BUSINESS CEO Funk makes major announcement Express employees to receive $5,000 for dependent care services
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s a young mother whose child has lifethreatening food allergies, Heather Koontz of Oklahoma City worries daily about child care for her 17-month-old son, Russell. She and her husband, Byron, have opted for child care that is better equipped to care for kids with food allergies, which brings them piece of mind but comes at a higher price. The Koontz family is not alone in tackling the high price of dependent care. According to Child Care Aware of America, the annual cost of infant care in Oklahoma is $6,788. Oklahoma families on average pay 9.8 percent of the household income, compared to a single parent who pays nearly a third, 32.9 percent, for this type of care. Additionally, the organization reports that annual infant care in the Sooner state costs nearly as much as a year of public college tuition. With child care and dependent care costs skyrocketing, Heather teared up when she heard that the CEO of the company she works for came up with a unique plan to help offset these out-of-control costs for its employees. Heather is a senior writer at Express Employment Professionals.
Bob Funk Announces Unique Program Express CEO and chairman of the board, Bob Funk, announced in November his intentions to help offset the rising cost of health care to young families by offering regular fulltime corporate employees up to $5,000 per dependent annually to help pay for dependent care services. “Russell’s food allergies require constant monitoring and constant care,” Heather said. “The news is a big deal for my family. For me, it gives me hope that my son will be in a safer, 24 ion Oklahoma DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017
Express national sourcing specialist Floyd Brown, right, thanks Bob Funk, CEO of Express, for the new $5,000 child care benefit program. As a father of four, child care is always a concern to Brown because the cost often outweighs the benefits.
healthier place because I can now afford higher quality care for him, and I don’t have to worry every month that we will have outrageous medical costs. We can store the extra income for the extremely pricy EpiPens.” “This unique program could be a life changer,” Funk said. “Cost for child care is expensive and oppressive. It is becoming more and more difficult for parents and single parents to keep up with these ever-increasing costs. We want to ease that financial burden for our employees.” Express currently offers headquarters employees a flexible spending account (FSA) where they can put money into the account for child care on a pre-tax basis. This program will work like the FSA, where the employee will submit receipts for reimbursement. However, Express will pay for the reimbursement.