The Office of Personnel Management has sent agencies a memo urging them to make greater use of the child care subsidy program available for lower-income employees, saying the program can be a useful tool for recruiting and retaining employees. The memo noted that last year only 29 agencies participated, paying subsidies to only 2,800 employees. OPM urged agencies to step up their efforts to educate employees about that program, as well as the dependent care flexible spending account. In a recent survey of employees on federal benefits, the child care subsidy program ranked at or near the bottom in terms of importance as a benefit, perceived competitiveness with the private sector and the extent to which it meets needs. The low rate of usage of the program generally is attributed to lack of funding.