Motherhood Moment: Website Spotlight - TOOTRiS (Child Care Platform)

The early years of childhood help lay the foundation of who the person will become. They are essential years that can't be trusted to just anyone. According to Zero to Three, infants and toddlers readily absorb new information from their caregivers at a rate of 1 million neural connections per second; and yet, nearly half of Americans struggle to find Child Care. It’s a problem that’s escalated since the start of the pandemic when thousands of childcare programs were forced to close permanently. The TOOTRiS Child Care network is solving that problem, by digitizing the industry and creating an online marketplace for parents, providers, and employers to connect.

“The impact of Child Care closures on working families has been devastating,” explains Alessandra Lezama, chief executive officer of TOOTRiS. "We have revolutionized the industry, giving commercial centers, and smaller in-home Child Care programs a platform where they can easily be found. When you give parents access to real-time availability and options, you empower them with the ability to make decisions they feel good about.”

The company has partnered with several corporations since the start of 2023, helping them to offer real-time Child Care options to their employees. TOOTRiS recently partnered with the Memphis Transit Authority to provide Child Care benefits to new and current employees. The partnership includes access to the TOOTRiS Child Care network, the largest in the country with nearly 200,000 licensed providers on its marketplace. Additionally, MATA is giving employees $200 per month in financial assistance for Child Care. TOOTRiS initiated a similar partnership with Schreiber Foods, which offers employees up to $5,000 a year in Child Care subsidies.

They also recently partnered with San Diego Workforce Partnership, a company that is empowering low-income and underrepresented workers in healthcare. They are providing their employees with TOOTRiS to help with finding affordable Child Care, as well as giving their employees $1,000 toward Child Care costs. TOOTRiS has experienced over a 500% increase in businesses signing up with their service, so that they can create Child care benefits for their employees.

There are some facts about Child Care that everyone should know. The more we see the issue and what needs to be changed, the more we can work toward improving the system so everyone benefits.

Here are 4 shocking facts about Child Care:

According to Boston University, a lack of Child Care is associated with higher unemployment among women than men. In other words, when parents can't find affordable, high-quality Child Care, the mom tends to be the one to sacrifice her paycheck and career.
The cost of Child Care is prohibitive for many families. TOOTRiS reports that the average cost of Child Care varies by state. At the low end, Mississippi comes in at roughly $5,500 for the year, while Massachusetts comes in at nearly $21,000 per year. Florida falls in the middle, costing an average of over $9,200 annually.
Many people cannot afford Child Care and receive help from the government to make it possible so that they can go to work. According to the Office of Child Care in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 232,000 Child Care providers are receiving government subsidies for Child Care services.
According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, families with at least one child under the age of five need to spend 13% of their income on Child Care, which most families cannot afford. They also point to the fact that a lack of affordable Child Care plays a role in more women being able to participate in the labor force.

“The problems regarding finding affordable Child Care have been identified, but solutions remained inadequate, until now,” added Lezama. “TOOTRiS is revolutionizing the field and helping parents find the Child Care they need. We are empowering moms everywhere!”

Not only does TOOTRiS provide an easy-to-use database that parents can use to locate affordable Child Care in their area, but it also provides tools to employers. The company has allowed corporations to guarantee Child Care for their employees, offering it as part of the benefits package.

TOOTRiS provides the solution to the Child Care problems that the country is facing. It makes it simple to locate affordable Child Care and helps parents and companies solve various issues. The technology platform is also free for parents to use. To learn more about TOOTRiS or use the tool, visit the site at: https://tootris.com/.

About TOOTRiS

TOOTRiS is reinventing Child Care as the first and only technology solution that unites all the key stakeholders – parents, providers, employers, agencies – into a single platform enabling them to directly connect and transact in real-time. This allows parents to quickly find, vet, and enroll from nearly 200,000 licensed Child Care options in real-time, and for employers of all sizes to eliminate Child Care as a barrier to growth and compete with higher retention, recruiting, and productivity at a fraction of the cost of current solutions.