FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How Backup Care Works

1. What is backup care?
2. Who provides backup care?
3. What is the process to schedule backup care?
4. What are example situations for backup childcare?
5. What are example situations for backup adult or elder care?
6. What is the cost to employees?
7. What is the cost to employers?
8. Why do employers offer backup care and subsidize its cost?
9. What types of employers offer backup care?
10. Why backup care growing in popularity?
11. What is the difference between backup care and emergency childcare?
12. Why isn’t backup care easily accessible to the general public?
13. What is Work Options Group’s role?

1. What is backup care?

Backup care is a safety net for employees who care for children, aging parents, or other loved ones; it offers trusted, affordable, temporary care for people of any age, at any time of the day or night, whether they are healthy or ill.

Example situations when employees might need backup care include:

• A child cannot go to school / daycare because of a cold, fever, sore throat or other ailment
• A childcare center or school is closed for a holiday, emergency or teacher in-service day
• A spouse or partner needs care during recovery from illness or surgery
• A parent or grandparent living in another city or state needs care while a normal in-home caregiver is on vacation
• An employee has to work odd hours (weekends, evenings, holidays) and needs care for children or adult loved ones
• An employee needs to travel for work and needs care for a child either at home or in a destination city

2. Who provides backup care?

• Licensed Center-Based or In-Home Care: Work Options Group has developed contracted partnerships with thousands of licensed care providers – in-home care agencies, nanny agencies, childcare centers and adolescent care centers – that have agreed to offer short-term care. Employees with access to the backup care benefit can either have a trained caregiver provide care in a home or have a loved one cared for in a licensed care center.
• Reputable, High-Quality Care: Work Options Group oversees the recruitment and contracting of each licensed center or agency, and the company has worked vigorously to develop strategic alliances with the most reputable, high-quality care providers. All contracted providers are screened through a triple background check and are required to have a signed contract, a signed code of conduct, and evidence of appropriate insurance, licensure, and/or a certificate of good standing. All caregivers employed by these contracted providers are qualified through a process of screening and credentialing, criminal background and reference checks and emergency response training.
• Care Providers Across the United States & Canada: Work Options Group’s contracted provider network encompasses more than 2,000 in-home health care and nanny agencies and more than 3,000 childcare centers across the United States and Canada.  The network is the largest of its type and is broad enough to meet the geographic and scheduling needs of all employees, regardless of residence, family structure, work hours or office location. 

3. What is the process to schedule backup care?

Using the Backup Care Options program is easy; “one call solves it all” when employees need temporary care for a loved one. Employees simply call Work Options Group’s toll-free number (available 24/7) and speak with a trained backup care specialist who explains the nuances of backup care, gathers detailed information about the individual(s) needing care and searches for available backup care providers. Then the specialist contacts the employee to with available care options, offers tools and tips for a successful backup care experience and schedules care on the employee’s behalf. After care has been provided, the employee receives an invoice for the hourly co-payment (if applicable), plus an evaluation survey that collects valuable feedback about the service and the care provider.  

4. What are example situations for backup childcare?

• While school or childcare is closed (a child needs care during holidays, teacher in-service days, emergency closures or weather-related school closures)
• When a child is sick or recovering from surgery (a child cannot attend childcare or school  because of cold, stomach flu, broken leg, wisdom teeth removal, etc.)
• If a caregiver is sick, on vacation or has unbreakable commitment (a spouse who cares for a child is sick, a grandparent who cares for a child has jury duty, a nanny who cares for a child is on vacation)
• While making long-term care arrangements (a child is on a waiting list for a childcare center or has a gap between summer camp and the first day of school)
• For business travel (an employee needs childcare – either at home or in the destination city – in order to travel for training, sales meetings, etc.)
• To work from home efficiently (an employee needs childcare while children are home during school holidays or closures)
• For non-standard work times (an employee needs childcare because overtime or non-traditional hours are scheduled)

5. What are example situations for backup adult or elder care?

• During recovery from illness or surgery (an employee’s parent needs care while recovering from the flu or an employee’s spouse needs care after hip surgery)
• For respite care (an employee’s mother normally cares for father with Alzheimer’s and the mother needs rest/relief)
• While making long-term care arrangements (an employee’s parent, partner or spouse is waiting for availability of in-home care or assisted living)
• During a breakdown in normal care arrangements (an employee’s father’s adult day care is closed or his in-home caregiver is sick)
• For long-distance caregivers (an employee’s parent lives in another state and needs temporary help)
• For business travel (an employee needs care for a parent or spouse in order to travel for training, sales meetings, etc.)

