NORTH DAKOTA TESTS PUBLIC-PRIVATE SOLUTION TO WORKFORCE NEEDS Working Parents Child Care Relief Pilot Program

There is widespread agreement that solving North Dakota's child care needs is the key to healthy, vibrant communities and to unlocking the state's workforce capacity and ensuring North Dakota is open for business.

North Dakota has an estimated 35,000 job openings and the nation's lowest unemployment rate at 2.1%. North Dakota is also getting younger - attracting younger people who are having families.

State lawmakers, Gov. Doug Burgum's administration, and business and community leaders have discussed the child care and workforce connection, along with strategies to improve access, affordability and quality.

During the 2021 special legislative session, lawmakers acted and approved allocating $9 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the development of a public-private solution to child care needs.

"With this investment and support and input from multiple stakeholders, we worked to create a strategy employerscouldusetomakeadifferenceforemployees - especially those families with infants and toddlers who shoulder the highest child care cost burden," said HHS Commissioner ChrisJones.

That led to the announcement this spring by HHS of the new Working Parents Child Care Relief pilot program. It involves employers, the state of North Dakota and parents, pooling resources to maximize employersponsored child care benefits and offer financial relief for qualifying families.

Participatingemployersopt inand of fer childcare benefits to employees at the $150or $300 per child, per monthlevel. Eligible working parents apply. Employers verify paymentof childcare benefits, and HHS paysamatching benefit directly to qualifying, participatingemployees.

To qualify, working parents must work fora participating employer and have a household income at or below 10 0%of the state medianincome fora household their size Their young children (bir th - 36 months)need to at tend a North Dakota licensed childcare program.

Urban and ruralemployers, both large and small, are optinginto participate.

One of thoseemployers is Hear t of America Medical Centerin Rugby, N.D. Human Resources Manager Sara Radomski said, “We area family-focused organization in a rural community. We have made many great strides in improving the benefit options for employees. There aremany critical jobs in our organization that are not all professionallevel positions, and it is impor tantto have af fordable childcare optionsfor frontlineemployees.”

Scot t Staudinger, VicePresidentof Government Af fairs and Human Resources at Cloverdale Foods Company inMandan, N.D., estimated that up to 15% of their workforcemay qualify and applyto participate.

“Cloverdale strongly feels that by providing this benefit, it will assist us in at tractingand retainingtop talent,” he said. “This multi-faceted cost-sharing program will alleviate some of the economic pressure employees face in providing qualit y childcare for their children.”

Staudinger said signing up was easy “Cloverdale signed up to participateon April 13, and wewere approvedon April 14. We arecurrently creating a policy and craf ting employee communications, and we look forwardto rolling it out this year,” he said.

During the three-yearpilotprogram, North Dakota hopesto assist up to 1,00 0 families and learn more about what works and how best to move for ward with additional policy solutions.

Greater North Dakota Chamber Chief Executive Of ficer andPresident Arik Spencersuppor ts piloting this andother solutionstomeet workforceneeds “This program will providehelpful data as we work toward a retention strategy that helps combat the af fordability component that is pushing some families out of the workforce.”

“When more options are available to families, thereare more winners: families, businesses and North Dakota,” he said.