Florence's Sick Child Care Service Expands to 5 New Areas, Including Hino City (Tokyo) and Soka City (Saitama), Starting April 2026

Certified NPO Florence (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Mitsuru Akasaka), which operates home-visit and cooperative sick child care services, will begin providing services in five new areas starting April 1, 2026: Hino City in Tokyo, and Soka City, Yashio City, Misato City, and Minuma Ward in Saitama City. This marks the first expansion of service areas in five years, since 2021.

As a new fiscal year begins, April, a time of environmental change, often brings anxiety for both parents and children, with increased instances of sudden fevers and illnesses in children. With the aspiration to be 'a companion to help parents and children overcome crises together,' Florence will further expand its safety net to support the balance between childcare and work through its sick child care services.

**Sick Child Care to Rush to Parents' Aid When Children Are Unwell, But Work Cannot Be Skipped**

Certified NPO Florence is engaged in various projects to solve social issues surrounding parents and children. Among these, the 'Home-visit/Cooperative Sick Child Care' service, launched in 2005, is foundational to our work.

We want to change a society where parents must give up work or self-fulfillment due to the common occurrence of a child's sudden fever. We aim to make sick child care a 'social infrastructure' that anyone can use with peace of mind. Driven by this desire, we have been by the side of parents and children in their moments of crisis. Accumulating trust through 150,000 cumulative cases and zero serious accidents, we celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2025.

We have now decided to expand our service areas for the first time in five years, to deliver the relief of 'Florence was there, and we were saved' to as many families as possible. With this expansion, our service areas will extend to a total of 34 cities and 23 wards across the three prefectures of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa. We will continue to support the balance between childcare and work with all our might, overcoming parental and child crises together.

**Features of Florence's Sick Child Care**

Florence's sick child care service has five key features:

**1. High Dispatch Rate Solves Urgent Needs** With reservations made by 8 PM the previous day, we offer reliable support with a dispatch rate of 99.5% (FY2025 April-September actual results).

**2. Specializing in Home-Visit Sick Child Care: No Pick-up/Drop-off Needed, Prevents Secondary Infections** Since we visit your home, no pick-up or drop-off is required. You don't need to take your unwell child out, reducing the risk of catching or spreading other illnesses. Children can also rest comfortably in a familiar environment.

**3. Accommodates a Wide Range of Infectious Diseases, Also Available as Post-Illness Care** We cover common infectious diseases children are prone to, such as influenza, chickenpox, and gastroenteritis (excluding measles and COVID-19). It can also be used as 'post-illness care' during the recovery phase, staying with the child until full recovery.

**4. Trained 'Oyako Rescue Team' Members** Our visitors are 'Oyako Rescue Team' professionals, who have undergone specialized sick child care training and rigorous internal screening. They provide not just supervision but also delicate 'care' tailored to the child's symptoms, balanced with 'play' to help them forget their discomfort.

**5. 20 Years of 'Zero Serious Accidents', 150,000 Trusted Cases** Since the service began in 2005, we have specialized in 'home-visit sick child care' and built up 150,000 case records. Our safety management system, which has maintained zero serious accidents for 20 years, is Florence's pride.

**Service Areas from April 2026**

With this area expansion, Florence's sick child care is now available in a total of 34 cities and 23 wards in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area (1 metropolitan area, 3 prefectures).

**<New Expansion Areas>** * **Tokyo:** Hino City * **Saitama:** Soka City, Yashio City, Misato City, Minuma Ward, Saitama City * *Note: Minuma Ward is newly added to Saitama City's existing service areas.*

**<List of Service Areas>** * **Tokyo:** 23 Wards, Inagi City, Koganei City, Kokubunji City, Kodaira City, Komae City, Kunitachi City, Tachikawa City, Tama City, Chofu City, Nishi-Tokyo City, Hino City (New), Fuchu City, Machida City, Mitaka City, Musashino City * **Saitama:** Asaka City, Kawaguchi City, Saitama City (Minuma Ward newly expanded), Soka City (New), Toda City, Misato City (New), Yashio City (New), Wako City, Warabi City * **Chiba:** Ichikawa City, Urayasu City, Kashiwa City, Nagareyama City, Narashino City, Funabashi City, Matsudo City * **Kanagawa:** Kawasaki City, Yamato City, Yokohama City

**Entrust Your Child's Illness to Sick Child Care Professionals**

For parents of children aged 0-3, especially those preparing for daycare or returning to work, a sudden fever can be a major source of anxiety. Having the option of 'help being available' when their child falls ill provides peace of mind. Florence's sick child care is one such preparation. It supports parents and children through sudden illnesses with the assurance that 'there is a place to rely on in emergencies.' Municipal sitter subsidies and welfare coupons can also be utilized.

Parents using Florence's sick child care have shared: 'They always rush to our side, and their care for sick children is excellent, allowing us to entrust them with peace of mind.' 'The Oyako Rescue Team members are a presence that saves not only the parents' hearts but also their own.'

Our vision is a future where sick child care is a standard infrastructure for working parents and children, and society as a whole supports child-rearing. Florence will continue to stay by the side of parents and children.

**For admission details and more information, please visit Florence's Sick Child Care website:** https://byojihoiku.florence.or.jp/

**About Certified NPO Florence**

Changing Japan for the sake of children. Florence is one of Japan's largest certified NPOs, dedicated to solving issues and creating value in the areas of children and child-rearing.

Established in 2004 with Japan's first cooperative/home-visit sick child care service, Florence operates diverse childcare programs to address issues such as child abuse, child poverty, insufficient support for families with children with disabilities, and parental isolation. Additionally, we conduct welfare projects and support activities nationwide, including 'Child Food Delivery,' 'Oyako Yoriso Chat,' 'Pregnancy Counseling,' and 'Baby Adoption,' as well as policy advocacy.

**Florence Corporate Website ▶** https://florence.or.jp/