Carefully

For women's history month, Leslie B. got to celebrate by talking about Carefully on The Today Show about how she turned her challenges being a single mom into a solution for positive #impact. How can we ensure the entrepreneurs of tomorrow have the opportunities to to deliver more impactful solutions if don't we fix the childcare crisis of today? https://lnkd.in/eF_N_PSu

Excited to be in DC for The National Childcare Innovation Summit hosted by US Chamber of Commerce Foundation and EPIC, Executives Partnering to Invest in Children

📢 BIG NEWS: Our National Database of Child Care Prices has been updated with 2019-2022 data. We found that for parents of younger kids, child care remains an almost prohibitive expense. In some counties, the median price of center-based infant care is higher than the national median rent! Want to explore the new data? On our interactive site you’ll find maps, analyses and more. Check it out ---> https://lnkd.in/emu7A4WB

I’m excited to share that I’ve been chosen to be a part of the SEEN 50 list by Tech:NYC and Visible Hands! This list honors fifty underrepresented founders in NYC who are leading transformational tech startups. Next week, we'll be at the SEEN Summit to connect, share insights, and drive inclusive success in the tech industry as we scale our startups. Make sure to check out the rest of inaugural #SEEN50: shout out to my friends on the list too Dr. Lola Omishore PT, DPT, OCS, ATC Joshe Ordonez Tomás Uribe and excited to get to know everyone! https://lnkd.in/esbwqG27 #VisibleHands #TechNYC #NYCfounders #NYC #NYCsummit #SEEN #SEENsummit #founders

Thanks Engine | Advocacy & Foundation for highlighting Leslie B. for #HispanicHeritageMonth. We are excited to welcome #FamilyChildCare and other community based #smallbusinesses onto Carefully to continue supporting families looking for affordable, community-based options

Excited about the work Operation Child Care Project is doing to support military families! If you are based in Florida, check out their #homefronthelpers program to learn more....

Carefully is looking for a Community Development and Events Manager to support our on the ground work in New York City. If you know a great community builder who is passionate about childcare, please share! Overview: The Community Outreach and Events Manager will play a critical role in expanding Carefully’s presence in local communities. You will be responsible for creating and executing community outreach strategies, organizing in-person and virtual events, and building relationships with families, small businesses, community based partners, and other stakeholders https://lnkd.in/e7XfG3k2

Did you know 1/3 of all fathers in the U.S. are Lead Dads? That’s 25 million dads stepping up, not just at home but as advocates for working moms and caregivers. 👏 In our recent podcast with Paul Sullivan, Founder of The Company of Dads, we explored how Lead Dads are reshaping family dynamics and workplaces alike. Speaking of the care economy, congratulations to the 5 companies selected for StitchCrew’s Future of Women at Work Grant! Out of 650+ applicants, these innovative founders are helping transform care and will be joining our VEST Community. Let’s show them some love and support: - Carefully, led by Leslie B., transforming how parents find and exchange childcare. - EmTech Care Labs, led by Aarabi B., simplifying caregiving and healthcare benefits for families. - GeekPack®, led by Julia Taylor, empowering women with essential career skills. - TheraMotive, led by Dr. Lola Omishore PT, DPT, OCS, ATC, delivering healthcare to care deserts through mobile clinics. - Transition, led by Kayla Wright-Jackson, MHA, enhancing job readiness for healthcare professionals. #VESTHer #LeadDads #CareEconomy #FutureOfWork

Appreciated this commentary from my Capita colleague Ivana Greco, featuring some early results from research she and I have been conducting. One of the most striking findings has been that stay-at-home parents writ large do not match who conventional wisdom suggests they are. Stay tuned for a comprehensive report which will be published in October! "Parents are desperately looking for support, and regardless of who wins the presidential race, it appears some measure of relief is coming. Yet most national conversations about parental support leave out one critical group: stay-at-home moms and dads. This is a serious failure. Policymakers should know that the "Real Housewives and Househusbands" of America look little like Instagram influencers or so-called "tradwives." Indeed, there should be a bipartisan consensus that as policymakers consider how to support America's families, any solutions should include the moms and dads "on the home front" who provide full-time care to their kids. ...Stay-at-home parents are incredibly diverse, with a wide variety of political affiliations and demographics. In fact, our survey of nearly 1,300 stay-at-home parents (defined as those providing primary child care to at least one child under age 12 during the day) revealed that they are as politically diverse as the nation itself: 39.6 percent identified as Republicans, 36.8 percent as Democrats, and 23.7 percent as Independents or "Other." Thus, when politicians on both sides of the aisle think about stay-at-home parents, they should recognize that regardless of party affiliation, these parents are key constituents—and swing voters that can tip the balance in many close elections, including the current presidential race. These parents also reflect America's racial and socioeconomic diversity... ...Ironically—and contrary to any artificial split between the need for an external child care system and the need to bolster families with a stay-at-home parent—we found most stay-at-home parents of young children need child care! This includes for routine errands like doctor visits, but also 27 percent of our surveyed stay-at-home parents were employed, either part- or full-time. Nearly 60 percent reported needing child care several times a month, if not more frequently, yet 40 percent said they "rarely" or "almost never" had access to the care they needed. Stay-at-home parents, too, are affected by the failure of America's federal, state, and municipal governments to appropriately support a system of flexible, external child care options that are tailored to parents' specific wants and needs (such as part-time care or care by extended family)."

The White House wants to buy you diapers. It’s a noble goal. The White House is spot on to want to address our country’s ongoing maternal health crisis. This is part of an initiative they unveiled in 2022 which has now seen some positive results. One of the popular programs involves Newborn Supply Kits, delivering a bag of baby supplies to new parents. The kits are modeled on successful programs in other countries, such as Finland (though in Finland the kits are delivered as baby boxes that double as a crib, and the U.S. delivers them in bags). The White House has big names like Olivia Wilde, Ciara and Kelly Rowland helping with their promotion, because what new parent doesn’t prefer their diapers to be endorsed by a celebrity? The problem is the diapers. Not that babies shouldn’t have diapers, it’s just that diapers have become a stand-in for helping parents when they’re not actually what parents need. When you break down what the actual costs are for raising a young human, diapers may be a chunk of change, but they are hardly the wallet guzzlers that child care takes up, or the financial hit that comes from losing your job if you take time off and don’t have paid leave or job protections. --> Common expenses for a baby’s first year now add up to $15,775. But this doesn’t include the cost of full time child care, which can average $321 PER WEEK, or $1284 PER MONTH. The cost of child care is much higher if you live in an expensive part of the country or urban areas. (Hello, D.C.) --> Moms lose an average of $9,500 when they take parental leave. And this is assuming their job allows such leave and holds their position for them when they return. --> The average out-of-pocket expenses for pregnancy and child care are between $4,000 and $5,000 - and this is the cost WITH health insurance. The costs are even higher if there are complications or a NICU stay. The cost of diapers? $70 to $80 per month. Compare that to the cost of child care, and it’s just a rounding error. My latest Substack explores this: