administrators should consider a care-
giver's prior experience and training in child development. In the National
Day Care Study, caregivers with child-specific education and training provided
higher quality care. An extensive in-service education program should be
established when available caregivers lack child care education and training.
Part-time caregiving slots may draw experienced caregivers to a child
care center. Many talented parents with working spouses prefer to work part
time SO they can continue to devote a large amount of time to their own
families. Part-time slots may draw more experienced caregivers than full-time
slots and, at the same time, provide desired employment for parents in the
community.
Career ladders or opportunities also may help attract personnel as well
as allow for an employee's growth on the job and heightened career satisfac-
tion. In an independent child care center, only pay increases and limited
promotions, such as from aide to lead teacher, are available. When a child
care center is associated with a large employer, the career ladder could allow
for growth into positions in the sponsoring organization. Another way to
promote career development is through supporting coursework toward a child
care certificate or degree at a local college.
Ongoing evaluation of staff policies is an important part of staff
development. Changes in salary schedules, recruiting policies, and employee
benefits may be needed to attract and sustain a caregiving staff that meets
program goals.
53
Resources on personnel management and staff training include:
Honig, A. A. "What You Need To Know To Select and Train Your Day Care
Staff." Child Care Quarterly, Vol. 8 (1) (1979), pp. 19-35.
Honig, A. S., and J. R. Lally. Infant Caregiving: A Design for Training.
New
York: Open Family Press, 1972.
Marchand, A. A Beginner's Bibliography. Washington, DC: National
Association for the Education of Young Children, 1978. ($.50 + 10
percent postage from Publications Sales Dept., NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut
Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
National Association for the Education of Young Children. A Festival of
Films. Washington, DC, 1978. ($1.75 + 10 percent shipping from
Publications Sales Dept., NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington,
DC 20009)
Prondzinski, J., and S. Roth. It's a Small, Small World but Larger Than You
Think. Washington, DC: Day Care and Child Development Council of
America, 1974. (A workshop on music for staff training; $3.50 + $1.00
postage from DCCDCA, 1602 17th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009)
Southern Regional Education Board. Day Care Personnel Management. Atlanta,
GA, 1979. (Order from Southern Regional Education Board, 130 Sixth St.,
N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313)
Facilities and Equipment*
Many issues about planning, architectural design, and furniture and
equipment selection must be considered in setting up a quality child care
facility. Project planning issues include: Is the center conveniently lo-
cated? How much space should be provided indoors and outdoors? Architectural
design issues include: Does the organization of the space allow children of
different ages to learn from each other, yet prevent dangerous conflicts
between the older children and the infants and toddlers? Are there quiet
places where one or two children and a caregiver can get away to read, as well
as spaces where children can get messy and where they can paint and play with
water and sand? Are the circulation paths clear SO that children can move
easily from activity to activity without being disruptive? Issues about
furniture and equipment revolve around safety, appropriateness to planned
activities, and what sorts of play equipment are most helpful to development
and learning.
*This section was written by Gary T. Moore, Director of the
Environment-Behavior Research Institute and Co-Director of the Children's
Environments Project at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The
contributions of Uriel Cohen, Tim McGinty, and other members of the project
are gratefully acknowledged.
54
The Process of Establishing a Child Care Facility
The planning and design of the facility to house a child care program
must be based on its philosophy, educational goals, and curriculum. The
design of the facility, whether renovation of existing space or construction
of new facilities, must grow out of these program goals and support the
curriculum. The process of establishing the child care facility entails 7
steps:
1. Articulation of the Educational Program. The educational program
must be clearly articulated before project planning, programming, and
design can begin. At a minimum, the educational program should in-
clude: (1) the number of children of different ages and the number
of professional and nonprofessional staff to be served; (2) the pro-
gram philosophy; (3) educational/developmental goals to be stressed;
and (4) at least the outlines of the curriculum of activities for
different age groups.
2. User Review Committee and Facility Planning Team. Two groups should
be established to represent the users of the facility in the plan-
ning, programming, and design process. (1) An 8- to 12-person User
Review Committee should be selected to represent employee-parents
with children of different ages and from different socioeconomic and
cultural backgrounds. The function of this committee is to make
suggestions about the facility program and to review the program and
design proposals at critical stages. (2) A smaller, working Facility
Planning Team also should be established to implement the project
planning and programming functions and to work with the architects on
the design of the facility. This team should be comprised of the
child care director, one or more professional caregivers, management/
union representatives, any employees with special expertise in
facility planning or child care, and one or more employee-parent
representatives selected by the User Review Committee. It is ad-
visable to retain a professional facility planning and programming
consultant to work with this team. Establishing these two groups and
providing them with professional advice will help to ensure that the
program and design are responsive to the needs and preferences of the
children, staff, parents, and management.
3. Project Planning. The Facility Planning Team should make early
project planning recommendations to management or union officials in
order to get the project rolling. Critical issues to be addressed
are: (1) What type of facility should be provided--new construction,
an addition, major renovation, or minor repairs and staff-initiated
changes; (2) overall facility and site size needed; (3) site selec-
tion; (4) budget; and (5) time table. These recommendations should
be based on planning analyses developed by the Facility Planning
Team. Published criteria are available to assist in this process
(66).
55
4.
Architectural Program Development. The Facility Planning Team
together with the architectural programming consultant should then
develop the architectural program for the facility. The program sets
the criteria and constraints that the architects must meet in design-
ing the facility. At a minimum, the architectural program should
include: (1) site selection and site analysis; (2) space require-
ments indoors and outdoors for each activity and for support ser-
vices; (3) qualitative design criteria for each space to ensure that
it meets program and curriculum goals; (4) general design criteria
for the organization and image of the building and the site as a
whole. Finally, State and local building code agencies, State
licensing boards, Federal day care requirements, National Fire
Protection Association rules, and other agencies having jurisdiction
should be consulted and their requirements included in the architec-
tural program. Published design guidelines should also be consulted,
and criteria derived from them incorporated in the program documents
(67). Rough estimates should be made of site development, building,
and furniture costs, and should be compared with the available bud-
get. The program should be modified as necessary or ways found to
increase the budget through outside funding. The program should be a
written document which has the approval of center initiators and of
the User Review Committee, and which then serves as the criteria
document against which designs will be measured.
5. Selection of Architectural or Other Qualified Design Services.
Management should next retain an architect or other qualified design
professional with significant experience in children's environments.
In many States, the law requires that a registered architect be con-
sulted about renovations, additions, or new construction of a build-
ing totaling more than 50,000 cubic feet (or approximately 5,000
square feet; check local regulations). A typical child care center
serving 60 or more children may exceed 50,000 cubic feet, and there-
fore necessitate an architect's involvement. But even for smaller
centers, the services of a qualified architect with a portfolio of
work on children's architecture will help ensure a facility that is
appropriate for the children and staff, and a visual credit to the
employer.
6. Design and Contract Documents. Schematic design and design develop-
ment are followed by the preparation of working drawings and contract
documents, and by bids and the letting of contracts for construc-
tion. All of these functions will be handled by the architect as a
part of standard professional services. It should be specified in
the agreement with the architect that the Facility Planning Team and
the User Review Committee are to be consulted and involved in the
programming and design process, will provide reviews and feedback on
a regular basis, and will be consulted before center initiators
authorize any stage in the process.
