Onsite Child Care is Good for Business

By Anne Morrison, MPP
SF Child Care Connection (SF3C) Manager
Children’s Council of San Francisco

Back-to-school time has always made me somewhat nostalgic; it’s a time of excitement and new beginnings; of seeing old friends and making new ones. I can even remember my very first first day of school as a four year old.

You see, my mom’s employer had onsite child care, so even as I recall being scared about being in a new place without my parents, I also remember my mom reassuring me that she’d be close by while I played and learned with my new friends.

Onsite child care is a rarity in the U.S., but in this article for Fast Company, Patagonia’s CEO Rose Marcario makes the case that not only is child care a necessity for working families, companies that offer onsite child care for their employees can actually recoup most of their costs through tax credits, employee retention and increased engagement. Click here to read the full article.

Rose and a growing number of business leaders have seen firsthand that employees who feel supported and don’t have to worry about the quality of their child’s care put more into their work, and feel better about the company they work for. I’m sure my mom was able to be more engaged at her job knowing I was close by and well cared for.

Here at Children’s Council of San Francisco, we know that child care matters. It’s refreshing to see that companies like Patagonia understand that for their bottom line, child care matters too.