Some working parents are getting help from their employers to care for children who will be out of school tomorrow, the first "furlough Friday" for Hawaii public school teachers.

Many companies with work rules that include flex-time or sick leave that can be used to care for dependents expect some employees to be absent tomorrow to care for school-age children.

Others are offering special assistance such as in-office child care to help their employees cope with the disruption resulting from the effort to plug the state's budget shortfall.

Tomorrow a conference room in Central Pacific Bank's downtown headquarters will be converted to a daycare center with computers, games, toys and a DVD player for 45 children of employees. A second room will be available for younger kids for naps.

The service is being provided by Kamaäina Kids from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at a cost of $15 for children ages 5 to 13.

Karen Street, Central Pacific's human resources director, said the company recognized that many of its more than 1,000 employees would have to scramble to find temporary child care.

"If we can help them out in this small way, by providing space and partnering with Kamaaina Kids to provide an affordable child care option, we all benefit," she said.

VARIED APPROACHES

The reaction from employees was emphatic, with parents reserving all 45 spaces in the program and others being placed on a wait list.

Another local company, Title Guaranty of Hawaii, decided to reimburse employees most of the cost of child care on furlough Fridays.

Title Guaranty's program is available to its full-time employees, and covers up to 75 percent of child care expense as long as the care is provided by a business and approved by the company's human resources department.

Carla Vierra, a lender-account manager with the company, said her first reaction to the school closures was to seek the cheapest daycare for her 8-year-old son. But with the financial help, she instead focused on finding a high-quality option. "I can focus on finding a safe environment where he can both learn and play," she said.

Title Guaranty said it conducted a poll on who could use the service and found roughly 60 employees might benefit.

"Our hope is that this program will alleviate some of the financial pressure our employees will face by needing to find a safe and educational place for their children to spend the upcoming Fridays affected by the new furlough (program)," said Michael Pietsch, company CEO.

Several companies, including Alexander & Baldwin Inc. and Hawaiian Electric Industries, said existing programs for flexible use of time off could be used by employees to care for their kids on furlough Fridays.

At Bank of Hawaii, there may be a significant number of children at the bank tomorrow as part of informal programs that managers have arranged for employees to bring their kids to work.

Many companies trying to survive the economic downturn may have difficulty helping employees who have children affected by the furloughs and could suffer reduced productivity and staffing tomorrow.

LIST OF OPTIONS

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii earlier this month organized a list of more than 30 child care and activity options as a resource for businesses to share information with working parents as well as an opportunity for companies to promote their services.

The list — online at www.cochawaii.com/furlough-friday.asp — includes a range of for-profit and nonprofit services, from art exploration at the Honolulu Academy of Arts to martial arts at The Studio by Egan Inoue.

"We all recognize the importance of keeping our keiki active for the full week and want to provide a single resource where parents and the community can come together in these challenging times," said Jim Tollefson, president and CEO of the business association.