Deadline to Apply for the 2011 "Business on Board with Childcare!" Award is December 1st
Since 2009, West Virginia KIDS COUNT has sponsored an award program called Business on Board with Childcare! to recognize employers who offer a childcare-friendly workplace. West Virginia employers who want to earn KIDS COUNT's 2011 Business on Board with Childcare! designation must submit their applications no later than December 1, 2011. Click here to download your 2011 application. 
To be designated a 2011 Business on Board with Childcare!, West Virginia employers must comply with any combination of the following award criteria totaling at least 20 points:
On-site childcare (25 points)Payment for childcare with vouchers or other subsidies that have direct costs to the company (20 points)
Flexible spending accounts that help employees pay for childcare with pre-tax dollars (10 points)
Reimbursement of childcare costs when employeeswork late (10 points)
Reimbursement of childcare costs when employees travel for business (10 points)
Childcare for school-age children on vacation (10 points)
Backup or emergency care for employees when their regular childcare arrangements fall apart (10 points)
Sick care for the children of employees; or sick leave for employees with sick children; or employees allowed to bring sick children to work (10 points)
Participation in their local KIDS COUNT Community or other similar efforts to advocate for better childcare. (5 points)
Access to information to help locate childcare in the community (Child Care Resource and Referral information) (5 points)
Financial support of the West Virginia KIDS COUNT Fund, including sponsorship of the Business on Board with Childcare! awards (5 points)
Support of KIDS COUNT's annual Take a Flower to Childcare Day celebration (5 points)
A score of 25 to 50 points will earn an employer the "2011 Achiever Award. " A score of 55 points or higher will earn an employer the program's highest honor, a "2011 Navigator Award."
Click here to learn more about the Business on Board with Childcare! Awards.
Why a High Quality Early Child Development System is So Important
From the moment they are born, children are profoundly shaped by the world around them. Their earliest interactions with Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa and all other caring adults lay the foundation on which their futures will be built.
The fact is 64,000 West Virginia children under age six spend a large part of their day in the care of someone other than their parents because their parents are working, and there is currently no good way to measure the quality of that care.
We need better public structures to ensure that every West Virginia child can benefit from a high-quality, early child development (ECD) program. According to Marshall University, for every dollar West Virginia invests in this high-quality ECD system, we will earn a $5.20 return through outcomes such as higher academic achievement and adult earning power and lower juvenile delinquency and dropout rates.
About KIDS COUNT
For 21 years, KIDS COUNT has provided the most trusted information about the well-being of children and has built alliances to advocate for what kids need.
Our vision is to make West Virginia a great place to be a kid.
KIDS COUNT's recent work has been focused almost exclusively on the importance of improving access to and the quality of early child development programs. For example, the organization has played a major role in the development of standards for West Virginia's pre-kindergarten (pre-k) program, fought to save the pre-k program from legislative cuts, studied the importance of early literacy, educated business leaders about the economic impact of ECD programs, launched a multi-county campaign to improve early literacy practices, and spearheaded a successful effort to improve the quality of the state's childcare system by advocating for a childcare quality rating and improvement system.
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