U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and EPIC Partner to Provide New Online Resources for Child Care Solutions
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC) announced the launch of the Employer Child Care Navigator (The Navigator) website; unveiled at the 2nd annual National Child Care Innovation Summit: Business Leaders in Action in Washington, D.C. The first-of-its-kind website will provide free unbiased expertise and data-driven recommendations to employers interested in contributing to meaningful child care solutions and support for their workforce, including parents working shifts during non-traditional hours.
The newly developed Navigator website builds on the success of the highly touted Employer Roadmap: Childcare Solutions for Working Parents developed by the U.S. Chamber Foundation. This effort takes the action-oriented support from the Employer Roadmap a step further by combining the expertise of the U.S. Chamber Foundation with EPIC’s 15 years of direct business leader engagement to create a tool that helps employers identify their needs, solutions, and action plans.
The Navigator website provides free online resources, beginning with a three-minute survey to assess employee needs and determine the viability of various approaches by providing data-driven recommendations that align solutions with the employer’s workforce and operations. The site shares insights into a wide range of child care solutions and support, tools for planning, access to solution vendors across the country, and case studies highlighting employer-based child care successes. Ultimately, the Navigator is designed to simplify the process of understanding and implementing child care supports that boost recruitment, retention, productivity, and job satisfaction, resulting in beneficial gains for businesses and employees.
“The U.S. Chamber Foundation is committed to equipping employers with the tools they need to support working parents and strengthen the workforce,” said Aaron Merchen, executive director of early childhood education at the U.S. Chamber Foundation. “The incredible interest in our Employer Roadmap underscored the ongoing need to build on this foundational knowledge. By partnering with EPIC, we are ensuring businesses across the country can benefit from our shared expertise.”
The website is made possible by a transformational grant from Pivotal, a network of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates. The grant was awarded to EPIC earlier this year to allow the organization to create access to affordable child care and expand its efforts in Colorado to additional states and businesses. An increase in demand from a variety of industries and sectors to explore child care benefits prompted the U.S. Chamber Foundation and EPIC to join forces, combine industry knowledge and provide unbiased guidance via the Navigator.
“We are honored to work with the U.S. Chamber Foundation and create this new tool for employers and business leaders across the country, who know they want to provide critical child care benefits but often don’t know where to start or how to get from point A to point B,” said Nicole Riehl, President and CEO of EPIC. “We recognize there are more organizations than we are able to help with our one-on-one services. By bringing together the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s reach across the nation and our skill set of offering unbiased, data-driven recommendations for child care solutions, we were able to develop a completely original approach to help organizations identify meaningful solutions for their workforce. Our hope is the Navigator can reach as many employers as possible and ensure that any business that wants to explore child care benefits for their staff can benefit from our collective expertise and do so easily.”
In the past five years, EPIC has expanded to help businesses identify and ultimately create child care solutions specifically fit for their organizations including Community Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado and Steamboat Ski Resort in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Their employer engagement work has served more than 40 employers across Colorado who collectively employ over 110,000 workers. EPIC is currently working with Denver International Airport (DEN) to conduct a full-scale needs assessment of the more than 40,000 employees who work at the airport to define solutions that help retain and recruit the workforce needed to serve 100 million passengers each year.
Prior to, during, and after the pandemic, hundreds of employers have sought solutions from the U.S. Chamber Foundation to address critical child care challenges. Recognizing the profound impact of care issues on workforce productivity and employee retention, the U.S. Chamber Foundation has developed resources and comprehensive strategies to help businesses navigate the intricate landscape of affordable, quality childcare. These targeted resources aim to enable businesses to attract and retain talented employees while supporting the complex care needs of working families, ultimately enhancing overall workforce stability.
