Cleo and UrbanSitter Partner to Launch Accessible, Affordable and Safe Childcare Solution Designed for Companies to Support Working Parents

SAN FRANCISCO, May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cleo, the support system for working families, today announced a partnership with UrbanSitter, an online and mobile service that enables parents and caregivers to connect through people they know, to launch a new solution designed to address the lack of support and childcare available to working families as businesses transition to the next stage of COVID-19's impact and prioritize getting working parents back to work. Designed to support families looking for affordable and safe solutions to fill the void made by closures of schools, summer camps, and daycares in the next 3 months, as well as employers looking to support one-third of the U.S. workforce that are working parents, Cleo Care presents a novel and localized solution.

Available to launch to employers this month, Cleo Care powered by UrbanSitter combines a unique program of family "Co-Op" matching alongside concierge care provider vetting and selection to create affordable childcare options for parents. Member families will also receive weekly programs and 1:1 coaching from Cleo's expert network of child development specialists, including milestone-focused programs that will help parents, care providers and their children stay on track with enriching activities and tips.

Addressing a crisis point for 30.5M working families
The new product was designed by Cleo and UrbanSitter teams who continue to experience the challenges of working parents of young children firsthand as they saw their thousands of members ask for more help in the last two months. A recent study conducted by Cleo of its international membership of working parents of children from 1 day old to 5 years old brought these needs to life, finding that:

• >50% don't have childcare
• 20% of working parents surveyed said that either they or their partner are considering leaving the workforce to care for their children.
• 37% of working parents surveyed are considering having family move in with them
• 16% of working parents surveyed are considering packing up and moving closer to family

Members also expressed concern related to COVID-19 and their productivity:

• 52% felt that their level of productivity was 75% or less than usual
• 1 in 4 felt their productivity was less than 50% of baseline

"As working moms desperate for a solution to the crisis facing parents today, we were focused on developing a solution that didn't just work for our members and enterprise clients, but also one that we'd use ourselves. After experimenting and trying everything from virtual care to scheduling shifts to looking for new caregivers ourselves, we realized the only solution that would work for families would require a new model of childcare designed for the unique issues COVID-19 has created," said Sarahjane Sacchetti, CEO of Cleo. "We're excited with our early feedback from clients and members that the model we've built will meet the needs of employers and their working parents for the unpredictable months to come."

How it works:
Cleo Care powered by UrbanSitter will be available this month to U.S. employers to serve their working parent populations and includes:

• Concierge Support for Vetted, Personalized Caregiver Matching: Member parents will receive support from Cleo in finding safe, vetted care providers from UrbanSitter's network, helping families save the days (and weeks) associated with finding and vetting care that matches their family unique requirements.
• Co-Op Matching: Families interested in partnering with a like-minded, local family will be supported in finding a match in the Cleo member network that can partner and support one another with or without an additional care provider,
• Weekly Programs and 1:1 Care Provider Support: All parents and care providers will have access to Cleo's expert, one-on-one parent coaching, as well as age appropriate developmental based programs delivered weekly to keep children busy and on track with their developmental milestones.

"We've been leading innovation and developing expertise in the category of trusted child care for the past decade. This pandemic brings to the forefront a whole new set of challenges for working parents. Our partnership with Cleo can solve working parents' biggest problems with an innovative, trusted solution for the enterprise," said Lynn Perkins, CEO and co-founder of UrbanSitter.  "Cleo Care powered by UrbanSitter enables working parents to rest assured that their children are in good hands, complete with age appropriate programming and experienced child care professionals. Additionally, we offer working families a complete solution including petcare and elder companion care within our solution."

To learn more about Cleo Care, visit us at https://hicleo.com/cleo-care/.

About Cleo
Cleo is the support system for working families. With its integrated family benefits platform, Cleo combines proactive, expert guidance with an intuitive engagement hub to help working parents confidently manage every stage of their family's journey. From fertility to parenthood to return-to-work and beyond – Cleo families are healthier, happier, and more engaged as they balance their roles at home and at work. Supporting families with children from 1 day old to 5 years old in 55 countries and implemented by over 100 enterprise clients – Cleo is reinventing how forward-thinking employers support families that work around the world.

Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Cleo is backed by NEA, Greylock Partners, Felicis Ventures, and Forerunner Ventures. Learn more at hicleo.com.

About UrbanSitter
UrbanSitter is an app and website that's making it easier than ever for parents to find, book and pay trusted caregivers, from last-minute sitters to full-time nannies. In addition to helping families, UrbanSitter also partners with employers to provide a trusted sitter network as a benefit to support and retain parent employees, increase productivity, and reduce absenteeism due to a lack of childcare. With more than 250,000 background-checked caregivers available nationwide, UrbanSitter is solving the childcare dilemma for working parents everywhere.

The company is backed by Advance Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, DBL Investors, First Round Capital, Match Group - a division of IAC, Menlo Ventures, Rustic Canyon, Aspect Ventures, A-Grade Investments and several angel investors. Learn more at urbansitter.com.

Contacts:
Kenneth Shuman
VP of Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE Cleo

Related Links

hicleo.com