Children’s Cabinet discusses program at chamber luncheon

The Fallon Chamber of Commerce featured at its August luncheon speaker Patty West, Northern Nevada coordinator at The Children’s Cabinet.

The nonprofit organization’s mission is “keeping children safe and families together” by providing free programs and services to youth and their families to help address unmet needs. While many programs are available, West’s presentation highlighted family-friendly workplace policies and the “Best Places for Working Parents” program.

West said 72% of Nevadans live in a “child care desert,” or lack of child care, particularly for infants. Families are on a one-to-three year waitlist for infant care, which is also the most expensive. West said that it is currently cheaper to send a student to the University of Nevada, Reno for a year than it is to send an infant to day care.

In Churchill County, West said 66 percent of children under 5 years old live in households where both parents work. When childcare is unavailable, employees face the difficult choices of changing their work schedule, changing jobs or leaving the workforce altogether.

According to West, the economic impact of the childcare crisis in Nevada is $1 billion annually — $190 million in lost productivity for the businesses and, for employees, $640 million in foregone earnings and job search expenses.

Employer-supported child care can result in benefits to the business including a larger hiring pool of candidates, a reduction in absenteeism and an increase in productivity. Employees often experience improved work/life integration and supported parenting which improves their own mental and physical well-being and brings higher school achievement for their children. Particularly within the millennial generation, workers are looking for employment with family-friendly benefits for their current or future family.

West said she has extensive resources and ideas for family-friendly benefits, in a wide variety of costs, available for businesses of any size. She can also provide information about the general business Employer-Provided Childcare Credit (45f) from the IRS which offers employers a tax credit up to $150,000 per year to offset 25% of qualified childcare facility expenditures and 10% of qualified childcare resource and referral expenditures.

The Children’s Cabinet provides Integrated Childcare Strategy sessions at no cost for business owners to analyze their current benefits package, conduct an employee-needs assessment and implement the recommended solutions. West said consultations are available in both English and Spanish.

A three-minute self-assessment is also available through childrenscabinet.org for a business owner to find out if they qualify for the Nevada “Best Places for Working Parents” designation. If not, free resources are available to guide them through the process.

For information email pwest@childrenscabinet.org or call 775-391-5818.