Children’s Friend has 332 employees, up from 130 last year. That’s a showstopper of an increase in a state with an unemployment rate of 12.5 percent.
It’s not just the spike in employment that’s noteworthy, said Children’s Friend President and CEO David A. Caprio. What’s important to recognize is the collaboration among educators, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, speech therapists, nutritionists other social service professionals that made the expansion possible, he said.
“Even though we’re doing difficult work across many programs and departments, there’s a shared commitment to the mission,” Caprio said.
Professional development, flexible schedules, subsidized child care and affordable health care – there’s been only one increase in premiums in 10 years – are among the benefits valued by employees.
Committees, management teams and groups of employees work on issues such as homelessness, transportation and education. Supervisors and employees meet frequently one-on-one.
The recent jump in employment is due in large part to more than $1 million in federal funding to expand Children’s Friend programs. The expansion includes home-based Early Head Start, classroom-based Head Start preschool, a nutrition program and an early-intervention program.
Children’s Friend offers an incentive for the early-intervention staff to earn bonuses of up to $1,000 per quarter for improving individual productivity that results in a minimum 5 percent increase in billable hours.
Employee benefits include parenting leave, domestic-partner benefits and flexible work schedules.
Children’s Friend recognizes each employee’s birthday with a gift card and holds an annual staff retreat, holiday party and summer barbecue. •