56
7.
Construction and Supervision. Typically the supervision of construc-
tion is done by the architect, but depending on the type of employer
involved, construction supervision and management may be done
in-house.
Project Planning Issues
There are many facility planning issues which center initiators will wish
to consider early in the process of establishing a child care facility. Three
of the most important are the type of facility to develop, its size, and its
location.
Facility Options
With regard to construction, there are 3 options: staff-initiated changes
and repairs to existing spaces; major renovations or additions, including the
adaptive use of space not previously used for child care; and construction of
a new facility.
Staff-initiated changes and building repairs are the least expensive
alternative, providing the general location and layout of existing space are
satisfactory for a developmentally oriented child care program. A creative
child care director, working with the company shop or carpenter and perhaps
advised by a consulting designer, can make remarkable changes in a building.
Staff can purchase appropriate furniture, including 4-foot-high movable parti-
tions or storage units which can double as partial dividers, and distinguish
circulation space from activity pockets by the use of storage shelving,
arrangements of furniture, and carpeting. Carpenters working alone or super-
vising a self-help group of parents can make remarkable changes to spaces by
the use of tri-wall construction and reuse of spools, carpet rounds, and other
found materials, plus inexpensive building supplies. But too much should not
be expected of this option. Spaces which are too open, which have no sound
insulation, which have inadequate natural lighting or only high fluorescent
lighting, which have no access to the outdoors, which are largely cement-
floored, or any number of other problems limiting the possibilities for
quality child care, cannot be adapted through staff-initiated changes and
building repairs.
The second option, major renovations or additions, is sound when the basic
organizational relationships of the space are ideal for a child care center
and where certain capital improvements will be necessary to create a quality
center or to bring one up to standards required for satisfying local building
codes or State licensing requirements. Before decisions are made about reno-
vations or additions, the architectural program should be developed, and
sketches made by a design professional to ensure that the space has the
potential to meet program criteria. When considering renovations, additions,
or the adaptive use of space not previously used for child care, do not
compromise on location (see "Site Selection" below) and be sure that there is
adequate and immediately adjacent outdoor play space. Ascertain that the
building is sound structurally, mechanically, and electrically, and that
renovations to meet codes and program criteria, including additional plumbing
requirements, kitchen renovations, partition removal, air conditioning,
57
handicapped access, and new circulation areas including fire exits and
fireproofing, will not exceed the costs of new construction. Check also that
the number, layout, and design of program spaces can be accommodated, and that
the renovation can lead to an image of warmth, informality, and, at the same
time, a progressive and professional place for children to be. If all these
criteria can be met, then major renovation, addition, or adaptive reuse is a
sound alternative.
New construction offers the greatest flexibility in responding to program
criteria, in providing an exciting place for children to be, and in creating a
bright, colorful, new image which the employer can be proud of. For these
reasons, separate child care centers have been provided at many work
locations.
Facility Size
The size of the facility is based on the number of children of different
ages to be served, the number of caregivers and other staff members required,
and the amount of square footage needed per child and staff member. Child
care centers are best planned for about 60 to a maximum of 75 children.
Facilities for 60 to 75 children have the advantages that they are small
enough for teachers to feel close to one another but large enough for
cooperative program development (68). They also are the size in which a
single supervisor or child care director can be effective--fewer children will
not make adequate use of a director's time and expertise, and more children
will require an assistant director, with the attendant increase in bureaucracy
and lack of immediate contact of administrators with the children and with the
day-to-day functioning of the program (69).
When the number of children to be accommodated in one center must exceed
75, the program and facility should be organized into separate units for 60 to
75 children each (70). Each unit should have its own program coordinator and
staff with responsibility for the day-to-day curriculum and operations of the
unit. Each unit should also be in a separate part of the overall child care
facility. This can be accomplished in different wings, in separate buildings
attached by a common covered walkway, or in one building with separate
entrances to the different units. (For additional planning and design
guidance, see ref. 71.)
Most State licensing regulations and the National Fire Protection
Association code require a minimum of 35 square feet of usable, primary
activity space per child 1-1/2 years and older. Less space is required for
infants 6 months to 1-1/2 years--in most cases a minimum of 20 square feet of
usable activity space. Usable, primary activity space is all space devoted
exclusively to children's use and available to them at all times. It excludes
bathrooms, sleeping areas, kitchens, eating areas, staff areas, closed
storage, mechanical and electrical space, and circulation. The availability
of more usable space is related to quality, developmentally oriented child
care (72) and the reduction of aggressive behaviors (73). Leading educational
experts agree that 35 square feet per child is the absolute minimum, but that
40 to 42 square feet of usable, primary activity space will prevent many
problems (74).
58
Another 18 to 20 square feet are required for secondary caregiving activi-
ties (eating, food preparation, diapering and toileting, and napping); 6 to 9
square feet per child for staff areas; and an additional 20 to 25 percent of
the total for circulation. Thus the total is 75 (minimum) and 100 (recom-
mended) square feet per child (75).
Although 100 square feet per child is the minimum allowable for outdoor
play yards by many States, 200 square feet per child is recommended to provide
a variety of developmentally appropriate play experiences for intellectual,
social, emotional, and physical development. Additional space is required for
pedestrian access, vehicles and service, and for setbacks, bringing the total
site size needed to approximately 0.02 acres per child (76).
Site Selection
Employer-sponsored child care centers are typically located close to the
parents' workplace (77), but this is not the only option. In some cases a
better location for the center may be geographically separate from the
sponsoring company.
If a center is to be located near the workplace, the following criteria
should be used in selecting the site (78):
1.
Adequate total site size: approximately 0.03 acres per child in a
tight urban location and 0.06 acres per child in a suburban or rural
location.
2. Provision for outdoor play yards directly adjoining the building and
directly accessible from every indoor activity space.
3. Access to community resources and services and places of interest and
learning potential to children, for example, fields, streams, woods,
libraries, museums, galleries, planetaria, ZOOS, botanical gardens,
interesting shops, and places of work that might be viewed or
visited.
4. Separation from noxious and dangerous elements, for example, arterial
streets and roads; heavily used intersections; railroads; service
yards; storage depots; sources of dust, fumes, smoke, car exhausts,
and industrial pollutants; and noise from manufacturing plants.
Architectural Design Issues
A number of important design issues will affect the overall quality of the
center and the program. Detailed design concepts and criteria are contained
in a series of recent reports from the Children's Environments Project.
General Design Concepts
Recent work completed by the Children's Environments Project cites 18
general concepts for the design of the building, another 5 governing the
59
interface of the building and its site, and 7 more for the overall design of
the site (79). By way of illustration, 5 of the most important concepts will
be described.
1.
Zoning by Ages: The Infant-Toddler-Preschooler Connection. The
overall layout of a child care center should ensure specific and
adequate zones for each age group to be served. These different
areas should be well-defined and partially separated, yet
interconnect so that children may see from one to another and may be
able to move into common, shared space. This principle applies
equally for the design of indoor spaces and for the design of a
series of partially interconnected outdoor play yards for each age
group.
