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unacceptable. There was considerable discussion about the need to provide affordable care to <br />all families, to assure that quality care is provided and to solicit the support from employers for <br />the needs of families. Employers who were involved in the task force were able to discuss their <br />needs for dependable employees and to discuss the role that dependable child care contributes <br />to successful employees. <br />A list of recommendations is included in the report and includes the following: <br />1. Establish a baseline for subsidy programs so that performance can be measured. <br />Include total subsidy dollars, average length of time on wait list before receiving <br />assistance, and total number of unique funders. <br />2. Continue to seek additional support for child care subsidies from all county employers. <br />3. Request that the local chambers of commerce continue work with local businesses and <br />county agencies to educate. and include more employers in creative problem solving <br />regarding childcare. <br />4. Explore financial and nonfinancial incentives, including but not limited to tax breaks, <br />special recognition, etc., for employers who assist employees with child care needs. <br />5. Request that county staff work with schools, developers, UNC, Twin Creeks, Carolina <br />North, Durham Technical Community College and other entities that may be expanding <br />their sites so that child care needs will be considered during new development. <br />6. Request that county staff work on efforts to educate the public on the value of early child <br />development. <br />7. Agencies who provide subsidy money should explore issues of access, including but not <br />limited to common applications. <br />8. Request that Orange County Government, UNC, Town of Chapel Hill, Town of Carrboro, <br />and other agencies, at a minimum, maintain their current level of support. <br />Some of the recommendations in the report are already being implemented in Orange County. <br />Specifically additional funds have been provided by the state and by the Orange County Board <br />of County Commissioners for subsidy. Many families from the waiting list will receive subsidy <br />due to these changes. The County has also implemented a model approach of paying back an <br />equivalent amount of funds for any county employees who received subsidy in the previous <br />year. Hopefully this approach will be duplicated by other employers. <br />The issues related to child care and subsidies. can be complex and at times it is difficult to <br />assess the impact of the community's efforts to address the problem. Therefore one of the <br />recommendations is that initial benchmark data be developed and that the Social Services <br />Board report annually on the progress as shown in this data. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no immediate and direct financial impact associated with <br />accepting the report. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the BOCC accept the report from <br />the Child Care Task Force, assign the responsibility for implementing the recommendations to <br />the Social Services Board with help from the County Manager's Office and sunset the Child <br />Care Task Force. <br />2 <br />