CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There is a looming childcare crisis with federal funds about to run out and many day cares wondering how they’ll keep doing business.
That means it may only get tougher on working parents. But a local Charlotte company is trying to ease that burden in a move they’re hoping will keep employees and help recruit new ones.
Lauren Perrigo remembers going back to work after having her youngest and, like most parents, finding that child care was the biggest hurdle.
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Now though it’s a hurdle she gets help with – from her employer.
"It was really stressful. You can't do without it," Perrigo said. "It's amazing that they go the extra mile to look into that for you."
Perrigo works at Airwavz, a Charlotte-based technology company that last month began teaming up with a company called Tootris, the biggest child care platform in the country.
"So we're really helping connect working parents to child care providers and we do it for free through the platform," Tootris spokesperson Jeff McAdam said.
Tootris vets the child care providers and only works with state-licensed agencies.
So Airwavz pays for access to Tootris - helping find their team members' child care- and Airwavs gives employees a $200 monthly stipend to help pay for it.
"Talent is everything," said Airwavz Chief Commercial Officer David Herran. "It’s a very competitive market for talent so for us as we grow, besides being the right thing to do for our employees, it was a proper business decision."
Airwavz employee Allison Horinko’s daughter is older now but she still benefits from Airwavz’s approach to child care and emphasis on family. She uses the stipend for afterschool and camps.
"Not only is it a financial benefit for us because it puts money back in our pocket, but it's also peace of mind knowing we work for a company that actually cares," Horinko said.
But companies everywhere are bracing for what could be a child care crisis when emergency federal funding for daycares runs out later this year.
"It will be interesting to see how many child care programs are impacted by it," McAdams said. "It seems like the overwhelming majority of them have been receiving federal money over the past couple of years and if that money does run out and there’s no way to replenish it. You're going to have a lot of programs figure out how do they become whole financially, are they going to start cutting staff? So then what does that mean for the working parent, do they have to leave their job to stay home with their child?"
Airwavz is hoping their partnership with Tootris means their team members don’t have to worry.
"We have been really focused on an 'I love it here' culture we believe the way you get there is you invest in your employees and then beyond just daily lives, but also families and that’s child care," Herran said.
Tootris is still growing. Right now they have 75 childcare facilities in Mecklenburg County but they also work with parents who may already have a child in day care to bring that facility onto the platform.
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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