Houston Emergency Childcare Programs for Corporations

(What if my regular care falls through?)

In addition to providing backup day care for individual Houston families through our sitter services, Mom's Best Friend provides Houston emergency childcare services for many local companies.

What is a backup care program?

Employers contract with a backup care company to provide emergency childcare benefits to their employees in case they experience a breakdown in their regular childcare arrangements. Many of the needs are last-minute, and may include:

• Caregiver (including spouse) is sick
• Employee must work overtime and regular caregiver is unavailable
• Child is mildly ill
• Caregiver is on vacation, has to go out of town, or has unbreakable commitment for the day
• Vacations, holidays, breaks or early dismissal at your child's school or daycare
• Business travel requires care
• Other unexpected disruptions

Employers provide subsidized coverage of their childcare in order for their employees to be able to work.

"A growing number of companies are adding backup care to their suite of employee benefits in an effort to reduce unscheduled absences, boost productivity and support employees with family care responsibilities."

(Source: "Backup Care Moves Front and Center", 2009 HR Trendbook)

How does it work?

Companies contract with a backup care company to offer the benefit. This may be a direct solution such as Mom's Best Friend, or it is often a larger, comprehensive solution such as Work Options Group, offering additional options such as elder care. When a need occurs, employees contact the backup care company to book care via a call center or emergency backup care phone line. Employees are typically allotted a set number of hours per calendar year by their employer, and employees often incur a small deductible as they utilize the care.

Mom's Best Friend was Voted Most Valuable Provider by Work Options Group, an Industry Leader in Backup Care

Why should companies offer backup care?

The benefits of a backup childcare program include:

• Reduced absenteeism
• Recruiting tool for best talent
• Reduced staff turnover
• Increased productivity
• Higher employee morale
• Peace of mind for employees knowing that sick childcare arrangements are available

Companies that offer this program are quite pleased with the results. According to a study by Work Options Group of 1200 employees from 130 companies with access to backup care:

• More than seven out of ten respondents said that if they had not had the option of backup care they would have had to miss work.
• 78% said using the backup care service enhanced their productivity at work
• 77% said having that benefit has made them more loyal to their employer

(Source: "Survey: backup care enhances productivity", Work-Life Newsbrief & Trend Report, August 2008)

Do I have backup care? How do I get it?

Please contact your human resources department to find out if your company offers an emergency childcare benefit. For more information about getting a backup care program started for your company, please call Monica Alcantar at 800.204.2681, direct at 512.381.3140, or you can email her at monica@mbfagency.com.