2. Modified Open Space. A child care center should be designed in terms
of a modified open space concept. That is, both large and small
activity spaces should be provided, each open enough to permit
children to see the variety of learning possibilities available but
closed enough to give definition to the activity and protect it from
noise and visual distraction. Space layout is one of the most
controversial issues with regard to the design of educational
facilities. Recent research has indicated advantages and
disadvantages to both completely open plan and completely closed plan
schools, preschools, and child care centers (80). With proper
guidance, it may be possible to design a child care center in terms
of modified open space SO as to maximize the advantages of both
closed and open space, while eliminating their disadvantages (81).
3. Home Bases. The National Day Care Study found that smaller groups of
children are associated with better quality care (82). The optimum
recommended group size is 8 to 12 infants per group, 12 toddlers, and
14 older preschoolers. But in addition, many large centers provide
no place for children to retreat to their own place, their
home-away-from-home, their "nest." It is suggested, therefore, that
child care centers be organized in terms of a series of well-defined
home bases for children of the same age, and that the home base
should contain all the home-like, caring features: cubbies, eating
place, diapering and washroom area, napping area, and perhaps a quiet
reading corner.
4.
Resource-Rich Activity Pockets for 2 to 5 Children. We know that
children learn best in small groups, that the average size of groups
in which preschoolers naturally congregate is between 2 and 5
children, and that preschool children learn best from a variety of
experiences which they can choose as their inner needs dictate. This
suggests that the rest of the primary activity space of the center
should be comprised of small group activity pockets, rich in
child-accessible resources for 2 to 5 children. Each of these
activity pockets will house a particular type of activity, and will
be designed to support that activity, for example, a story corner, a
place for music, a studio for arts and crafts, a sunny area for
60
plants and critters, a block play area, a "dry gulch" for sand play,
and a "liquid oasis" for water play.
5. Circulation Which Overlooks and Connects Activity Pockets. Circula-
tion can either interfere with activities or reinforce children's
natural learning patterns by showing them what other children are
doing and leading them to new activities. The key is for circulation
paths to be planned and designed SO that they are easy to find and
flow through the facility in sight of and connecting activity pockets
and home bases, but do not cut through them. Implied boundaries to
activity pockets should reinforce the desired flow of circulation,
but at no time should activity pockets become closed rooms, nor cir-
culation paths become closed corridors.
Design of Individual Spaces for Children, Staff, and Services
A large number of individual activity spaces for children and staff and
for services are organized according to these and similar general concepts.
Five examples of keys to the design of these individual spaces (83) are:
1. An individual space should be specially designed for each major pro-
gram or curricular activity, for example, arts and crafts, language
development, reading, music, large muscle development, fine motor
skills development.
2. The spaces should ensure adequate privacy for the activity, yet per-
mit other children to see in and to join activities as appropriate.
3. The spaces should be child-scaled in terms of overall design, fur-
nishings and equipment, shelving, tack boards, lighting.
4.
There should be special places for the director and caregivers, for
administrative functions, for reading and preparing curriculum mater-
ials, and to just get away for a while. To prevent administrators
from becoming cut off from the children and the day-to-day reality of
the center, these administrative spaces should be in the "mainstream"
of the facility, not in a separate administrative wing or cluster
removed from the primary activity spaces.
5.
Every indoor space has its outdoor version, that is, there should be
individual activity pockets outdoors for cognitive, social, and indi-
vidual activities as well as for motor skills activities, and they
should be designed with the same considerations as indoor spaces.
They should be well-defined and yet partially connected, so that
circulation permits a view of but does not interfere with the acti-
vity pockets. Consideration should be given also to porches and
decks as transitional indoor-outdoor activity spaces, and to pedes-
trian walkways, vehicular circulation, parking, and drives that are
away from children's areas.
61
Flexible Furnishings and Equipment
Furnishings in a child care facility can either support or inhibit a
variety of play/learning experiences. They can help to create a warm, homey
feeling, or convey an institutional impression. Inappropriate furnishings can
be counterproductive even in the most carefully planned space. For example:
1. Furnishings which cannot be moved easily will limit the flexibility
of use of any space.
2. Furnishings must be sized to be comfortable to each user group.
3. A variety of seating, play, and work positions should be available.
4. For safety, furnishings which can be easily tipped, which have sharp
corners, edges, or splinters, or which have possibly toxic finishes
are not suitable in a child care setting.
Beyond these rudimentary considerations, furnishings may be examined to
determine their positive contributions to the child care facility and pro-
gram. Examples of these would be furnishings which are mobile enough to be
pushed out of the way, which can help define activity pockets and circulation
while also providing storage, writing surfaces, cubbies, display space, and
informal napping space, or can become puppet stages or backdrops for dramatic
play when needed.
Since children spend a majority of their time on the floor, level changes,
soft floor areas, roll-up mats, and floor cushions may provide most of the
seating spaces. For a homey atmosphere, some soft, comfortable seating that
children and adults can share and a few rocking chairs for lap sitting would
encourage pleasant adult-child relationships.
The ability of a child to affect and change the environment to suit
immediate needs is developmentally important and should be considered when
planning furnishings and equipment. However, if everything is easily change-
able by children, stability will be lacking and adults and children may become
confused and disoriented from day to day. Some major furnishings such as
large storage pieces and bookshelves should have lockable castors or some
other method of preventing random movement so that adults will be the ones to
move them.
Many catalogs are available from major manufacturers of furniture and out-
door play equipment; a few of their wares are appropriate for a developmen-
tally oriented child care facility. Extreme caution must be exercised in
selecting equipment and furnishings. In particular, the developmental
relevance of the equipment or furnishings must be considered as the prime
requirement for purchase. The safety of these goods is an important
consideration; usually anything sold by a major manufacturer will have been
tested for safety, but the administrator should require assurance of that.
Other critical considerations are that furnishings and equipment be examined
and evaluated in terms of variety, anthropometric suitability, developmental
62
challenges to all areas of human development (intellectual, social, emotional,
as well as physical), and flexibility. Furnishings and equipment should be
chosen for the positive contributions they can make to the child care facility
and educational program.
References for Further Information
Sources for additional information on project planning, programming, and
facility design include the following:
Bengtsson, A. Environmental Planning for Children's Play. New York:
Praeger, 1970.
Cohen, U., G. T. Moore, and T. McGinty. Case Studies of Child Play Areas and
Child Support Facilities. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,
Center for Architecture and Urban Planning Research, 1978.
Cohen, U., A. H. Hill et al. Recommendations for Child Play Areas.
Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Center for Architecture and
Urban Planning Research, 1979.
Ellison, G. Play Structures. Pasadena, CA: Pacific Oaks College, 1974.
Evans, E. B., G. Saia, and E. Evans. Designing a Day Care Center: How To
Select, Design, and Develop a Day Care Center. Boston: Beacon Press,
1974.
Gump, P. V. "Ecological Psychology and Children." In Review of Child
Development Research, Vol. 5, E. M. Hetherington (ed.). Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1975.
Herbert-Jackson, E., M. O'Brien et al. The Infant Center. Baltimore:
University Park Press, 1977.
Moore, G. T., U. Cohen et al. Designing Environments for Handicapped
Children. New York: Educational Facilities Laboratories, 1979.
Moore, G. T., U. Cohen et al. Planning and Design of Child Support Service
Facilities. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office and U.S.
