The next best place to invest? Child care: get involved in providing high-quality early child care and education programs for your employees. The ROI is huge, and hugely important.

• Author: Miller, Allan
• Position: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

COMPANIES ARE OFTEN CAUGHT in a classic dichotomy. What is good for the organization today may not be best for the long-term, and vice-versa. The battle pitting today's stock price or, for the private company, valuation (and the executive compensation that may be related) against what may be tomorrow's corporate best interest, is an issue for boards, economists, and philosophers. There is, however, one element that boards and executives should recognize as being in their best interest in the short term and long term, both internally and as a matter of desirable public policy. It is the availability of affordable, high-quality child care.

Affordable, high-quality early care and education is essential for the success of American business. The effects of an educational system that furthers the development of social skills in very young children, provides them with literacy and math building blocks, and stamps them with a hunger for learning that lasts a lifetime is also a boon to the economy. Business benefits of early education include a more stable workforce today, a more highly skilled labor pool tomorrow, and an economy that includes an increasing proportion of upwardly mobile consumers with access to an increasing amount of disposable income. The improved "stay-in-school" and graduation rates that high-quality programs have been shown to create bring about reduced need for future public spending on special and remedial education, penal systems, and certain social programs. This, in turn, helps to improve the business climate by reducing pressure on taxes and putting more dollars in the pockets of consumers and investors.

High-quality early care and education allows parents to work, confident that their pre-school age children are nurtured, safe, and developing the skills necessary to succeed in later life. It reduces absenteeism at work, improves productivity and, therefore, builds a better current workforce. As one believer, SEI Corp. Chairman and CEO Alfred West, has said, "[SEI] is aware that child care is a critical issue for families in the workforce ... [We have] found that benefits such as [child care options] help in recruiting to fill highly skilled positions, reduce employee turnover, and provide a productive and engaged workplace."

Tied in to global competitiveness

According to a survey of executives from large corporations, high-quality child care is an essential for the future workforce as well. Opinion polling firm Zogby...