Transcript Saint Mary’s College Employee Benefits Advisory Committee (EBAC) Spring 2013 Meeting March 11, 2013

Saint Mary’s College
Employee Benefits Advisory Committee
(EBAC)
Spring 2013 Meeting
March 11, 2013
Dependent Care Demand and
Cost Projection Study Findings
Presented to:
Presented by:
February 27, 2013
Agenda

Introductions

Scope of Dependent Care Study

The Child Care Trilemma

Our Findings

Our Recommendations
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Scope of Dependent Care Study
Objective to answer two questions:

Is there demand for a campus child care center?

Is there demand for dependent back-up care services?
These questions were answered via:

Stakeholder interviews

Demographic analysis of faculty, staff, and students

Geographic analysis of faculty, staff, and students

Child care market overview
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The Child Care Trilemma
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QUALITY
Entails more labor
intensive ratios and
smaller group sizes. For
example, California
licensing allows 1 teacher
for 12 two-year-olds, but
quality centers reduce that
in half to one teacher for
six children.
Requires educated,
trained workforce which
drives higher salary
requirements.
Exceeds minimum
licensing standards of
health and safety.
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ACCESSIBILITY
AFFORDABILITY
Reflects high-cost/lowreturn business reality.
Creates severe lack of
infant/toddler care due
to higher ratios.
Operating efficiencies
limit days and hours of
care.
Average monthly cost of
center-based care within
five miles of Saint Mary’s
is $1,300 for
preschoolers and $1,600
for infants.
ACCESSIBILITY
Less than 10% of U.S. centers meet national standards of best practice as defined by the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC accreditation is a voluntary
nationally recognized measure of high-quality care in the early care and education field.
There are no NAEYC accredited centers in Moraga and only three within Lafayette and Orinda. Of the
three centers, none offer infant care and two are part-day preschool programs.
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Factors for Saint Mary’s
There are three factors for Saint Mary’s to consider in providing campus child care:

Is there demand for child care services among faculty, staff, and students?

Is there space on or near the campus to place a child care center?

Does the College have the resources to finance this undertaking?
1.
Demand
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2.
Space
3.
Cost
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Child Care Center Demand
There is not enough demand to support campus child care

Few children under six years of age given mature workforce and overall small full-time workforce size

Long commutes for many faculty, staff, and graduate students

Faculty not on campus daily
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Graduate students primarily on campus nights and weekends
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Affordability challenges for staff and undergraduates especially
Faculty
Staff
Graduate
Students
Undergraduate
Students
Existence of Children Under 6 Years
Commute to Campus Daily
Proximity of Residence to Campus
Ability to Afford Center-Based Care
Overall Demand
Key:
High Demand
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Medium Demand
Low Demand
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Child Care Center Space and Cost
Space is not available
 The campus is maxed out on space with current priority going to faculty offices and housing.
 The campus has challenges in expansion given the uneven terrain requiring costly grading or land fill.
 The one off-site location owned by the College has a site permit requiring the amount of parking spaces
be maintained thereby prohibiting the construction of a playground on the parking lot.
Finances are not available to fund a center without making trade-offs
 Saint Mary’s primary revenue source is student tuition.
 The recession impacted Saint Mary’s, necessitating a few staff and adjunct faculty layoffs and some
budget cutbacks.
 The College has recently reached the point of adding back some of the items that had to be reduced
during the recession, and is looking to prioritize where it will spend any additional revenue.
 Some current priorities are the pension, retired medical insurance, and then child care, elder care, and
transportation services.
 A capital campaign would be needed to fund the start-up of the program and an ongoing campaign may
be required to fund the annual operating costs.
 Even with market rate tuitions, the center would require ongoing operating support from the College, and
given staff and student affordability challenges, the College would also need to subsidize their tuitions.
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Back-Up Dependent Care
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A program that allows faculty and staff to work when
regular forms of dependent care are not available
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Provides care for:
• Well children of all ages
• Mildly-ill children of all ages
• Adult/elder care
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Provides emergency back-up care as well as planned
gaps in care
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Provides care for faculty and staff throughout the
country – work travel, elders who live elsewhere, etc.
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Child and Adult/Elder
Back-Up Care Demand
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Given their older average ages, many faculty and staff members are mostly likely facing elder
care issues, which can be addressed by this program to relieve stress, improve attendance and
productivity, and provide peace of mind.
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Faculty and staff have a larger number of school-age children than children under six years of
age. Back-up care can address the care needs when school is out or school-age children are mildly-ill
and cannot attend school.
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Given staff’s affordability challenges for center-based child care, many are using family members and
family child care homes. Child care that relies on one person tends to break down more frequently
as these individual caregivers become ill, go on vacation, and have other life emergencies of their own.
Back-up care will provide a safety net for these employees allowing them to have quality back-up care
in a center or in their home so they can come to work.

When children are mildly ill, they cannot attend school or center-based child care and therefore
back-up care will benefit faculty and staff by providing care in their home so they can work.