Department of the Army, Office of the Chief of Engineers, 1980 (in press).
Moore, G. T., C. G. Lane, et al. Recommendations for Child Care Facilities.
Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Center for Architecture and
Urban Planning Research, 1979.
Osmon, F. L. Patterns for Designing Children's Centers. New York:
Educational Facilities Laboratories, 1971.
Passantino, R. J. Found Spaces and Equipment for Children's Centers. New
York: Educational Facilities Laboratories, 1972.
63
Prescott, E., and i. G. David. Concept paper on the effects of the physical
environment on day care. Unpublished paper, Pacific Oaks College,
Pasadena, California, 1976.
Texas A&M University. Environmental Criteria: MR--Preschool Day Care
Facilities. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University, College of
Architecture and Environmental Design, 1969.
64
IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM PLAN
Implementing a program of child care services for employees requires not
only the development of services to be offered but also the enlistment of a
group of employees who will use the child care services. For most child care
programs, a publicity campaign will be necessary to attract employees and con-
vince them of the benefits in using the newly organized child care service.
The program administrators will have to match the growth in the number of
parents using the services with the gradual development of the program until
full capacity of clients and full program development are reached.
Through publicity campaigns program administrators will need to com-
municate to employees information about the program services and the program
philosophy, as well as reinforcing the credibility of the new child care
program. Administrators at several employer-sponsored child care centers have
used fliers about the program, posters, and open-house tours to publicize new
centers. At the Chicago center sponsored by the Amalgamated Clothing and
Textile Workers Union, the director visited the various shops where union
members worked and spoke to them about the soon-to-be-opened center. At the
Stride-Rite center in Boston, the director showed home movies of the center
near the time clock and during work breaks to publicize the new center. At
the Veterans' Administration Hospital in North Chicago, the center director
spoke at employee orientation sessions each month and provided center bro-
chures to go into personnel packets for new employees.
Brochures outlining program philosophy and providing curriculum examples
can help build credibility in the child care services. Most parents need to
be convinced that services for children provide a good quality educational
experience before they are willing to use them.
A person-to-person public relations campaign also can stimulate support
for a new program. Persons who were instrumental in program planning can
speak in support of the child care program to groups or individuals in their
company department of in their labor interest groups.
Because new child care programs have to establish a reputation before many
parents are willing to use them, they often begin operation with fewer parti-
cipants than the full capacity allowed for in the program design. Several
employer-sponsored child care centers have begun operation with fewer than 10
children. A child care plan that staggers the hiring of staff and the expan-
sion of services to match the number of interested clients is the best
approach to developing the program to capacity as well as controlling costs.
One plan used by an employer-sponsored child care center was to develop a
waiting list and enroll children in a group at the same time a new staff
person was hired to supervise the group.
Program planners can schedule a center opening at a time when parents may
be changing child care arrangements. Because parents often change arrange-
ments at the beginning of a school year, the new center may attract more chil-
dren with a fall opening date.
65
Planners also should devise a strategy for attracting participants and a
strategy for gradual growth to meet program demands. In the beginning the
planners should be sensitized to changes in parent demand as well as to mis-
takes in planning SO that changes can be made quickly to improve the program.
Ongoing Public Relations
A union- or employer-sponsored child care program should maintain good
relations with parents using the services, with management officials in the
company/union, with company employees/union members, and with the community
where the program is located. The child care program is to provide a service
for these groups, and its continuation is largely dependent on their satisfac-
tion. It is in the best interest of the child care program, therefore, to
continually update to meet the needs of these interest groups and to communi-
cate the attributes of the program so that persons in these interest groups
will continue to support it.
Good relations with parents can be facilitated by opening the lines of
communication between the teachers and parents and by involving the parents in
the child care program. Communication can be developed by staff efforts to
talk with each parent, by frequent parent-teacher conferences, and by news-
letters that list program offerings, activities occurring in centers, and
useful child care information. Parent involvement in center programs or child
care information services gives parents a better understanding of and appre-
ciation for the program as well as allowing the parent to become better
acquainted with the staff.
Developing and continuing good relations with employees and management
officials can include advertising the good child care services delivered as a
result of the program and documenting the benefits of the program to parents
and management. Child care centers can display children's artwork at company
entrances or in the cafeteria to develop an awareness of the program, and can
sponsor a periodic open house to enable all employees to learn about the
program. Documenting and publishing such benefits as parental satisfaction
with child care services, lowered absenteeism, lowered job turnover, and the
program's influence on recruitment will reinforce the value of the program and
demonstrate the administrator's concern for the sponsoring company as well as
for the parent-clients.
A child care service usually causes no disturbance in a neighborhood but
is a welcomed addition. If the program fills a need for employees who live in
the community, articles about the center in local papers can serve as good
publicity for the child care program and the sponsoring organization.
Program Evaluation
Program evaluation assesses the degree to which the child care program
fulfills the program goals and objectives and determines whether the goals are
66
being met at the lowest possible cost. Periodic program evaluation can pin-
point trouble areas and allow administrators to improve program quality and
make it more cost effective.
Employer-related programs usually are designed to alleviate the parents'
problems in securing reliable child care services, to match parental work
schedules, and to make good quality programming available for the children.
For an employer-related program, the evaluation should examine goals that
relate to how many employees are being reached by the services, how well the
employees' needs for child care are being served, and how well the children's
developmental needs are served. The program curriculum and support services
should be examined to evaluate how well they fulfill the goals derived from
the program philosophy.
Program evaluation is a necessity for keeping parent costs and employer/
union subsidies to a minimum. By evaluating the cost of program components,
administrators can uncover inefficient methods and initiate efficient ones for
delivering services.
Changes in amount of participation in program services also can be de-
tected through program evaluation and can lead to cost-saving changes in the
program. In a few employer-related child care centers, reductions in the
enrollment of employees' children led to underenrollment and escalating
costs. Program evaluation and subsequent changes could have avoided high
costs due to the continuation of programming that no longer matched employee
needs.
Depending on the structure of the child care program, the evaluation will
be carried out by the board of directors, the program director, the department
head supervising the program, or an evaluation task force. Evaluation is
often neglected or postponed because the time devoted to daily operation of a
program is given priority over the evaluation process. Because of the impor-
tance of evaluation in shaping a program it is essential from the beginning
that planners set aside times for program evaluation.
Resources on Evaluation
Resources on evaluation include:
Dykes, M. K., A. M. Strickland, and D. D. Munger. Assessment and Evaluation
Strategies for Early Childhood Programs. Fort Myers, FL: Florida
Educational Research and Development Council. (Available in ERIC, ED 171
377 and for $2.00 from FERDC, 2266 2nd St., Fort Myers, FL 33901)
Mattick, I., and F. J. Perkins. Guidelines for Observation and Assessment:
An Approach to Evaluate the Learning Environment of a Day Care Center.
Washington, DC: Day Care and Child Development Council of America, 1974.
($3.75 + $1.00 shipping from DCCDCA, 1602 17th ST., N.W., Washington, DC
20009)
67
SUMMARY
Programs and employment policies that help working parents meet their
family responsibilities can improve the parents' on-the-job performance as
well as benefiting family life. Today's work force includes many parents from
two-career and single-parent homes, and the need for consideration of family
demands on employees is most important if society wants children to receive
appropriate care and parents to be relieved of stress caused by work-family
conflicts.
