CPCM is committed to ending child maltreatment in South Dakota by empowering professionals, communities, and the public to know about, respond to, and prevent child abuse and neglect in South Dakota.
CPCM’s Businesses for Babies initiatives highlights South Dakota businesses that support families through family-forward policies. Want your businesses family-forward policies highlighted? Tell us about your policies and practices that support babies and families.
72.5%
of all South Dakota children under the age of 6 have all available parents in the labor force.
27%
of the workforce in the United States has access to paid family leave.
Power of Primary Prevention
Primary prevention of child maltreatment connects families to resources and supports in their community. The aim of primary prevention is to prevent child maltreatment before it happens. Examples of primary prevention can include parenting education, affordable-quality childcare, economic supports, and family-forward workplace policies.
Business Community Role in Primary Prevention
Family-forward workplace policies ARE a primary prevention resource. Family-forward policies benefit the business, families, and South Dakota children.
- Businesses: family-forward policies boost competitive advantage, attracting and retaining talent, increasing productivity, and reducing turnovers.
- Families: employees of family-forward workplaces are more satisfied with their work, and engaged in facilitating nurturing and stable environments for their families.
- South Dakota children: parents who work in family-forward businesses experience less stress and enhanced well-being, giving them time to support children’s safety, stability, and build nurturing relationships.
Family & Medical Leave
Provides job protections and full or partial wage replacement for employees to take time off to welcome a new child into the family, or to take care of longer-term medical needs for themselves or a member of their family (biological or chosen).
Flexible Work Schedule
Allows people to choose when they work, if they put in their hours every week. May be complete freedom to design a work schedule, choose from schedule options, or adjusting working hours earlier or later.
Breastfeeding Friendly
Support of nursing mothers includes adequate break time and providing a lactation room.
Telecommuting
Allowing employees to work from home or another remote site some or all of the time.
Childcare
This can include on-site day care, subsidized childcare costs, referrals to quality childcare, or reserved slots for at childcare facilities for employees’ children.
Educational Support
Tuition for employee education or college scholarships or loans for employees’ children.
Comprehensive Wellness
Include mental and emotional health in employee wellness programs.
Other Examples
Job sharing, family-oriented events, family-oriented environment, EAP programs that include family issues, consistent scheduling, and more.
Resources
- KIDS Count workforce trends: https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/10886-children-with-all-available-parents-in-the-labor-force-by-age?loc=43&loct=2#detailed/2/any/false/2606,2543,2454,2026,1983,1692,1691,1607,1572,1485/3061,1591/21166,21165
- US Department of Labor paid leave sheet: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WB/paid-leave/PaidLeavefactsheet.pdf
- CDC Boost Your Competitive Edge: https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/communication-resources/efc-BoostYourCompetitiveEdge-508.pdf
- Forward with Hope: https://www.preventchildabusenc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/pcanc_-MiniBellwetherReport_PhaseII_ForwardwithHope_PFML.pdf
- Changing Policies: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/implement/changing-policies/business-government-family-friendly/main
