Child Care Works

Data shows that Kansas City area employers struggle to recruit and retain employees because of a lack of affordable child care options for their employees, and local families often can’t find affordable child care. Child Care Works is a child care exchange program that helps ensure working families have access to affordable, high-quality child care through cost-sharing.

Through Child Care Works, an employee’s child care costs would be shared among the employee, the employer, the state of Missouri (if eligible) and potentially other local funding sources. All of this would be coordinated at the local level by MARC.

By participating in Child Care Works:

• Employers would have an easy and hassle-free way to support their current and prospective employees with their child care needs.
• Working families would benefit from government, employer or other contributions, and the program would increase affordability and ease of enrollment at their provider of choice.
• Providers would offer guaranteed spots for the children of employees and receive payment based on enrollment.

Employers participating in Child Care Works offer child care benefits to their employees through contributions to MARC, which in turn would assist their employees in choosing a spot at participating child care providers.

MARC is responsible for connecting employers and child care providers, increasing the number of child care options available, supporting workforce attraction for employers and stabilizing the child care marketplace.