Employers and labor groups can develop programs and policies that provide
support for working parents. Employers can support community programs that
serve the needs of working parents. Through enlightened employment practices,
an employer can allow time-off for family demands, flexible scheduling of
work, and part-time employment opportunities. An employer or union can
facilitate the employees' securing suitable child care by providing informa-
tion on child care services, parent seminars, child care information and
referral services, child care subsidies, family day care networks, or child
care centers at the worksite.
Planning for child care involvement includes choosing a knowledgeable and
influential task force, gaining knowledge about the child care field, assess-
ing the needs for services within the company and community, evaluating
available community services, and developing a thorough cost analysis for
alternate programs under consideration. One influence on planning will be the
consideration of contributions from a major donor, such as the employer or a
labor group. Planners should try to establish the legal structure of the
child care program for the best tax advantage and least liability for the
major donor.
Some Federal, State, local, or foundation funding may be available for a
child care program. Planners should follow up all funding possibilities and
use close cost control in program operation to keep parent fees at a minimum.
Child care centers are small businesses in their own right. Planners will
need to study resources on child care centers, plan carefully, and observe the
operation closely to develop a smooth-running and financially sound program.
Implementing any child care program requires a strong public relations
campaign to convince parents of the program's quality and reliability.
Because the program evolves from a desire by the employer, union, or employees
to create child care services, the program administrators will need to con-
tinue a public relations campaign to persuade vested interests that the pro-
gram, once begun, should continue.
Program evaluation is a necessity for any child care program. Periodic
evaluations provide indicators to adjust programming to meet changing parent
needs, to examine and improve the quality of the curriculum, to monitor
expenses, and to keep costs to a minimum.
68
REFERENCES
1. U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Working Mothers and Their
Children, 1977.
2. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unpublished data.
3. Ibid.
4. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population
Reports, Series P-20, No. 372, "Marital Status and Living Arrangements:
March 1981."
5. Children's Defense Fund. Employed Parents and Their Children: A Data
Book. Washington, DC: 1982.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office. Child Care and Preschool:
Options for Federal Support, Background Paper. Washington, DC:
Government Printing Office, 1978.
9. Children's Defense Fund, Employed Parents.
10. U.S. Congress, Child Care and Preschool.
11. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget.
Budget of the United States Government Fiscal Year 1982, Appendix.
Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1981, p. I-E101.
12. Internal Revenue Code, Section 44A.
13. Children's Defense Fund, Employed Parents.
14. Whitbread, Jane. "Who's Taking Care of the Children?" Family Circle
February 20, 1979, pp. 88, 92, 102, 103.
15. National Commission on Working Women. National Survey of Working
Women. Washington, DC: National Manpower Institute, 1979.
16. White House Conference on Families. Work and Families. Washington,
DC: White House Conference on Families, 1980.
17. General Mills, Inc. The General Mills American Family Report 1980-81.
Minneapolis, MN: 1981.
18. Catalyst Career and Family Center. "Corporations and Two Career
Families: Directions for the Future." New York: undated.
69
19. Ibid.
20. Whitbread, "Who's Taking Care
...
Children."
21. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Child Care and Equal Opportunity for
Women. Washington, DC: 1981.
22. Parents in the Workplace. Report 2: Minnesota Business Survey.
Minneapolis: Toys 'N Things, 1981.
23. Milkovich, G. T., and L. R. Gomez. "Day Care and Selected Employee Work
Behaviors." Academy of Management Journal, 1976, 19, pp. 111-115.
24. Perry, Sara K. S. "Survey and Analysis of Employer-Sponsored Day Care
in the United States." Doctoral Dissertation, University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1978, Dissertation Abstracts International, 39
(1979): 5305A.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. General Mills, The
American Family Report.
29. Bardi, Carol A. "Job-Sharing Alternative Draws Nurses Back to the
Hospital." Hospitals, June, 1981, pp. 71-72.
30. Douglas, Jane I. Dollars and Sense: Employer Supported Child Care.
Carson City, NV: Nevada State Department of Human Resources and in ERIC
Document Reproduction Service, Ed 129 417, 1976.
31. Havelock, Ronald G. A Guide to Innovation in Education. Ann Arbor,
MI: The University of Michigan, 1970.
32. Perry, "Survey and Analysis."
33. Ruopp, Richard, B. O'Farrell, D. Warner, M. Rowe, and R. Freedman. A
Day Care Guide for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press, 1973.
34. Perry, "Survey and Analysis."
35. Zigler, Edward, and K. Anderson. "Foundation Support in the Child and
Family Life Field." Philanthropy Monthly, January 1979.
36. Friedman, Dana F., ed. Community Solutions for Child Care. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, 1979.
70
37. Seltzer, Michele, Wellesley College Center for Research on Women,
Personal Communication.
38. Internal Revenue Code, Section 3401.
39. Internal Revenue Code, Section 61(a); Income Tax Regulations, Section
1.61-2(d)(1).
40. Figures based on 1982 Estimated Tax Table and 1982 Child Care Tax Credit.
41. Internal Revenue Code, Section 162(a).
42. Revenue Ruling 73-348, 1973-2 C.B. 31.
43. Internal Revenue Code, Section 168.
44. Internal Revenue Code, Sections 38 and 46.
45. Internal Revenue Code, Section 195.
46. Internal Revenue Code, Section 170(c) (2).
47. Summers V. Commissioner 33 TCM 695 (1974).
48. Internal Revenue Code, Section 170(c).
49. Treasury Regulations, Section 1.501(c)(3)-1(d)(l)(ii).
50. Internal Revenue Code, Section 170(c).
51. Revenue Ruling 70-533, 1970-2 C.B. 112.
52. Baltimore Regional Joint Board Health and Welfare Fund, Amalgamated
Clothing and Textile Workers Union, 69 TC 554.
53. Revenue Ruling 70-533, 1970-2 C.B. 112.
54. San Francisco Infant School, Inc., 69 TC 957 (Acq.); Michigan Early
Childhood Center, Inc., 37 TCM 808.
55. Revenue Ruling 71-447, 1971-2 C.B. 230; Revenue Procedure 75-50, 1975-2
C.B. 587.
56. Internal Revenue Code, Section 509(a)(1).
57. Internal Revenue Code, Section 4941(d).
58. Internal Revenue Code, Section 702.
59. Internal Revenue Code, Sections 50B and 51.
71
60. Perry, "Survey and Analysis."
61. Cohen, D. J., R. K. Parker, M. S. Host, and C. Richards, eds. Day
Care--4: Serving Preschool Children, U.S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office,
1972.
62. Perry, "Survey and Analysis."
63. Host, M. S., and P. B. Heller. Day Care--7: Administration.
Washington, DC: Office of Child Development, U.S. Department of Health,
Education and Welfare, 1971.
64. Sciarra, Dorothy J., and A. G. Dorsey. Developing and Administering a
Child Care Center. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1979.
65. Abt Associates. Children at the Center: Final Report of the National
Day Care Study. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service ED 168 706), 1979.
66. Moore, G. T., C. G. Lane, et al. Recommendations for Child Care
Centers. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Center for
Architecture and Urban Planning, 1979.
