Tech Talk: ‘June Care’ app expands daycare space

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A new app called June Care is working to ease the childcare crisis families face, bringing your choice of in-home care right to your fingertips, on your schedule.

That’s the kind of ease June Care works to provide: A mobile app connecting families looking for childcare with verified and qualified moms and sitters.

“It truly is instantaneous, and we say you can book childcare you can trust in minutes,” said Gretchen Salyer, CEO and founder of June Care.

And it didn’t start as software.

“So, I started this app; really not as an app at all, but as a service for myself and my community during the pandemic,” said Salyer. “That was kind of the genesis of June Care. That was in 2021. And fast forward to today. We are nationwide. We have moms. We have sitters, we have an iOS app, and an Android app and we’re serving over 100,000 families today.:

The app is tapping into an underutilized childcare supply.

“They’re already caring for their own kids. It’s work that they’re doing and thriving in every day,” Salyer said. “And so, if they can also support one other family in their neighborhood by also caring for that family’s kids. We found a real unlock to new supply that is also really trusted to families who need it.”

Families who are looking for childcare can sign up for free and post a job listing to solicit help.

“You can also just see the providers in your area. We have a lot of different filter criteria. Families can use to find their perfect match. But when you post a job, we typically see three to five applicants for that job within two to three minutes,” Salyer said. “Within the app, we have messaging. We have video calls. We really try to make it super easy for busy families to find care that they can trust. and then you book your provider through the app.”

Payments are also done through the app.

“We also handle all payments so families can pay for their care through the app. Providers get paid through their provider account, and then we have lots of fun kind of rewards and incentives along the way for families who continue to use June Care,” Salyer said.

June Care launched in D.C. six months ago.

“We have a couple thousand families who are using our app in the D.C. metropolitan area,” Salyer said. “There’s a lot of areas in the U.S. that are called childcare deserts. D.C. is actually one of these where there are three children for every one seat of available childcare.”

June Care promises qualified providers.

“We only onboard about 30% of the providers who apply to provide on June Care,” Salyer said. “It’s a background check. It’s reference checks. We require professional childcare experience as well. A lot of our providers, about half, are moms. So they have that infant experience.”

Salyer also said what makes their app and service even more helpful in tackling the daycare crisis is that they provide what can be described as on-demand care.

“If you have a hard-to-fill schedule or you just need help temporarily because your daycare is closed, we can service that really well, which actually ends up saving families a lot of time in the long term, because you’re only paying for the care that you actually use,” Salyer said.