Many local school districts, including the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD), have announced that all learning will take place virtually for at least the beginning of the fall semester.  KUSD includes the City of Kenosha, Village of Pleasant Prairie and the Village & Town of Somers.

KABA has assembled the following resources for employers to help them support employees with childcare needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you have information you would like to share or any questions, please contact KABA.

Tactics for employers to support working parents

• Survey your employees. Explore what your workforce needs as a first step through a survey. Keep it simple and anonymous. We have provided a survey template to get you started here.
• Asses your FFCRA benefits. Employees may be eligible for paid leave under the Families First Act, under the Emergency Family and Medical Act (EFMLA) provision. Determine who has accessed this benefit, and who might be eligible to plan for the remainder of 2020.
• Facilitate info sharing in the workplace. If you company doesn’t have an intranet for employees, consider utilizing a workplace communication tool like Slack, Blink or Zoho Connect. Tools like these can help your employees connect and share ideas amongst each other.
• Explore Flex Spending Accounts for Dependent Care. Does your company offer Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts? If not, you may want to look into it. DCFSAs allow your employees to save money for childcare expenses through pre-tax contributions. In addition, it reduces employer payroll taxes. Find out more through your health insurance broker.
• Subsidize childcare expenses. Employers may be eligible for federal tax breaks if you subsidize a portion of employees’ child care expenses. Find out more through your tax preparer.
• Share resources for childcare. Here is a list of licensed childcare providers in Kenosha County, as well as information on those who are offering supplemental programming to support virtual learning.  In the list of resources below, you will find a list of local child care providers that are providing virtual learning programs on their site.

Back to School Employer Survey

On July 23, KABA deployed a survey to gather employer feedback on the business community’s preferences for virtual vs. in-person learning, as well as the strategies employers are putting into place to support employees with childcare needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.  132 companies responded to the survey, which closed July 28th.

Additional links and resources

• Upcoming Event: Aug. 14 – Forum Friday: The COVID-19 Child Care Conundrum, webinar hosted by the Wisconsin Policy Forum | more info
• Kenosha Unified School District
• Life Balanced Kenosha County: Learn Here
• The following child care providers have virtual learning support programs at their facility.  If you are a care provider that would like to be added to this list, please contact KABA.
  • Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha | more info | website
  • Cornerstone Academy | more info | website
  • Early Birds Child Care | more info | website
  • Growing Green Child Development Center | more info | website
  • Kids Castle | more info | website
  • RecPlex | more info | website
  • YMCA | more info | website

Wisconsin’s economy cannot succeed without child care. Our child care providers are in crisis. Learn how Kenosha Area employers can help here.