A new partnership hopes to make jobs in senior living and care more attractive to parents currently struggling to find affordable child care that fits their schedule.
LeadingAge California has partnered with child care network TOOTRiS in an attempt to recruit and retain employees amid the long-term care industry’s workforce challenges.
By partnering with TOOTRiS — which provides technology-enabled child care benefits — LeadingAge California’s provider members will have access to the company’s almost 200,000 state-licensed child care providers.
“We’re excited to extend this new offering to our members,” LeadingAge California CEO and President Jeannee Parker Martin said in a press release. “Supplementing employee benefits with child care provides a ‘sticky’ benefit that supports a more diverse workplace and creates a key differentiator by providing support to working parents who may experience distress in finding safe and reliable solutions for their children during the work day.”
A lack of affordable and quality child care is a major factor in deterring many parents from entering the senior living and care workforce. In California, the average annual cost of infant care is $16,945, according to the Economic Policy Institute. California is one of 33 states and Washington, DC, where infant care is more expensive than college.
By implementing support systems and incentives for people entering or already working in the industry, LeadingAge and TOOTRiS hope to make progress in addressing the hindrance posed by child care challenges and reverse persistent worker shortages.
“We are honored to be partnering with LeadingAge California to ensure every working parent — especially women — has the same opportunity for work, advancement and access to affordable, high-quality child care,” TOOTRiS CEO Alessandra Lezama said in a statement. “The extraordinary people working in direct care with older adults have some of the most important jobs in the country. We are proud to be working with an organization that puts the needs of those care takers front and center by offering child care solutions.”
