A Brighter Futures Indiana & Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning initiative
For a Stronger Workforce Webinar Series
For a Stronger Workforce is a free webinar series designed to help employers recruit and retain quality employees by supporting working families. Many employees—and prospective employees—have children, and child care remains one of the biggest barriers to workforce participation in Indiana. You can play a powerful role by adopting free and low-cost policies and practices that make it easier for families to stay in the workforce.
About the Series
For a Stronger Workforce brings together experts and practitioners to explore policies and practices that employers can adopt to create a more family-friendly workplace. Each session focuses on a specific strategy that is easy to understand, actionable and beneficial to both employers and employees. Participants will learn how small adjustments in policy or benefits can have a meaningful impact on workforce participation across the state.
Why This Matters
Employers play a critical role in supporting the families they employ. When child care challenges make it difficult for parents to remain in the workforce, businesses experience increased absenteeism, lower productivity and higher turnover. By adopting policies and practices that support working families, employers can create a more stable and reliable workforce while contributing to Indiana’s long-term economic strength.
The For a Stronger Workforce webinar series provides employers with the information and tools they need to take meaningful steps—often at no or low cost—to support employees and build a stronger future for all Hoosiers.
Employer Resources
Support Your Team With Family-Focused Tools and Insights
Employer Toolkit
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Share Resources in Your Employee Onboarding Materials
Email Copy:
At [INSERT ORGANIZATION NAME] we care about your family's well-being. If you have little ones at home, check out the free resources below.
- Find child care near our office or close to home using Early Learning Marketplace, the OECOSL Childcare Supports Line or Child Care Finder.
- Choose child care that meets your family's needs based on factors like cost, health and safety, flexible scheduling and more.
- Access resources to help pay for child care for various circumstances and income levels.
- Connect to support for your family – from help meeting basic needs to health and well-being resources to education options and beyond.
- Learn about development and help your child learn as she grows, every step of the way.
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Make Data-Driven Decisions to Support Your Employees
Answer your questions about employee benefits with help from the Brighter Futures Indiana Childcare Data Hub.
- “What’s available near my business?” and “What’s available during the hours we operate?” Visit the Childcare Programs section.
- “What is childcare tuition in our area?” Visit the Weekly Childcare Tuition section.
- “How affordable is childcare relative to income near my business?" Visit the County Insights section of the Early Learning Indiana Foundations for the Future report.
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Understand Solutions Implemented by Hoosier Community Leaders
Learn what has worked in Indiana by accessing case issue briefs, searchable in the Brighter Futures Indiana blog.
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Boost Your Workforce Through Family Focused Practices
Access the guide, created by the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning, and implement mutually beneficial policies and practices for your employees.
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Implement Policies for Working Families
- Access a Babies-at-Work fact sheet, return on investment summary, testimonials, template policy and more from Parenting in the Workplace Institute.
- Learn more about nursing rooms and lactation in the workplace from our partners at The Milk Bank and the Wellness Council of Indiana.
- Hone your skills in empathetic leadership with this guide from the Center for Creative Leadership.
- Masterfully execute employee resource groups for caregivers with these articles from the Best Practice Institute and Center for Creative Leadership.
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Learn From Other Community Infrastructure Investments
Allow others' projects to inspire your own with the First Things First Porter County WORKBook.
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Deepen Understanding of the Employer-Provided Childcare Tax Credit
Use the following resources to inform your use of this tax reimbursement perk
- Indiana Department of Revenue, Income Tax Information Bulletin #126 – Employer Childcare Expenditur…
- Indiana Department of Revenue, 2026 Legislative Synopsis – HEA 1177, Childcare Assistance
- House Enrolled Act 1177 (2026), including IC 6-3.1-39.5 amendments and IC 36-7-14-39(b)(4)(O)
- Indiana FSSA / Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning, Employer Childcare Expenditure…
- Internal Revenue Service, Employer-provided childcare credit: Tax year 2026 and later (IRC §45F)
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Survey Your Employees
Select and personalize questions from this question bank to understand your employees' needs before implementing any policy.
Webinar 1 Resources
The recording of the webinar is available to the right. In this session, Jon Becker, partner at Church Church Hittle & Antrim and expert in dependent care assistance programs, shared insights on setting up and managing these programs, including tax advantages and eligibility requirements.
We hope you found this webinar informative. For questions or more guidance on implementing dependent care assistance programs at your organization, feel free to reach out to Jon directly at jbecker@cchalaw.com.
Webinar 2 Resources
Replay our expert discussion on no- and low-cost family-friendly workplace policies around bringing your baby to work, establishing lactation spaces in the office and connecting employees to resource groups. Hear insights from Carla Moquin, Jennifer Sabatini Fraone and Freedom Kolb, and discover practical strategies Indiana employers can use today.
CONNECT WITH THE EXPERTS:
Carla Moquin — Bring-Your-Baby-to-Work Policies
carlasmoquin@gmail.com
Freedom Kolb — Workplace Lactation Support
fkolb@themilkbank.org
Jennifer Sabatini Fraone — Policies to Support Caregivers
jennfraone@gmail.com
Webinar 3 Resources
Check out the recording of our final webinar to learn how Indiana's children and families are doing, leverage a tax credit to support working families and strengthen your workforce, build community around employer initiatives and survey your employees to take action and meet needs. Spotlight presentations feature Lindsay Weaver, M.D., State Health Commissioner; Camille Blunt, Indiana Chamber of Commerce; Mary Jane Eisenhauer, Ed.D. and Kasie Tenbarge, First Things First Porter County; and Andi Amburgey, Indiana Donor Network.
GET SUPPORT:
- For questions about Indiana Department of Health data or initiatives, contact Tami Barrett at tbarrett@health.in.gov.
- For questions about the Employer-Provided Childcare Credit, contact the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Department of Revenue or Indiana FSSA.
- For questions about starting your own community infrastructure investments, contact Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer at maryjane@firstthingspc.org.
- Interested in surveying your employees? Get started with the question bank!”