Are Backup Childcare Providers Safe? Everything You Need To Know

Is backup care safe? In short, yes, as long as the caregivers providing backup childcare are state-licensed daycare providers or background-checked.

Backup childcare providers will be as safe and dependable as the full and part-time caregivers families use all the time because they also offer these same childcare services, in addition to backup care.

Let’s take a step back, however. We’re going to examine what backup care is, who provides it, how they’re vetted, and why it’s an important component of employee childcare benefit programs.

Having a backup plan on your childcare journey is always wise. Lining up reinforcements for your stint in the childcare trenches is smart and necessary planning.

Working parents increasingly need backup care to juggle their home and career responsibilities. Meanwhile, employers considering employee childcare benefits programs realize the impact backup childcare has on their workforce.

Don’t hesitate to ping us here at Upwards with any backup care questions or concerns.

What is backup care? Who provides backup care?

Backup care, also called emergency care, is an employer-sponsored childcare benefit that employees can access when a regular childcare plan falls through due to an emergency or unexpected event.

Backup care is provided by daycare providers and caregivers who can care for employees’ children on a particular day, along with any other kids they may be watching at the time. These are safe, qualified caregivers with space to accommodate a child during an unplanned day of childcare for working parents. Finding this care at the last minute can be the difference between missing time at work or viewing it as just another Tuesday.

We know how important childcare is to a functioning society. Daycare providers and caregivers are doing vital work daily to enable workers to perform their jobs throughout the economy. Yet what really gives backup care meaning is that it offers a safety net to ensure that working families can still find quality childcare, even during an emergency or unanticipated change of plans.

With parents struggling to balance work and their many childcare duties, employers who offer backup care as part of an employee childcare benefits program are supporting their workforce in quite a practical and profound way.

Vetting backup childcare providers

Part of planning any employee childcare benefits program is evaluating the quality and safety of the childcare being provided. So if we scrutinize backup care providers, how do they stack up?

Daycare providers offering backup care are subject to the same licensing requirements that all daycares must meet, which differ from state to state.

The topics that state licensing is concerned with range from the overall number of kids authorized in a class to the nutrition of the food provided to children during care. These regulations also cover the safety of the building where care is provided and the number of kids that one adult can care for at a time.

Licensed daycare facilities meet minimum state requirements and go through monitoring on an ongoing basis to ensure compliance. In addition, federal law requires states to conduct thorough background checks on all childcare providers.

In the case of home daycare providers, background checks are required for all adults living in the home where care is provided. Caregivers offering backup care also undergo background checks to provide childcare to families.

How do childcare benefits for employees solve childcare challenges?

An employee childcare benefits program that includes backup care sets working families and the entire organization up for success.

Current and prospective employees are looking for comprehensive care benefits from their employers, especially childcare benefits and backup care. The right childcare benefits for employees provide flexible, affordable care to support a diverse workforce.

Backup care offers much-needed flexibility and real-time adaptability for working parents, who will inevitably deal with a situation where their pre-planned childcare arrangements fall through. To best assist your employees and ensure they don’t miss preventable work days due to childcare issues, offering robust childcare benefits that include backup care makes a ton of financial sense.

**Choosing the right childcare network to provide backup care to your employees is going to be crucial to the success of your new program.

Upwards, the largest childcare network in the United States, is a leading provider of employee childcare benefits to organizations. Our network consists of over 60,000 small childcare providers. We utilize technology to create affordable childcare benefits for employees of all organizations seeking to support their working families.

We have flexible employee childcare benefits programs that feature backup care to support families when childcare plans change unexpectedly.

Our team is here for any questions related to childcare benefits or backup care in particular: benefits@upwards.com. You can also schedule a demo to learn more.

Let us help bolster your working parents with backup care and reinforce the fundamentals of your business in the process.