Lowering Absenteeism: Child care breakdowns leading to employee absences cost businesses $3 billion annually in the United States. Fifty-four percent of employers report that child care services had a positive impact on employee absenteeism, reducing missed workdays by 20 to 30 percent.

Increasing Productivity: 49 percent of employers report that child care services had helped boost employee productivity.

Reducing Turnover: Almost two-thirds of employers found that providing child care services reduced turnover.

Boosting Recruitment: 85 percent of employers report that providing child care services improved employee recruitment. About one in three working parents is willing to change employers or trade salary and benefits for work/family programs that fit his/her needs.

(Source: The Child Care Partnership Project Employer Toolkit. It's Good Business to Invest in Child Care. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://nccic.org/ccpartnerships.)

• Resource & Referral Information: Johnson & Johnson reported savings of more than $4 for every $1 invested in its work/family programs, including child care resource and referral information (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1998).

• Parental Leave: Forty-two percent of employers who allow employees to take some paid time off to care for mildly ill children perceive these programs as a positive return on the investment, while an additional 42 percent perceive them as cost-neutral (Families and Work Institute, 1998b).
• Flexible Work Schedules: Of employers offering one or more flexible work arrangements, 46 percent perceived a positive return on their investment, while 36 percent perceived the programs as cost-neutral.
• On-Site Child Care: Lancaster laboratories has a turnover rate one-half the industry average, in part due to an on-site child care center (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1998).