Starbucks adds backup child care, adult care benefitsStarbucks adds backup child care, adult care benefits

Starbucks has added another layer to its employee benefits program, this one geared toward one of the biggest challenges dual-income families face: child care support.

The Seattle-based coffeehouse giant on Tuesday said it is taking the unprecedented step of offering all employees backup childcare through Care.com, an online marketplace for finding and managing family care. The perk also included backup care for adults, an issue for a growing number of Gen X’ers balancing care for their aging Baby Boomer parents.

The perk provides 10 subsidized backup care days a year for kids and adults whose families work at Starbucks. That’s care offered to more than 180,000 employees in the U.S. Starbucks is footing the bill for the $150 yearly membership fee, which gives Care.Com members access to a network of caregivers.

Employees will pay $1 an hour for in-home backup child or adult care or $5 per day per child for center-based child care.

The subsidy is a significant perk considering high costs of child care for families. According to a Care.com survey, 33 percent of families spend 20 percent or more of their annual household income on child care. 

The back-up child and adult care programs follow a series of other employee benefits launched by the chain. In January, the company said eligible U.S. employees can accrue paid sick time based on hours worked. The sick time can be used for themselves or to take care of a family member.

In January 2017, Starbucks expanded its parental leave benefits to include non-birth parents, including same-sex spouses, foster and adoptive parents. 

 Contact Nancy Luna at [email protected] 

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