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The Child Care Partnership Project Texas Employer Coalition Initiatives |
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Description Workers face pressure and responsibilities on and off the job. Work affects family, and family affects work. The Texas Employer Coalition Initiatives encourages employers to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities. The Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse, a part of the Texas Workforce Commission, has taken the lead in the effort to promote employer leadership in work and family issues. Initiatives exist in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Lubbock, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Partners The Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse has partnered with over 600 employers to sponsor initiatives, including:
History and Development The Texas Legislature created the Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse to help employers attract and retain a diverse workforce. The Clearinghouse acts as a broker of information about work and family issues among employers, and between employers and professional work and family consultants. In 1995, the Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse Advisory Committee recognized the effectiveness of two existing employer coalitions, Corporate Hands of Houston and Corporate Champions of Tarrant County. The Advisory Committee recommended that any new money for the Work and Family Clearinghouse go toward creating similar employer coalitions in other Texas cities. When the state legislature appropriated $300,000 each year for fiscal years 1996-99, the Clearinghouse sponsored pilot projects to build employer coalitions. Current Activities In 1996-97 the Clearinghouse subsidized seven regional conferences on work and family issues, including child care, elder care, and community resource development. More than 600 employers from across the state attended the conferences. The conferences were designed to produce employer coalitions that would pool resources, share information, and establish a plan of action to address dependent care concerns in their communities. Each site received $5,000 for community planning around dependent care issues and for organizing a conference that reflected the specific concerns of the community. The agenda was set locally, but Clearinghouse staff helped to identify potential partners and provided follow-up technical and financial assistance. Following the conference, communities could apply for additional funds to continue the work of the newly established employer coalitions. Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, and Lubbock each received $25,000 to support the coalitions for an additional year. The Work and Family Clearinghouse also supports three existing employer coalitions that serve as models for the newly established coalitions. Houston Area Network of Dependent Services (HANDS), Corporate Champions of Tarrant County, and San Antonio Smart Start each received $50,000 grants to expand their services and act as advisors to the newly established employer coalitions. The $50,000 grants were distributed through a competitive process in which applicants had to show that they had raised at least $100,000 from employers to support dependent care. Resources The Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse receives $300,000 from state general revenue funds for employer coalition initiatives each year. Funding began in 1996 and will continue through 1999. The Clearinghouse awards grants to local community organizations that are responsible for building and sustaining the employer coalition. The groups receiving awards range from local child care resource and referral agencies, to private non-profit organizations, to local governments. Results The Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse receives quarterly reports from the local employer coalitions to monitor their activity. In January 1999, the Clearinghouse will release a report that assesses the return on the investment in building the employer coalitions. The report will measure the number of child care slots created, the number of centers that received national accreditation, and the active participation of employers in the coalition. In 1997, the Clearinghouse conducted a telephone survey of employers involved in the coalitions. The survey included special outreach to employers who were no longer active in the coalition, in order to improve participation. Survey responses confirmed that building stable coalitions takes many years and a long-term commitment from the state. The three employer groups that existed prior to 1997 are already seeing the return on their investments. In San Antonio, the group used its state grant for a public awareness campaign and raised twenty times the grant amount in additional funds. In Tarrant County (Fort Worth), the employer coalition used funds to provide technical assistance to nine child care centers and twelve family day homes. As a result of this help, the centers and homes received national accreditation. In Houston, the grant was used to recruit new employer-members with specially designed materials that target small and medium-sized businesses. Sustaining and Replicating State funding for the employer coalitions is guaranteed through fiscal year 1999. Additional funding raised after 1999 will allow the Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse to build more employer coalitions, but the goal is to make the existing coalitions self-sustaining by 1999. The state grants were intended to provide the necessary administrative funding to build and stabilize the coalitions, not to provide ongoing support. Future funds will go to maintaining the communication network among existing employer coalitions and, to the extent possible, providing incentive grants for new communities to develop employer coalitions. The Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse encourages employer coalitions to work together and learn from one another's successes and failures. Corporate Hands of Houston and Corporate Champions of Tarrant County were the initial models, but now the Clearinghouse facilitates a network among the coalitions to encourage an exchange of information and best practices. Lessons Learned Let the employers lead. Successful employer coalitions have employers taking a leadership role and ownership for the success of the coalition. A local government agency started one employer coalition and was less successful than the others because employers saw it as a public-sector initiative. The coalition was more successful when a non-profit organization began administering the funds. Government can act as a catalyst, but private-sector employers must take ownership. Encourage networking and mentoring through face-to-face meetings. The Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse funded three established employer coalitions to serve as mentors for the new coalitions and to build a network among the coalitions. Networks are effective when the participants trust each other and value each other's advice. Face-to-face meetings and conferences are necessary to build this trust and respect. Contact Information Carol McDaniel |
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