Across three cohorts and for over two years, the Partner Up! program provided grant funding to awarded businesses who were willing to subsidize a portion of their employees' child care costs. Each contracted child care slot was paid out to the provider monthly as the True Cost of Care, the amount Department of Children and Families determined was needed for in-home providers and group centers to truly be able to afford offering the slot. True Cost of Care is often far above the amount of tuition a parent can pay; tuition often being referred to as "market rate."
Though the program has come to an end, the exercises of the program can still be practiced by employers:
- Have you surveyed your employees to better understand their child care needs and cost?
- Have you considered supporting those needs in order to improve productivity, attendance and talent retention?
- What advocacy have you participated in to support increased wages and child care availability in your area?
Contact CCP Staff for More Information
Seth Abrahamson
Business Child Care Advocate
seth.abrahamson@wdeoc.org
715-492-6622 or 715-831-1700
Becca Elbert
Assistant Director
becca.elbert@wdeoc.org
715-831-1700
The various Partner Up! cohorts have been funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Act (CRRSA), the Preschool Development Grant (PDG), and Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy and Training (QUEST), and there is no further funding at this time.
Partner Up! is a grant program from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families’ Project Growth, Supporting Families Together Association, and Wisconsin’s nine CCR&Rs.
|