When the Employer Faces Day Care Decisions: Cost-Benefit Analysis and Other Decision-Making Tools

Abstract

More and more employers are being asked to make decisions on day care. In public agencies and private business, employers are seeking advice on how to decide whether, and to what extent, to subsidize day care. Traditional cost/benefit analysis is very difficult in the field of early childhood programs and cannot easily be used as a decision-making tool in this area. However, it is useful to review problems in costs, costing, funding, and benefits; and many useful hints can be given to the employer who must make decisions on day care.