I have a gal at work who's a mother of two.  She leaves work once every other week because of her sick kids.  She doesn't make up the time and it's a great stress on the morale of folks that work there, as well as me because I pick up her slack.  Others are quietly complaining and seeing how unfair it is that she's leaving and they don't.  

Our big concern when we hired her three months ago was exactly this.  She said she had childcare available but it's not coming through for her.

What would you do?

I would tell her she has one month to find somebody to watch her kids, or she is fired. She made a verbal agreement with you, so you can legally hold that up in court if she tries to go that route.

thing1 :  Yeah, I agree with you, thing1.  She said she had childcare yet it is not working for her.  She needs to find someone to help with her kids.  It's not fair to you and the other workers.  After all, you only hired her three months ago.

MoblinGardens : ... warmaker hired her. I am in the Army. We just so happen to be living on the same island, but still have not met each other *stares meaningfully at warmaker*

Maybe i would let her leave to get to her sick kids and maybe ask her  to someone to watch her children .

thing1 : Easy now.  I've been off-island the past two months.  I'm in Michigan dealing with family issues.  I thought I said that earlier.

My mistake if I haven't.  I'm mainlanding right now.

You need some kind of verification for the sick children. If they actually are sick, make her get a doctor's note. It might seem a bit harsh, but she has to be held accountable for her job. She has children, so she's an adult.

If her kids are, in fact, sick, then it's really up to you. You should give her an opportunity to make her situation right. I would let her know what kind of effect her leaving is doing to the team, and if there's anything you can do to help her out, you should see if you can work it out. If she says that she can continue working, say, 5 days a week when she really needs 3, then it's probably in your best interest to get rid of her.

One of the fine lines you have to walk is on the border of empathy and pity. Empathizing with her is good, but there gets to be a time where it goes overboard and she is taking advantage of you. If she seeks pity and you give it, you're essentially giving her a license to screw you and the team over. As much as I am about giving people chances, when it comes to your jobs, the business is ultimately what comes first. If she cannot act in a way that helps the business, then replacing her is a viable and the favorable option.