Working Parents Appreciate Emergency Backup Daycare Benefits

More than half of working parents scramble to arrange emergency care for their sick children up to four times a year, and nearly one-third need backup care up to eight times a year, according to a study by employee benefits firm ComPsych.

Based on a survey of more than 1,000 employees with young children, the study revealed that many workers would benefit from access to trained caregivers who are available at short notice to look after children unable to attend school or daycare centers due to illness.

Citing statistics from the National Association for Sick Child Daycare, researchers noted that the number of daycare centers that will take sick children has fallen by 20% over the past decade to 25%. Over the same period, however, the use of "drop-in nannies," or home health care specialists prepared to provide emergency backup care to working parents, has grown by 24%, according to the study. Employers can help their workers gain access to backup caregivers by contracting with employee assistance programs (EAPs).

When asked how often they need emergency backup care for their children, 58% of the working parents surveyed said one to four times a year, 27% said five to eight times a year, 10% said nine to twelve times a year, and 5% reported needing emergency babysitting services more than twelve times a year.

"With dual-income households and employees working longer hours, finding backup care for a sick child is a bigger problem than ever before," said Richard A. Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of ComPsych. Because of the decline in traditional sick-child daycare centers, Chaifetz added, his organization is placing more nannies and prescreened in-home care professionals on its list of providers for employees.