Child care: an enticing benefit

by Ginny Wiemerslage

The Hoffman Estates Park District provides free nursery service to employees of the park district whose schedules and locations correlate with the nursery program.

The nursery facility was originally designed to provide supervised play for children 6 weeks-old to 10 years-old while a parent or guardian is participating in a class or club activity.

Over the years, preschool staff wanted to teach in one room while their children played in another room. So, work on the facility began. They were able to employ qualified teachers who had stepped out of the job market on a full-time basis to raise families. They found they could afford to work part-time in a professional environment without forfeiting too much time with their chidren or too much money on child care.

The nursery's original purpose of providing supervised playtime for the children of the participants still remains. Its secondary function to care for the children of employees is being well used and has been proved to be beneficial to the agency.

Employees using the nursery now range from the preschool staff to management. Tot and preschool staff has been hired and trained, along with exercise instructors, front desk personnel, and office staff. These qualified staff prefer to work in this setting because they do not have to pay child care costs and can be more involved with their children. Physically, the nursery is an average size classroom including a storage closet, cabinets, windows, tables and chairs, and a small slide. The nursery houses its own bathroom with a child-size toilet and sink.

Having employees' children in the facility requires communication and committment from all of the staff. The employees who are using the nursery for child care must maintain the attitude that this is a benefit worth appreciating. They need to be open-minded and fair when dealing with the nursery staff.

Snacks, lunch, diapers, and extra clothes must be provided by the parent. The nursery provides toys, equipment, craftprojects, books, and most importantly, an adult child care provider. The

The park district offers free child care in order to decrease staff turnover, which bogs down many of the private day care centers.

parent who is most often, but not always, a mother, must check on her own child during its stay in the nursery and must be able to be called away in an emergency. The employees take their breaks by visiting their children. They also need to communicate with their co-workers. Co-workers without children in the nursery cannot be burdened with the other parents' responsibilities. It has been learned that employees who maintain this fair attitude have been excellent employees.

The Dundee Township Park District has used this concept in the completion of its new licensed day care center. Employees of the day care center may enroll their children in the center free of charge. The park district offers free child care in order to decrease the staff turnover rate, which bogs down many of the private day care centers. In the future, the park district will consider whether discounted day care can be provided to employees in other areas of the park district.

In checking with one Children's World Learning Center in Schaumburg, which is a corporation-operated center, the center has discovered that offering employees discounted child care is a major factor in maintaining a lower turnover rate. Depending on whether the employee is a manager or an assistant teacher, the employees pay no more than 40 percent and no less than 20 percent of their children's care. They have also found that the employees must maintain a positive attitude about the arrangement or it negatively affects the other staff. This particular center often has a waiting list. The center has a good reputation because it has a lower teacher turnover rate than many other operations.

It is no secret that American families are faced with the need for two incomes, thus, creating a child care problem. Not only can park districts benefit from providing this enticing employee benefit, it can help families spend more quality time together.