67. Ibid.; U. Cohen, G. T. Moore, and T. McGinty. Case Studies of Child
Play Areas and Child Support Facilities. Milwaukee: University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Center for Architecture and Urban Planning
Research, 1978; U. Cohen, A. H. Hill, et al. Recommendations for Child
Play Areas. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Center for
Architecture and Urban Planning Research, 1979.
68. Evans, E. B., B. Shub, and M. Weinstein. Day Care: How to Plan,
Develop, and Operate a Day Care Center. Boston: Beacon Press, 1971.
69. Ibid.
70. Moore and Lane, Recommendations Centers.
71. Ibid.
72. Prescott, E. and T. G. David. Concept paper on the effects of the
physical environment on day care. Unpublished, Pacific Oaks College,
Pasadena, CA, 1976.
73. Rohe, W. M., and A. H. Patterson. "The Effects of Varied Levels of
Resources and Density of Behavior in a Day Care Center." In
Man-Environment Interactions, ed. D. H. Carson. Washington, DC:
Environmental Design Research Association, 1974.
74. Moore and Lane, Recommendations Centers.
72
75. Ibid.
76. Moore, G. T., U. Cohen, L. A. Lindberg, and B. T. Armstrong. Planning
and Design of Child Support Service Facilities. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office and U.S. Department of the Army, Office of
the Chief of Engineers, 1980 (in press).
77. Perry, "Survey and Analysis."
78. Moore and Lane, Recommendations ... Centers. Moore and Cohen,
Planning and Design.
79. Ibid.
80. Prescott, "Concept Paper." Gump, P. B. "Ecological Psychology and
Children." In Review of Child Development Research, ed. E. M.
Hetherington, Vol 5. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975.
81. Cohen and Lane, Recommendations
...
Centers.
82. Abt Associates. Children at the Center.
83. Cohen and Lane, Recommendation
Centers.
73
APPENDIX
EMPLOYER-SPONSORED CHILD CARE PROGRAMS
Following is a partial list of employer-sponsored child care programs that
are located in the United States. Most of the program references were taken
from the preliminary research results of Renee Magid. The completed results
of her investigation, "Employer Initiatives for Child Care, Perceived Benefits
to Employers," can be obtained from Renee Magid, Beaver College, Glenside, PA
19038.
The key for describing the programs is:
Ctr:
Child care center sponsored by an industry (I), union (U),
hospital (H) or government agency (G)
Con:
Consortium, a child care center sponsored by a group of employers
I & R:
Information and referral program
FDC:
Family day care network
P Sem:
Parent seminars
V:
Vouchers for child care
A-Sch:
After-school child care program
Sum:
Summer day camp
74
Alabama
Ctr
Hollywood Presbyterian
(H)
Hospital
Ctr
Walker Dental Labs
1300 N. Vermont
(I)
P.O. Box 2237
Hollywood, CA 90027
Decatur, AL 35602
Ctr Hospital of the Good Samaritan
Ctr Emperor Clock Co. Day Care
(H) 632 Lucas Ave.
(I)
Center
Los Angeles, CA 90017
329 Greeno Rd.
Fairhope, AL 36532
Ctr Huntington Memorial Hospital
(H) 100 Congress Place
Ctr Huntsville Hospital Child
Pasadena, CA 91105
(H)
Care Center
324-1/2 Lowell Drive
Ctr Jet Propulsion Labs
Huntsville, AL 35801
(I) 4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
Ctr Springhill Memorial Hospital
(H)
3719 Dauphin Street
Ctr State Dept. of Motor Vehicles
Mobile, AL 36608
(G) Child Care Center
2415 First Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95818
Arkansas
Ctr Civic Medical Center
Ctr Baptist Medical Center
(H) P.O. Box 7999
(H)
9600 W. Kanis, Interstate 630
San Francisco, CA 94120
Little Rock, AR 72201
Ctr O'Connor Hospital
Ctr Central Baptist Hospital
(H) 2105 Forest Avenue
(H)
12th & Marshall Sts.
San Jose, CA 95128
Little Rock, AR 72201
Ctr National Semi Conductor
Ctr St. Vincent's Infirmary
(I) 2900 Semiconductor Drive
(H)
Markham & University Aves.
Santa Clara, CA 95051
Little Rock, AR 72205
Colorado
California
Ctr Boulder Memorial Hospital
Ctr
Martin Luther Hospital Medical
(H) 311 Mapleton
(H)
Center
Boulder, CO 80302
1830 W. Romney Dr.
Anaheim, CA 92801
A-Sch Denver Public Schools
Denver, CO 80201
Ctr Peninsula Hospital
(H)
1783 El Camino Real
I & R Mountain States Telephone &
Burlingame, CA 94010
Telegraph Co., Inc.
17th & Curtis Sts.
Ctr Santa Teresita Hospital
Denver, CO 80201
(H) 1210 Royal Oaks Drive
Duarte, CA 91010
75
Ctr
M. O. Thatcher Child Care
Ctr Federal Employees Cooperative
(H)
511 West 14th Street
(G)
Learning Center
Pueblo, CO 81003
Dept. of Education
400 Maryland Ave. S.W.,
Ctr
St. Mary Corwin Hospital
Basement Level F0B6
(H)
1008 Minnetua
Washington, DC 20202
Pueblo, CO 81004
Ctr Howard University Hospital
(H)
Day Care
Connecticut
2041 Georgia Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20060
Ctr
Child Care Center
(I)
Connecticut General Life
Ctr HUD Child Care Center
Insurance Company
(G) 451 Seventh St., S.W.
1312 Hall Blvd.
Room B278
Bloomfield, CT 06002
Washington, DC 20410
Ctr
Connecticut Hospice
Ctr NOAA's Ark
(H)
Branford, CT 06405
(G) Department of Commerce
3265 S St., N.W.
Ctr University of Connecticut
Washington, DC 20006
(H)
Medical Center
Farmington, CT 06032
Ctr
Penthouse Nursery, Inc.
(G) Dept. of Health and Human
Ctr Hartford Steam Boiler
Services
(I)
56 Prospect St.
North Rm. 7139
Hartford, CT 06102
200 Independence Ave.
Washington, DC 20201
Ctr Connecticut Valley Hospital
(H)
Middletown, CT 06457
Florida
Ctr
Yale University Medical Center
(H)
New Haven, CT 06510
Ctr
Palmetto Hospital
(H)
2001 West 68th Street
Hialeah, FL 33016
District of Columbia
Ctr St. Vincent's Medical Center
Con
Broadcasters Child Development
(H)
P.O. Box 2982
Center
Jacksonville, FL 32203
3920 Alton Place, N.W.
Washington, DC 20016
Ctr
Disney University
(I)
Disney World
Ctr Dept. of Labor Day Care Center
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(G) 200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Room N-1453
Ctr
Baptist Hospital of Miami
Washington, DC 20210
(H)
8900 N. Kendall Drive
Miami, FL 33176
Ctr
City of Miami
(G)
1145 N.W. 11th St.
Miami, FL 33136
76
V
South Lake Apopka Citrus
V
P. M. Haeger & Assoc., Inc.
Growers
500 North Michigan Avenue
P.O. Box 8
Chicago, IL 60611
Oakland, FL 32760
Ctr World Color Press, Inc.