Other universities in the Bay Area that have this type of back-up care program include Santa Clara
University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UCSF.
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Both graduate and undergraduate students could benefit from having a back-up system in place when
their child care breaks down as well, so they do not miss class.
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How The Program Works
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Network of pre-screened child care centers and in-home agencies provides coverage for all
faculty and staff
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Faculty and staff register for the program and reserve care through a customized website or by
telephone via our 24/7 call centers
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Each employee is allowed fixed number of back-up care days per year
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Faculty and staff members can request care up to 30 days in advance or on an emergency basis
on the same day the care is needed
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Care options are identified by consultants and co-payment is collected via debit/credit card at
time of reservation
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Turnkey program for Saint Mary’s
• Marketing support provided during program implementation
through a wide range of communication materials and
on-site meetings
• Ongoing support includes quarterly utilization reports
along with seasonal marketing materials
• Employee feedback encouraged through an evaluation
survey after each use
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Back-Up Care Proven Results
89%
Eighty-nine percent of survey respondents said the Back-Up Care Advantage Program
enhances their productivity.1
6 days
Respondents reported that those who have used back-up care for their child within the
past six months saved an average of 6 work days.2
86%
Back-up care for children and adult/elder relatives enables 86% of employees to work
a day they otherwise would have missed.2
26%
Highly engaged employee companies enjoy 26% higher employee productivity,
lower turnover, higher talent attraction, and greater shareholder return.3
51%
Of organizations that offered emergency back-up child care, 51% report a moderate
to high impact on retention.4
1/3
Employees without access to dependent care supports were nearly one-third more
likely to report being down, depressed, or hopeless in the last month. Overall,
respondents that had used a dependent care support within the past six months were
significantly less likely to report mental health issues.5
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2
3
4
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2012 YTD Back-Up Quarterly Survey Results
Bright Horizons “Lasting Impact of Employer-Sponsored Back-Up Care” study
Taleo Research White Paper: Profitable Talent Management (2011)
WorldatWork, November, 2007
Bright Horizons’ Consulting/Dr. Jamie Ladge, North Eastern University: Enhanced Employee Health, Well-Being, and Engagement through Dependent Care Supports (2010)
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Program Accessibility
Where An Employee Needs It
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The industry’s strongest, deepest,
and broadest network
•
340 Bright Horizons’ child care centers
•
2,200 network child care centers
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200,000+ contracted in-home caregivers from
935 contracted agencies
Continuous network development
•
Through dedicated provider relations team
•
“Nominate Your Provider” Program
Saint Mary’s campus is a 100% match to
center and in-home providers
•
Faculty and Staff Home Zip Codes: 98.6% match to
center-based care; 99.6% match to in-home
providers
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When An Employee Needs It
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Care requests fulfilled
•
99% in 2012, 99% in 2011, and 98% in 2010
•
90% fill rate guaranteed for all clients
Employees can contact the program
24 hours per day, 7 days per week
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Arranging Care
24/7 Service Access
Connecting to
Back-Up Care
Adult/Elder Care
 In-home care by licensed and
credentialed caregivers
 Can be used for adult spouses
and elders
Dedicated
Consultant
Team
Back-Up Well Child Care
 Center-based or in-home
 National network includes:
• Bright Horizons centers
• Other quality centers
• In-home care by licensed
caregivers
Mildly-Ill Child Care
 In-home care by trained and
credentialed caregivers
Fast Turnaround
Care for Business Travel
 In-hotel care by trained and
credentialed caregivers
 Center-based care
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Quality Providers
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Business Model
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Turnkey program for Saint Mary’s College
•
Named account manager
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Extensive support during program implementation
•
Wide range of employee communication materials
•
Comprehensive usage reporting capabilities
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Program elements are customized based on Saint Mary’s College’s needs
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All faculty and staff have specified annual use allowance
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Minimal employee co-payment
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Fixed annual fee based on expected stabilized utilization
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Back-Up Care Advantage Program Cost
Program Components
Projected Annual Utilization
Program Cost
148 uses per year
$50,000 annual fee
with reduced co-pays
15 annual uses per employee
Start-Up Fee
$5,000 one-time fee includes:
 Communications development plan, including
webinars or on-site events
 Website and collateral development
 Network preparation
Assumptions:
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Based on Saint Mary’s 497 faculty and 444 staff (941 users)
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Co-pays: Center $15/child and $25/family per day; In-home $4/hour with 4 hour minimum
(reduced in-home co-pay from standard $6/hour based on staff affordability challenges)
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Minimum contract 3 years
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5% increase in program cost per year
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Saint Mary’s Student Population
 Saint Mary’s has 1,278 graduate students of which 64% are female and 36% are
male and the average age is 34 years
 Saint Mary’s has an undergraduate population of 2,841 with 60% female and 40%
male and the average age is 20 years
 Given the above statistics:
•
Is there value to Saint Mary’s in offering back-up care to students?
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Is this a benefit students would put at the top of their list of desired campus programs?
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Project Summary
Our objective was to answer two questions:
1.
Is there demand for a campus child care center? - No
There is not enough demand for Saint Mary’s to pursue a campus child care center based on the
small number of faculty and staff on campus, their older average age, commutes, and affordability
issues, making the financial viability of the center more than the College can bear.
2.
Is there demand for dependent back-up care services? - Yes
There is projected demand for a dependent back-up care program based on the types of care faculty
and staff are currently using for their young children, the larger number of school-age children faculty
and staff have, and the fact that adult/elder care is likely a growing need among faculty and staff
given their older average ages.
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Recommendation
Upon completion of the study we recommend that Saint Mary’s College:

Offer back-up dependent care to faculty and staff

Assess whether back-up dependent care is a desired benefit among graduate and undergraduate students
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Next Steps
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