At an award event in Charleston on March 24, the West Virginia KIDS COUNT Fund honored Bowles Rice and several other employers who have achieved the organization’s new “Business on Board with Childcare!” designation, which signifies adherence to key national and local criteria for a childcare-friendly workplace. 

Thomas A. Heywood, managing partner of Bowles Rice, accepted the award on behalf of the firm.  “Bowles Rice is proud of this recognition and what it represents,” Heywood said.  “Our firm encourages a healthy home-work balance, which we believe results in more successful retention and recruitment of the most talented individuals.”

"KIDS COUNT applauds each of these award-winning employers for offering a childcare-friendly workplace," said Clark Hansbarger, President of the KIDS COUNT Board and Dean of the Charleston Campus of the West Virginia University School of Medicine.  "When companies support their employees' childcare needs, the result is improved productivity, reduced absenteeism and tardiness and savings for the bottom line.   It also creates a culture that values, nurtures and realizes the potential of our youngest children, which is KIDS COUNT's vision for West Virginia's kids." 

The West Virginia KIDS COUNT Fund, a non-profit organization that champions the needs of West Virginia's youngest children, launched the "Business on Board with Childcare!" award program in 2009.  Its purpose is to recognize businesses and organizations that offer childcare-friendly, workplace policies and encourage other West Virginia employers to follow their lead.   The "Business on Board with Childcare!" criteria were adapted from a list developed by the Families and Work Institute (http://www.familiesandwork.org/) and from KIDS COUNT's own statewide effort to get parents, childcare providers and community leaders involved in advocating for better childcare policies.