V
McKinnon Corp.
(I) PT 45 S
P.O. Box 1066
Effingham, IL 62401
Winter Garden, FL 32787
Ctr Hines Veterans Admin. Hospital
(G) Fifth Ave. & Roosevelt Rd.
Georgia
Hines, IL 60141
Ctr
University Hospital
Ctr Silver Cross Hospital
(H)
1350 Walton Way
(H)
1200 Maple Rd.
Augusta, GA 30910
Joliet, IL 60432
Ctr
Hall County Hospital Child
Ctr Paul K. Kennedy Child Care
(H)
Care Center
(G)
Center
743 Spring Street
Veterans Admin. Hospital
Gainesville, GA 30501
Building 50
North Chicago, IL 60064
Hawaii
Ctr Official Airlines Guides
(I) 2000 Clearwater Drive
Ctr
Maui Pineapple Co.
Oakbrook, IL 60521
(I)
P.O. Box 187
Kahalui, Maui, HI 96732
Ctr Lutheran General Hospital
(H) 1775 W. Dempster
Park Ridge, IL 60068
Illinois
Sum FEL-PRO
Ctr Memorial Hospital of Carbondale
7450 N. McCormick Ave.
(H) 404 W. Main St., Box 481
Skokie, IL 60076
Carbondale, IL 62901
Ctr Illinois Masonic Hospital
Indiana
(H) 836 W. Wellington Ave.
Chicago, IL 60567
Ctr Nylon Craft
(I)
2341 Schumacher Drive
Ctr Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's
Mishawaka, IN 46544
(H)
Medical Center
1753 W. Congress Pkwy.
Chicago, IL 60612
Iowa
Ctr
Amalgamated Child Day Care
A-Sch Des Moines Area School District
(U)
Health Center
18th and Grand
Amalgamated Clothing and
Des Moines, IA 50309
Textile Workers Union
333 South Ashland Ave.
Ctr Iowa Lutheran Hospital
Chicago, IL 60607
(H) University at Penn
Des Moines, IA 50316
77
Ctr Iowa Methodist Medical Center
Maryland
(H) 1200 Pleasant St.
Des Moines, IA 50308
Ctr Hyman Blumberg Child Day
(U)
Care Center
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Kansas
Workers Union
600 W. North Ave.
Ctr Shawnee Mission Medical Center
Baltimore, MD 21217
(H) 74th & Grandview Sts.
Box 2923
Ctr BARC Child Care Center
Shawnee Mission, KA 66201
(G) USDA Plant Industry Station
Second St. Bldg. 017
Ctr Worth Kansas City Memorial
Beltsville, MD 20705
(H)
Hospital
Kansas City, KA 66110
A-Sch Ayrlawn Elementary School
National Institutes of Health
Oakmont Ave.
Kentucky
Bethesda, MD 20205
Ctr St. Joseph's Hospital
Ctr
Brookmont Learning Tree
(H) One St. Joseph Dr.
(G) Child Care Center
Lexington, KY 40504
Defense Mapping Agency
4800 Sangamore Rd.
Ctr Kentucky Fried Chicken Corp.
Bethesda, MD 20816
(I) 1441 Gardiner Lane
Louisville, KY 40232
Ctr NIH Preschool Development
(G)
Program
Ctr St. Anthony Hospital
National Institutes of Health
(H) 1313 St. Anthony Place
South Drive Bldg. 35
Louisville, KY 40204
Bethesda, MD 20205
Ctr Goddard Child Development Center
Louisiana
(G) Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA
Ctr Seventh Ward Gen. Hospital
Code 200.3 Bldg. 86
(H) Hwy. 51 S., Box 2668
Greenbelt, MD 20770
Hammond, LA 70404
Ctr Schumpert Medical Center
Massachusetts
(H) 1747 Fairfield
Shreveport, LA 71101
Ctr Government Center Child Care
(G)
Corporation
J.F.K. Federal Building,
Maine
Rm. G-54
Boston, MA 02129
Ctr Union Mutual Life Insurance Co.
(I) 2195 Congress St.
Ctr
Stride-Rite Children's Center
Portland, ME 04112
(I) 960 Harrison Ave.
Boston, MA 02118
78
P
Center for Parenting Studies
Ctr
Newton-Wellesley
Sem
Wheelock College
(H)
Children's Corner
200 The Riverway
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Boston, MA 02215
2014 Washington Street
(holds seminars for
Newton, MA 02162
businesses)
Ctr
University of Massachusetts
Ctr
Brockton Veterans' Admin.
(H)
Medical Day Care
(G)
Hospital
214 Lake Street
Brockton, MA 02401
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
Ctr
Parkway Nursery School and
Ctr
Middlesex County Hospital
(H)
Day Care Center
(H)
775 Trapelo Road
(Affiliated Hosp. Ctr., Inc.)
Waltham, MA 02154
76 Glen Road
Brookline, MA 02100
Michigan
Ctr
Cole Harrington Children's
(H)
Center
Ctr
Veterans Administration
Massachusetts Hospital School
(G)
Medical Center
Randolph Street
2215 Fuller Rd.
Canton, MA 02121
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Ctr
ABT Associates, Inc.
I & R Steelcase, Inc.
(I)
57 Wheeler St.
and 1120 36th St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
FDC
Grand Rapids, MI 49501
FDC
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology - Family Day
Minnesota
Care Program
77 Massachusetts Ave.
Ctr
Mercy Medical Center
Room 10-213
(H)
4050 Coon Rapids Blvd.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Coon Rapids, MN 55433
V
Polaroid Corp.
Ctr Arrowhead Nursing Home
575 Technology Square
(H)
601 Grant Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Eveleth, MN 55734
Ctr
Hogan Regional Health Center
Ctr
Fergus Falls Medical Group, P.A.
(H)
Danvers, MA 01923
(H)
Fergus Falls, MN 56537
Ctr
Lemuel Shattuck Hospital
Ctr Carlson Craft
(H)
Child Care Center
(I)
1875 Commerce Drive
170 Morton Street
Mankato, MN 56001
Jamaica Plain, MA 02162
P
Honeywell, Inc.
Ctr
Wang Laboratories
Sem
Honeywell Plaza
(I)
1 Industrial Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Lowell, MA 01851
79
Con Northside Child Development
New Jersey
Center, Inc.
1011 14th Ave. North
Ctr
Elizabeth General Hospital
Minneapolis, MN 55411
(H)
925 E. Jersey St.
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
Ctr
St. Ansgar Hospital
(H)
715 N. 11th St.
Ctr
Mountainside Hospital
Moorehead, MN 56560
(H)
Bay & Highland Aves.
Montclair, NJ 07042
Ctr
Odd Fellows Nursing Home
(H)
Odd Fellows Young World
Ctr
Newton Memorial Hospital
815 Forest Ave.
(H) 175 High St.
Northfield, MN 55057
Newton, NJ 07860
Ctr
Cardiac Pacemaker Inc.
Ctr Hoffman La Roche
(I)
4100 N. Hamline Ave.
(I)
340 Kingsland St.
St. Paul, MN 55165
Nutley, NJ 07110
Ctr
Children's Hospital
I & R ATT
(H)
345 N. Smith Ave.
444 Hoes Lane
St. Paul, MN 55102
Piscataway, NJ 08854
P
Toys 'N Things
Ctr Merck and Co., Inc.
