All six sick child and post-illness daycare centers can now check availability and make reservations from smartphones.
- The following is content from the press release -
(Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Masaki Sonoda) announces that all of its six facilities in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, will offer "Azukaruko-chan (childcare for sick children and children after illness)," a service that allows reservations for sick children and children after illness, from January 3, 2024 (Wednesday). https://azkl.jp/ (hereinafter referred to as "the service") will begin accepting reservations using the "KinderCare (KinderCenter)" service. This will make it possible to check the availability and make reservations at all six sick/post-sick childcare facilities in Matsumoto from a smartphone.
Usage of sick child and post-ill child daycare centers in Matsumoto City
Looking at the number of users at the six facilities in Matsumoto from 2019 to 2022, the number of users decreased with the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Since then, the number of users has recovered to some extent, but has not yet reached the level before the new coronavirus epidemic.
To improve this situation, Azukaruko-chan was introduced to improve convenience and expand recognition.
Current state of sick child care "low utilization rate due to inconvenience of use"
According to a survey by the Cabinet Office*, the utilization rate of sick child and post- sick child day care centers nationwide is approximately 30%. The major reason for the underutilization is thought to be a lack of awareness as well as a difficult-to-use system represented by telephone reservations.
We conducted a survey of 300 working women with children throughout Japan and found that 88% of them answered that they had never used sick child care services. Furthermore, when those who had never used sick child care were asked if they had heard of sick child care, 75% responded that they had not heard of it or that they had only heard of it by name. The survey results also showed that the complexity of the procedures kept them from using the service.
Providing public relations support when introducing Azukaruko-chan will help solve the two issues of "difficulty in use" and "lack of recognition. We have signed a contract with Matsumoto City to ensure that sick child care services are used smoothly by those who need them.
Available at all 6 facilities in Matsumoto for sick children and children after illness
With the introduction of Azukaruko-chan, Matsumoto City will be able to visualize the real-time availability of sick and injured children at six childcare facilities in the city. In addition, reservations and cancellations can be made from a smartphone without worrying about time. In addition, instead of filling out and submitting a paper registration form, which had to be filled out and submitted in advance, registration can now be done through Azukaruko-chan.
Azukaruko-chan also aims to improve convenience not only for parents but also for sick and injured child care centers. Conventional telephone reservations have the disadvantages of making it difficult for staff to concentrate on childcare and of not being able to immediately connect with parents because calls cannot be received after hours. Azukaruko-chan's online reservation function solves these problems.
Azukaruko-chan believes that the sick child care business can be improved by connecting parents who need sick child care with available sick child and post- sick child care centers without time constraints.
We will also produce pamphlets and posters to strengthen awareness of this initiative and the sick child care service itself, which will be distributed and displayed at nursery schools and other facilities in Matsumoto City. We will continue to promote the provision of this service so that Kochan can be of help in the use, operation, and awareness of the sick child care service.
*Data on the utilization rate of childcare services for sick children / Cabinet Office, "Childcare Services for Sick Children" (released on January 24, 2014)
https://www8.cao.go.jp/shoushi/shinseido/administer/setsumeikai/h260124/pdf/s5-6.pdf
You can now access Azukaruko-chan from Matsumoto City's official LINE account!
A lead to Azukaruko-chan has been installed in the rich menu "Childcare Menu" of LINE. This has facilitated access to sick and injured children's daycare centers in Matsumoto City.
Matsumoto City's official LINE account :. https://page.line.me/matsumoto_city
Sick child care in the palm of your hand. What is Kozukaruko-chan, a sick child care reservation service?
Azukaruko-chan is a search and reservation service for sick child care that connects parents and sick child care centers. Parents can easily search for and reserve a sick child daycare center anytime via LINE or the Web. For the staff of the facility, the service has the advantage of freeing them from complicated paperwork and allowing them to concentrate on childcare. Municipalities that have introduced the service will be able to centrally manage information on all of the sick child day care centers they have outsourced to in their area. Currently, 182 facilities have been introduced in 10 municipalities, and the number of registered children has exceeded 100,000 and the cumulative number of reservations 300,000. https://azkl.jp/
Outline of Good Button Co.
Founded in 2017 by Masaki Sonoda, an obstetrician and gynecologist, with the idea of realizing a society where people can give birth and raise children with peace of mind, Azukaruko-chan was released in 2020 as a service to support the sick child care business from the three sides of parents, facilities, and local governments. In 2023, the company name was changed from Connected Industries to Good Baton, with the vision of providing comprehensive support not only in the sick child care business, but also in areas related to "giving birth," "raising children," and "nurturing children.
Representative Director: Masaki Sonoda
Location: 6-7-11-901 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Date of establishment: July 7, 2017
Business activities: Search and reservation service for sick child daycare centers, management consulting for sick child daycare centers
