Schools almost out, will your employees face gaps in child care?

School age children are eagerly anticipating the last day of classes but many of their working parents are not. In between the final day of school and the first day of camp, or a summer without plans before school starts again, short term child care can be tough to find.

Parents spend valuable work time researching and setting up those memorable camp experiences and even more time finding a resource for the in-between days. This could be an opportunity to think about your approach to workplace flexibility. Could some work be handled at home, workweeks compressed or flex time hours introduced? Workplace Flexibility; A Guide for Companies from The Work and Family Institute provides a good summary of the options and ideas for implementation.

For occasional emergency days you may allow employees to bring a child to work. Make sure that this is an approved practice, you have checked liability issues and it’s a once in a while event. You may not be ready to explore establishing on-site day care. Is there a drop in child care center near your workplace?

Employers could also provide a link for college students looking for jobs. Within your own workforce you may have an employee with a child who will be home between their sophomore and junior years who would love to earn some extra cash. In addition to on-line postings there is a creative service called MommyMixer that organizes events attended by moms and college age sitters. In more than 30 cities parents pay a fee to attend events where they connect in person with the help they need.

There is no one solution to the task of combining the pieces needed for child care. What creative ideas have you seen work?