Sem
906 North Dale St.
(I)
Lincoln Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55130
P.O. Box 2000
Rahway, NJ 07065
Mississippi
Ctr Mercer Medical Center
(H)
446 Bellevue Ave., Box 1658
Ctr
Betty's Think and Do
Trenton, NJ 08607
(I)
Kindergarden
Nettleton, MS 38858
New York
Ctr
Jack & Jill Nursery
(I)
P.O. Box 7016
Ctr
Children's Place at the Plaza
Nettleton, MS 38858
(G)
Empire State Day Care
Services
Agency Bldg. 2, 13th Floor
Missouri
Albany, NY 12223
Ctr
Independence Sanitarium and
Ctr
The Corning Children's Center
(H)
Hospital Day Care Center
(I)
Corning Glass
1509 West Truman Road
Box 11
Independence, MO 64050
Corning, NY 14830
Ctr
Baptist Memorial Hospital
V
Equitable Life Insurance
(H)
6001 Rockhill Road
1285 Avenue of the Americas
Kansas City, MO 64131
New York, NY 10019
Ctr
Missouri Pacific Railroad
V
Ford Foundation
(I)
210 N. 13th St.
320 East 43rd Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
New York, NY 10017
80
Ctr
J. N. Adam Developmental
Ctr
Ash Hospital
(H)
Center
(H) Cedar Crest Blvd.
Perrysburg, NY 14129
Allentown, PA 18105
Ctr St. Luke's Hospital
North Carolina
(H) 801 Ostrom St.
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Ctr
Presbyterian Hospital
(H)
200 Hawthorne Lane
Ctr Red Rope Industries
Charlotte, NC 28233
(I)
7 Wood Ave.
Bristol, PA 19007
Ctr
Neuville-Mobil-Sox Inc.
(I)
P.O. Box 268
Ctr Chambersburg Day Care Center
Hildebrande, NC 28637
(U) Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Workers Union
Ctr Photo Corp. of America
871 Stanley Ave.
(I)
International
Chambersburg, PA 17201
801 Crestdale Ave.
Matthews, NC 28105
Ctr Hanover Day Care Center
(U) Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Ctr
Rex Hospital
Workers Union
(I)
4420 Lake Boone Trail
600 Linden Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27607
Hanover, PA 17331
Ctr Forsythe Memorial Hospital
Ctr Lancaster General Hospital
(H) 3333 S. Silas Creek Pkwy.
(H) 555 N. Duke St., Box 355S
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
Lancaster, PA 17603
Con Children's Village Day Care
Ohio
Center
Garment Center Bldg.
Ctr Mercy Medical Center
801 Arch St.
(H) 1343 N. Fountain Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Springfield, OH 45501
Con Creative Beginnings
Ctr
Riverside Hospital Day Care
Institute for Cancer Research
(H)
1600 N. Superior
Central & Shelmire Aves.
Toledo, OH 43604
Philadelphia, PA 19111
Ctr
St. Charles Child Development
Con
Frankford Hospital of
(H)
Center
Philadelphia
2600 Navarre Avenue
Frankford Ave. & Wakeling St.
Oregon, OH 43616
Philadelphia, PA 19124
Ctr Lankenau Hospital
Pennsylvania
(H) City Line & Lancaster Aves.
Philadelphia, PA 19151
Ctr
Abington Memorial Hospital
(H) 1200 Old York Road
Con Louise Child Care Center
Abington, PA 19001
Renaissance II
650 Smithfield Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
81
Ctr Grandview Hospital
Ctr
All Saints Episcopal Hospital
(H)
Sellersville, PA 18960
(H)
1400 Eighth, Box 31
Fort Worth, TX 76101
Ctr
Union Fidelity Insurance Co.
(I)
Street Rd.
Ctr A. P. Beutel, II, Day Care
Warminster, PA 18974
(I)
Center
(Intermedics)
Rhode Island
1912 Victoria St.
Freeport, TX 77541
Ctr Allendale Insurance Company
(I)
350 Central Ave.
P
Texas Institute for Families
Johnston, RI 02919
Sem
11311 Richmond, Bldg. L
Houston, TX 77082
(conducts seminars for
South Carolina
businesses)
Ctr
Spartanburg General Hospital
(H)
Day Care Center
Virginia
101 Eastwood Street
Spartanburg, SC 29303
Ctr
Mount Vernon Hospital Child
(H)
Care Center
2501 Parkers Lane
Tennessee
Alexandria, VA 22306
Ctr
Kindustry
Ctr
Child Health Care Center
(H)
1380 Gunbarrel Road
(U)
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Chattanooga, TN 37421
Workers Union
Box 976
Ctr
Memorial Hospital Child Care
Verona, VA 24482
(H)
Center, Inc.
602 Wyandot Street
Ctr
Winchester Day Care Center
Chattanooga, TN 37404
(U)
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Workers Union
Ctr St. Mary's Medical Center
1800 Henry Ave.
(H)
Day Care Center
Winchester, VA 22601
900 Emerald Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37917
Washington
Texas
Ctr
Kadlec Hospital Child
(H)
Care Center
Ctr
Forney Engineering
888 Swift Blvd.
(I)
3405 Wiley Post Rd.
Richland, WA 99352
Addison, TX 75001
Con
Consolidated Hospitals Center
Ctr
Memorial Medical Center
315 S. K St., Box 5277
(H)
P.O. Box 5280
Tacoma, WA 98405
Corpus Christi, TX 78405
Ctr
Zales Child Care Center
(I) 2979 Irving Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75247
82
West Virginia
Ctr
Franciscan Villa of South
(H)
Milwaukee
Ctr
Charleston Area Medical Center
3601 South Chicago Ave.
(H)
Child Care Center
South Milwaukee, WI 53172
P.O. Box 1547
Charleston, WV 25326
Wisconsin
Ctr
Rosalie Child Care Center
(H)
Elmbrook Memorial Hospital
19305 W. North Ave.
Brookfield, WI 53005
Ctr
Clearview Sanitorium
(H)
935 Main Street
Delafield, WI 53018
Ctr
Child Development, Inc.
(H)
University of Wisconsin
Health Services
600 Highland Ave.
Madison, WI 53706
Ctr
St. Joseph's Hospital
(H)
611 St. Joseph's Avenue
Marshfield, WI 54449
Ctr
Family Hospital Child Day
(H)
Care Program
752 N. 29th St.
Milwaukee, WI 53208
Ctr
Milwaukee Regional Medical
(H)
Center
9001 Watertown Plank Road
Milwaukee, WI 53226
Ctr
St. Mary's Hospital of
(H)
Milwaukee
P.O. Box 503
Milwaukee, WI 53211
Ctr
River Hills West Nursing
(H)
Home
321 Riverside Drive
Peewaukee, WI 53072
83
*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1982 0-389-998/79
U.S. Department of Labor
Postage and Fees Paid
Office of the Secretary
U.S. Department of Labor
Women's Bureau
Washington, D.C. 20210
Third Class
U.S.MAIL
Official Business
Lab-441
Penalty for private use, $300