benefits

subsidized or reimbursed childcare

Employers who reimburse or subsidize employees’ child care pay all or part of approved arrangements and/ or reserve slots at particular facilities for employees’ children. Through child care referrals, employers offer resources to parents to help them find child care in the area.

Childcare White Paper:

A critical ingredient for Minneapolis-St. Paul

benefit to employers

Increases retention, reducing
turnover costs
Reduces employee tardiness and absenteeism

benefit to families

Improves family economic security

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Case Study

case study: Securian Financial

Helping employees cover the high costs of childcare, while easing the burden of finding care

The childcare system is broken in Minnesota from the lack of available spots to high costs. The median Minnesota family with children could end up spending 8-15% of their income on childcare, depending on the number of children in care and their age. A new Itasca Project report on the crisis with childcare calls on employers to be part of the solution.

Securian Financial is doing just that.

The financial services company offers a 10% employee discount through New Horizons Academy, a childcare and early learning provider with 67 locations in Minnesota. There’s even a New Horizon center in Securian’s headquarters building in downtown St. Paul. All Securian employees are eligible to use the discount to pay for childcare.

In addition to helping to subsidize childcare, Securian offers a service through its Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Guidance Resources, to help employees find childcare. Member services contacts review what the employee is looking for, identifies potential options and creates a list to share.

“Finding childcare is a time-consuming process that comes at a time when parents are adjusting to major life changes,” said Karen Oberle, Second Vice President of Total Rewards, Human Resources. “Our EAP support helps employees take care of a critical piece of their return-to-work planning, easing the stress of the process and allowing them to spend more time with their child.”

The childcare discount and EAP resource are just two of the many family-friendly benefits Securian offers. For example, Securian offers paid parental leave for mothers, fathers, and adoptive parents, as well as flexible work schedules. In reflecting on changes since she raised her children, Oberle sees more men taking advantage of family-friendly benefits like paternity leave or flexibility for childcare drop off, trends she expects to continue.

Location: St. Paul, Minn.