6. What is the cost to employees?

While program specifics vary by client, typically an employee with access to the Backup Care Options program can obtain temporary care for $4 per hour (for up to three dependents) for in-home care or for $2 per hour per child for center-based care. Typically every employee has 80 or 100 hours of backup care available each calendar year, for use when breakdowns or gaps in caregiving arrangements will prevent them from working.

7. What is the cost to employers?

Program pricing depends on several variables, including employee population, employee demographics, program parameters, industry and projected utilization. Unlike other employee benefits, backup care produces a tangible return on investment for companies; for every dollar invested in backup care, employers can expect a return of $3-$4 in increased productivity and reduced turnover.

8. Why do employers offer backup care and subsidize 90-95% of its cost?

Employers list various reasons for offering backup care, including:

• Enhancing productivity by reducing unscheduled absenteeism
• Recruiting/retaining top talent by offering competitive employee benefits
• Boosting employee morale by offering innovative work-life solutions

Backup care reduces absenteeism and produces a tangible return on investment for companies. Employers that invest in the Backup Care Options program experience a significant return on investment.

9. What types of employers offer backup care?

Work Options Group offers the Backup Care Options program to more than 125 corporate clients representing 600,000 employees. Client companies vary in size from 35 to 70,000 employees and span various industries including professional services, health care, higher education, technology, communication and finance. Well-known clients include Microsoft, Princeton University, Merrill Lynch, Accenture and Verizon Wireless. Click Here for a partial client list.

10. Why is backup care growing in popularity?

The percentage of companies nationwide that offer backup care has doubled year-over-year and exceeds the growth among all other work-life benefits, according to a spring 2007 study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Businesses of all sizes and across all industries are seeking ways to:

• Reduce the costs associated with unscheduled absenteeism
• Enhance employee recruitment/retention
• Assist employees with work/life balance
• Address emerging eldercare concerns within their workforce

Click Here for additional information on backup care’s growth in popularity.

11. What is the difference between backup care and emergency childcare?

Backup care is more extensive than emergency childcare. Backup care can be offered for loved ones of any age, including infants, pre-school children, school-age children, teens, adults and elders, while emergency childcare is limited in scope to pre-school and school-age children only. Backup care can be coordinated in both emergency and non-emergency situations (such as two weeks prior to a child’s school holiday or one week prior to a spouse’s knee surgery), while emergency childcare focuses specifically on last-minute care.

12. Why isn’t backup care easily accessible to the general public?

Unless backup care is offered as an employer-subsidized employee benefit, it is difficult, cost-prohibitive and stressful to find trusted, short-term care for loved ones.

• Difficult: Short-term care solutions are not readily available or easily accessible. Many caregivers live far away from other family members who can help with short-term care and most childcare centers rarely accept children on a drop-in basis for a day or a week.
• Cost-Prohibitive: Nanny agencies and in-home agencies typically charge $20-$30 per hour to provide care in a home, depending on the location.
• Stressful: It takes both time and energy to make last-minute care arrangements.

Click Here for an article on the difficulties in finding backup care.

13. What is Work Options Group’s role?

Work Options Group has created an extensive network of thousands of licensed care providers – in-home care agencies, nanny agencies, childcare centers and adolescent care centers – that have agreed to offer short-term care. Work Options Group manages every aspect of the process to provide both employers and employees with an easy-to-use backup care solution that is accessible, affordable and reliable.